Small Forward Wednesdays: Bojan Bogdanovic’s inconsistency

Bojan Bogdanovic has had a roller coaster of a season. Let’s look at the ups and downs of his Pacers tenure.

Bojan Bogdanovic came to Indiana with big shoes to fill. From the Danny Granger era to the Paul George era, the Pacers have been loaded on the wing since 2005-06. Those are some massive shoes to fill, and this put some pressure on the Bosnian native heading into the season. For the first month or so of the year, it looked like Bojan was handling it great.

From the first game of the campaign until the end of November (okay, the first month and a half) Bogdanovic was scorching from all over the court. He made 50 of his 111 threes, good for an elite 45 percent, and inside the arc was a similar story. He dropped in 74 of his 129 two-point field goal attempts, which equates to 57 percent. Combine those numbers with 82 percent free throw shooting, and it is evident just how incredible Bojan was to start the season.

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These 22 games were truly fascinating. The team exceeded expectations on their way to a 12-10 record against a fairly challenging schedule. Bojan’s hot start had a lot to do with that. He was moving off of screens and his teammates were finding him for open looks at every opportunity. Against Orlando in November we saw this play, where he actually comes off of two screens and nails the wide open jumper:

He was also keeping his turnovers down; in November he had just 11 turnovers in 15 games. He was taking care of the ball well and nailing his shots, essentially exactly what is asked of him.

Then December came.

Bogdanovic lost some of the efficiency he had been successful using in the holiday month. He made just 23 of his 73 three points attempts, a measly 31.5 percent. Inside the arc, he was 41/84, which isn’t awful but is an abatement from his earlier months.

Some of this can be attributed to the team slowing down with Bojan on the court. In November, the team’s pace was 100.32 with Bogdanovic on the court. In December, that number fell to 96.16. Given that most of Bojan’s good shots come on shots early in the shot clock, the team slowing down would give him less of his best attempts. Maybe speeding up the pace could help Bogey get on track.

His points in the paint took a hit too. In November, he was scoring 5.9 points per game in the paint versus just 4.1 in December. Opposing defense’s had adapted to the play where Bogdanovic curls off a screen at the elbow, and that shot became significantly tougher for him. Three members of the Pistons team were waiting for him on this one:

To top off his struggles from all over the field, his turnovers doubled from 11 in November to 22 in December. He couldn’t finish plays or take care of the ball, and that is why he became less effective; his net rating dropped by 27 points, per basketball-reference, from month to month.

Next: Myles Turner will miss at least two games with an injured elbow

Hopefully, Bojan can find his November form soon. If he plays like he did in December for the rest of the season, that is a concern for the team. Thankfully, he propelled the squad to a few extra wins with his good play in the Thanksgiving month. We will have to wait and see what kind of player Bojan Bogdanovic rounds out to be.