Darren Collison is turning the ball over at a career low rate. His passing and dribbling have been huge for the offense.
Darren Collison was an underwhelming signing in the offseason. In a summer with dozens of crazy trades and free agent moves, the Pacers brought in Collison to bridge the gap from one era to the next. Collison can do a little bit of everything but wasn’t seen as anything more than a stop-gap player who could easily be replaced. However, his ability to run the offense and take care of the ball this season has made him an integral part of the Indiana Pacers success.
Collison has spent most of his career as a score-first point guard. He has only averaged over six assists per 36 minutes four times in his career (including this season) but has scored in double figures in all nine of his seasons. Despite not being a pass-first guy, Collison still turned the ball over fairly frequently throughout his career.
For the first six seasons of his profession, Collison had a turnover percentage over 14 in all of them. Turnover percentage is a stat that measures the number of turnovers a player commits per 100 possessions in which they touch the ball. For six years, DC did this 14 percent of the time, and over 16 percent in four of them, showing that he often was careless with the basketball in his hands.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
This year, he had turned that around. Collison has a turnover percentage of 11.4 percent, a four percent increase over his career average.
This is impressive for a variety of reasons, but the biggest reason is that he’s decreased his turnover numbers while still transforming to a pass-first point guard. Two seasons ago, Collison was passing the ball just 44.9 times per game. Just a couple of years later, Collison is making 51.5 passes per game in Nate McMillan’s offense, yet he is still turning it over less than he ever has.
This stat is better reflected in Collisions assist-to-turnover ratio. Throughout his whole career, his ratio (total assists/total turnovers) has been between two and three. This year, it is all the way up to four. He’s finding his teammates without making silly passes, and the Pacers offense is clicking because of it; his 110.5 offensive rating is the best on the team.
The pocket pass is propping this stat up for him. On the pick and pop, he is able to squeeze the ball into tight spaces unlike he has ever been able to do before. Thaddeus Young is the beneficiary here, but I’m sure you’ve seen this play millions of times watching the Pacers:
Given that Collison leads the team in passes and is second in dribbles, the fact that he is keeping his turnovers down is a massive reason he is propelling the offense to such lofty heights.
Next: Ain’t no rest for the wicked: second half schedule analysis
Hopefully, as the season goes on, Darren Collison continues to take care of the ball effectively. That will keep the Pacers offense humming and the team’s record looking great. DC is the basketball caretaker the Pacers have needed for years.