2017-18 Pacers Player Reviews: Cory Joseph
By Tony East
The Good
The best thing about Cory Joseph is that he loves and excels at a skill many players don’t shine in; team defense.
The Pacers had a 105.9 defensive rating when Joseph was on the court, the second-best figure amongst Pacers guards. Caitlin Cooper of Indy Cornrows recently wrote about CoJo’s defense, and how his skills stopping opponents at the point of attack was always an integral part of the Pacers D.
He always knew how to send opponents into the help, and he made life hell for ball handlers. Don’t dribble any of that weak stuff around Cory:
He’s always in the right position, and his quick hands make steals come naturally for him. Doing the little things well is incredibly important, and Joseph is the master of the minutiae on defense.
Offensively, Joseph kept his turnovers down at career low levels, which is awesome from a lead ball handler. His 1.1 turnovers per game were his lowest career figure since he cracked 20 minutes per game. He always seemed to move the ball to the right person, and he never mucked up the spacing by being out of position when dribbling.
Joseph just does tons of little things well on O, too. Diving for loose balls, cutting at the perfect time, hustling both on both ends. He’s a real team player, and those things are unbelievably important. CoJo knows that better than anyone.