No NBA player is perfect, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. In this love/hate series, we will review those attributes for each player on the Indiana Pacers. In this installment, we will take a look at Tyreke Evans.
The Indiana Pacers have never been the type of franchise to reel in big free agents. Indy comes across all-star caliber players either through the draft (Reggie Miller) or through trade (Victor Oladipo). But, this is a new time in Indiana. The Pacers are attractive because of youth and a charismatic star that people gravitate toward.
Tyreke Evans is not a franchise changing the talent, but he is a game-changing talent. Once the 4th pick of the 2009 NBA draft, Evans burst onto the scene as a rookie.
And burst might even be an understatement. He won Rookie of the Year over the likes of Blake Griffin, James Harden, and Steph Curry. His game-changing talent looked more like perennial all-star than potential 6th man.
Then his jump shot failed him. Then injuries piled up and Sacremento decided to move on. Unfortunately for Evans things didn’t get any better with the Pelicans. He went on to miss 126 games in 4 years with New Orleans which has forced him into back to back one year prove it type deals.
Although his stay in New Orleans was disappointing to say the least, Tyreke bounced back in a big way last year in Memphis. He once again flashed an all-star level skill-set while playing enough games to make his presence felt. He played his most minutes since 2014-15 and had the best true shooting percentage of his career at .561%.
So here we are, the once Rookie of the Year turned injury prone guard is still the game-changing talent he always has been, but can he finally find a home and not just another stop in his journey?
What we love about Tyreke Evans
Although he’s struggled to stay on the court during his first 9 years, when he’s on the hardwood there is a lot to like about Tyreke’s game.
First and foremost Evans is extremely versatile on the offensive end. He has the size to play either wing and the play making ability to play the point. This is a highly valuable trait and should allow the Memphis product to play in a plethora of line-up combinations.
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While his versatility is certainly useful, his play making ability may be even more important. Last year, Evans posted a 31.2 assist percentage better than Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry. His size and change of pace style allow him to maneuver through the defense and find the open man. This enables Evans to easily slide to the point and facilitate the offense.
Not only is Evans an incredible talent, he fits. Evans fills multiple needs and the first being his projected spot in the second unit.
His attacking mentality fits like a glove with the Pacers projected bench mob. Indy expects to have elite shooting on the wing with Doug McDermott and T.J Leaf (hopefully).
A solid floor general who can shoot a bit and does everything well in Cory Joseph and a playmaking big who is lethal in the pick and roll in Domas Sabonis. The perfect cast to fill around a nice lead actor off the bench.
Although Evans may start the game on the bench I have a suspicion he won’t end it there. Indy desperately needed somebody to help take the burden off of Victor Oladipo in the half court and Tyreke could be it.
With an improved outside touch and a nice pick and roll game Evans can score in a vast amount of ways. Vic’s tired from his absurd 65 game steal streak (and counting)? Give the ball to Tyreke and let him run the pick and roll.
Is second unit having trouble finding a shot late in the clock? Throw it to Evans and let him go one on one. Is Cleveland trapping Oladipo on the touch? Get number 12 in the middle of the floor and let him create.
This is the bail out Indy didn’t have last year and one I think can make a big difference this year.
What we hate about Tyreke Evans’ game
Let’s start with the reason Evans has been on three different teams in two years, he’s been mostly unreliable to find the floor in recent years. Since he was drafted by the Kings in 2009, the 9 year vet has played in a respectable 71% of his career games.
And although that doesn’t sound terrible, Evans has only contributed in 48% of games since the start of the 2015-16 season. While last year was mostly because of the Memphis tankathon, Evans had three knee surgeries in a nine-month window while with the Pelicans.
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That’s incredibly tough on a player both mentally and physically, thus back to back one-year deals.
Even though Evans is a complete talent when he plays, he has seen a slight decline in athleticism. He was once a high-level athlete that played mostly above the rim. But, three surgeries can take a toll on anybody, especially in a span of less than a year. Evans only operated 14.9% of the time between 22-18 seconds left on the shot clock. That’s less than both former teammate Dillon Brooks, 15.9% and Indy’s own Bojan Bogdanovic at 24.8%.
Yes he’s still athletic and yes he can still get out in transition, but Evans should be relied on as more of a half-court creator than a transition dynamo.
Also before I move on: Your 2010 Rookie of the Year.
The last thing I hate about Tyreke’s game is his playoff track record, or lack thereof. Obviously not totally his fault, but Evans has only played in four total playoff games in nine years. This isn’t necessarily cause for panic and could turn out to be meaningless come April, hopefully. Another disappointing aspect of his brief playoff run though, is his less than stellar numbers. During his brief stay courtesy of the Golden State Warriors, Evans struggled, scoring 10 ppg on 32% from the field and 18% from three.
The Pacers plan on being in the playoffs and those numbers are not gonna cut it.
Tyreke Evans’ role for the upcoming season
Evans is here to be a force off the bench. He’s here to score the ball on nights Oladipo struggles, or gets trapped or doesn’t play. He’s here to help this team win games and to see how far this core can go come spring.
He’s a versatile guard that can play multiple positions and score in multiple ways. While Evans is unlikely to finish the year with the same impressive 19-5-5 line that only seven other players in the league tallied, he will be relied on to be a nightly creator and a true 6th man, something the Pacer’s haven’t had in a very long time.
There is a lot to love about the newly acquired Pacer and little to hate outside of his injury history. Although Evans is probably past his athletic prime last year might have been the best basketball he’s played yet.
He should fit nicely with the core Kevin Pritchard and co. have surrounded him with and if healthy could play a big role in the teams’ upcoming success. This move could flop, but it’s worth the risk at only one year.
Indy needed another game changer and it looks like they may have found one.