Here’s 4 things the Indiana Pacers got right in November

CHARLOTTE, NC – NOVEMBER 21: Aaron Holiday #3 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on November 21, 2018, at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

Aaron Holiday passes the “Looks like an NBA player” test

Outside of Myles Turner, it certainly feels like it’s been a while — 2010 with Paul George and Lance Stephenson — that the Pacers drafted a player than made a meaningful impact, especially their rookie season.

Aaron Holiday is looking to change that.

Like McDermott and the Sabonis-Turner pairing, the emergence of Holiday didn’t happen until part of the way through November. Before November he had more DNPs than games played. In five appearances (mostly in garbage time), he averaged a point on 33.3 percent shooting.

But with Victor Oladipo going down in the game against the Atlanta Hawks, the door was opened for Holiday.

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And he ran right through it.

Holiday’s averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in nearly 19 minutes a game over the last seven contests.

The only real gripe with his play is a 46.6 shooting percentage that drops to 25.9 percent when he steps behind the arc.

But he’s got a confidence to his game that won’t let that number bother him, and it’s one that will likely improve over time. His pedigree is already showing and that confidence is earned.

The only real question for him and McDermott (and to a lesser extent, Turner and Sabonis) is if they can keep these positive numbers when Oladipo returns?

Obviously, Oladipo isn’t the issue, but his return means Tyreke Evans goes back to being a bench player. Can the Indiana Pacers make it work the same way? We’ll just have to wait for Oladipo’s return.

November had its ups and downs without Victor Oladipo, but if the Pacers can take some of these positives they’ve discovered in his absence, then there was a silver lining on him missing so many games.