Player grades for each Pacers player at the halfway point

The C’s

These guys have played about as well as what you expected them to play before the season started.

Darren Collison: C

Darren Collison has yet to miss any games this year, after missing a total of 13 last year. Thaaaaaaaat’s about all he’s doing better than last year. His shooting numbers are down significantly (-4% overall, -8% from deep, -10% from the line), and he often just isn’t looking to take shots. This is leading to a career-low scoring output, but only a measly .2 assists more than last year. He’s not passing up shots for good passes; he’s just passing up shots. At this point, I’m not positive that DC is a better starting point guard than Cory Joseph, or what he would bring to a backup role (outside of experience) that Aaron Holiday won’t.

Victor Oladipo: C-

Coming off his first all-star season, Victor Oladipo has continued being the most clutch dude alive. He’s averaging a career high in rebounds and assists. He continues to be the heart and soul of a very good Pacers team. He’s the first guy in the gym and the last guy out. Teammates would take a bullet for the guy. Vic is an all-around leader. He looks to have finally put a lingering knee issue behind him, and will shortly have the all-star break to rest up as well. That’s the good news.

The bad news is concerning, though. Oladipo has regressed as a shooter (outside of the clutch, that is). He’s shooting 43% from the field, 34% from 3, and just 73% from the line. If the Pacers want to be more than a feisty 5 seed this season, Oladipo absolutely has to improve his shooting percentages.

It might be injury based. He had the knee that was sore for a while before he missed any games, sat for 11 straight, then had to reintegrate himself into a Pacers team that went 7-4 without him. Maybe teams are playing him differently, or it could be (yikes) regression to the player he’s always been in the past. Whatever it is, 43/34/73 shooting splits won’t cut it on a team that thinks they can win the East. Just looking at the shooting splits is a bit unfair, as Vic has done this against heightened defensive attention that’s coming for him night in and night out, but the Pacers still need more.

Next up, we have the “only avoided an F by the grace of 2-3 good games” category, featuring only one player.