Pacers player grades: All-Star break edition

Domantas Sabonis: B+

Pertinent Stats:

14.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 61% shooting, 3.2 fouls per game, 56 games

Sabonis had a scorching hot start to the year but has fallen off some as the calendar year flipped over to 2019.

For a time, there was a strong debate over whether Domantas Sabonis should be starting instead of Turner, and whether the Pacers paid the wrong young big. That argument has been settled as the Indiana Pacers defense dies without Turner protecting the rim, but Sabonis has been a force with the ball and on the glass.

Still almost totally lacking the ability to finish with his right hand around the rim, it’s amazing that Sabonis has been the efficiency monster that he is. 61% shooting is even down from where he was through the first few months of the season, and he’s rightfully been getting serious consideration in both the 6th man of the year and most improved player conversations. He’ll never be the force that Turner is protecting the rim, but it’s awesome watching him operate in the post and beat up on guys who already know he’s going to his left hand.

Foul trouble has been a major bugaboo for him this year. If he can cut down on the cheap reach in/illegal screen fouls, his minutes – and numbers – should balloon.

Cory Joseph: B-

Pertinent Stats:

7.2 points, 4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 44% shooting, 34% 3 point shooting, 58 games played

CoJo has been fine this year, if ever so slightly worse than last. It seems likely that Joseph is done developing, which is fine, but Pacers fans that fancied him to develop into a full-time starting point guard are likely disappointed (cue sad trombone).

His 3’s only seem to drop if he’s totally uncovered, and his creation on offense is, um, below average at best (don’t get me started on the 12-foot floater he loves so much). Even considering that, he’s a positive player in his role and a key piece to this Pacers team.

His defense, hustle, and steady play are exactly what the 2nd unit needs next to Tyreke Evans. He’s capable of stymying even the best point guards at the point of attack, and what he lacks in quickness, he makes up for in unexpected physicality. He moonlights as a shooting guard next to Darren Collison and generally holds his own well.

Cory Joseph is a player every good team needs – a solid guard off the bench who can come in and do a bit of everything. I was hoping to see some more development out of him, but the player he is (on the contract he’s on) will always be valuable in the NBA.

Tyreke Evans: C+

Pertinent Stats:

10.4 points, 39% shooting, 37% 3 point shooting, 51 games played

Tyreke missed time in December while getting a platelet-rich plasma procedure done on his knee, and thank goodness he looks much healthier since. Prior to that, Evans was putting up one of the worst shooting seasons in the history of the NBA. Since returning from that, Evans is shooting a better (but still not great) 43% from the field and a stellar 39% from deep.

Evans is adept at slithering and shimmying his way to the rim but absolutely can’t finish there this year. His 3 pointer has been a weapon though, and he’s shown a complete comfort shooting off the bounce, which is a critical skill in today’s NBA.

Despite the scary shooting numbers, the 2nd unit looked lost without Tyreke. While his numbers are screaming “11th man”, his effect on the bench brigade has been positive since getting his knee cared for, and he appears to be getting better and stronger as the season progresses. His on-ball defense has been solid, and he provides a size element in the guard rotation that the Pacers have just had from no one else.

Kevin Pritchard took a mild gamble with Evans’ 1 year, 12 million dollar deal. Early on, it appeared that the contract was mercifully short. Tyreke Evans is on his way to earning that now, and if he reaches anything close to the player he was last year in Memphis come playoff time, the Pacers will be all the better for it.

Doug McDermott: C

Pertinent Stats:

6.7 points, 47% shooting, 39% 3 point shooting, 53 games played

Dougie McBuckets signed a 3 year, 22 million dollar deal with the Pacers as soon as free agency began. McDermott’s shooting is valuable off the bench, but so far he’s been nowhere near that value for this team.

McDermott has hit the 3 well (though below what might be expected of him), and he’s a canny cutter who finishes much more athletically than you’d think when looking at him, but that’s been all he’s provided so far.

Some of this falls on Nate McMillan, as Doug McDermott is very much a player you need to game plan for. Nate has to get him looks. His bizarre home/road splits only get weirder as the season progresses. He’s shooting 49% from 3 on the road, and just 29% from home. Hopefully, Banker’s Life starts to agree with him more as the season wears on, or at least as the contract wears on.

Now, let’s grade the performances of the guys who don’t play as much.