Close shots are supposed to be easier, right?
Tyreke’s greatest struggle came in an area that was exceedingly obvious to anyone who watched the Pacers play this year. Simply put, Evans couldn’t finish at the rim.
Getting to the cup wasn’t a problem, as his herky jerky hesitation laden euro step drives consistently left defenders out of position. Evans isn’t particularly fast in space, but his ability to get players off balance and find the open space is excellent. The season felt like one long montage of “that’s gotta fall next time… right?”
We’ve established that Tyreke struggled to finish around the rim. For a guy who gets there so much, you might be tempted to think “how bad could it be?” Please, stop thinking that.
Tyreke Evans' shot chart from his season with the Indiana Pacers. pic.twitter.com/xL8fuiv6GD
— 8 Points, 9 Seconds (@8pts9secs) May 9, 2019
No really. You don’t want to know the answer to that question. What you’re about to see is unsuitable for audiences of any age.
Out of 147 players who averaged 3 or more drives per game (and who played 50 games or more), Tyreke finished a breathtaking 146th in field goal percentage. Evans shot 36.1% on drives, just edging out Avery Bradley (35.7%, and what the heck happened to him?) to avoid last place. That bears repeating: out of 147 players who drove to the rim 3 or more times per game, Tyreke was the 2nd worst at finishing.
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The Pacers new creator helped create offensive rebounds for Sabonis (a legitimately helpful thing in its own way), and not much else. His assist percentage on those drives was at least middle of the pack, coming in a “strong” 87th at 9.4%. Despite his ability to snake his way to the bucket, Tyreke’s drives ended in sadness more than anything else.
For much of the year, Evans was putting up the worst shooting season by a high usage player in the history of the NBA. He did improve enough at the end to avoid that ignominious distinction but was still very bad in any context you want to view this through.
As a point of reference, many of us remember Monta Ellis’ terrible last NBA season with the Pacers, marred by poor shooting alongside Paul George.
Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey were so bad that year that many Pacers fans blame them for Paul George’s messy exit from Indiana. Ellis shot a robust 5.4% better that year than Evans did in his only season with the Pacers.