T.J. Warren is thriving with the Indiana Pacers after being gifted to the Blue and Gold from the Phoenix Suns in an off-season trade.
Warren has started and played in every game this season and can score from anywhere on the floor.
Even before becoming a member of the team, Warren had ties to the Pacers. Warren has been mentored by the best free-agent signing in Pacers history, David West. Warren was a product of West’s AAU Garner Road Basketball Club program in North Carolina.
The small forward has been learning from West since ten years old.
Warren’s development has continued, even during his short time with the Pacers so far.
Not known for his defense in Phoenix, Warren has been a much-improved defender with Indiana.
Coaches Nate McMillan and Dan Burke have done an excellent job of placing Warren in positions to succeed.
The Pacers’ coaching staff expects every player to play both sides of the ball, and there are no exceptions.
With his mentor West in the building, Warren scored a season-high 36 points (30 in the second half) in the Pacers’ 115-104 win in Charlotte. Warren was scoring the ball with ease, while the Hornets had no answer defensively.
Wednesday night against Miami, it was a totally different story. The normally quiet Warren was very animated when called for a questionable, at best, foul while defending Jimmy Butler in the first quarter. He followed the official down court frantically trying to explain that he didn’t foul Butler.
Tensions were already high after the first quarter foul call due to Butler busting Warren’s lip back in Miami in late December. The elbow to the mouth wasn’t even called a foul in the match-up last month.
This incident started with Warren grabbing Butler’s arm to prevent an easy drive to the basket, then both players were face-to-face jawing immediately after the play. As teammates separated them, they continued to bicker back and forth from 50 feet away while the play was being reviewed. The referees handed out double-technicals.
The very next play, Butler committed an offensive foul when the buried his shoulder into Warren’s chest. T.J. followed him down court clapping and was quickly ejected with a second technical foul. Butler blew kisses to Warren taunting him back, but inexplicably wasn’t called for his second technical foul.
After the game, Butler trashed Warren in a profanity laced tirade. He also posted a picture on Instagram of the March 20th game at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse challenging Warren.
Warren responded with a strong performance and 17 points against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. If he builds from there, the Pacers could really become a problem.