Indiana Pacers: 3 players with something to prove in the second half

Guard/Forward Jeremy Lamb

Jeremy Lamb‘s return from injury was filled with excitement as he brought veteran scoring and experience to the bench and occasionally to the starting five. He came out of the gates on fire, posting two games of 22 points in his first week of action.

After a strong first month or so, Lamb hit a bit of a roadblock and has really struggled from the field lately. Over the last seven games, Lamb has appeared in six, started zero, and shot just 36.7 percent from the field.

Lamb averaged just 9.5 points on .367/.263/.941 splits to close out the first half of the season and has his job in question. The sudden – or maybe not so sudden – rise of Edmond Sumner has made Lamb less of a guarantee in the lineup.

I am a huge fan of Sumner and think he has earned his minutes but I also believe Lamb can be a vital weapon and is more of a threat come playoff time. Lamb has to prove himself as a reliable scorer in the second unit to earn his minutes in the playoffs if the Pacers make one of the ten spots.

If Lamb returns to the player he was when he first returned from injury, he will be a valuable piece for the offense. Defensively, however, is a completely different story. His struggles on the defensive end have been gruesome.