Which Indiana Pacers have something to prove still this season?
A disappointing start for the Indiana Pacers this season has left a lot to be desired for fans and presumably for the players as well. Domantas Sabonis, even as the team’s All-Star, has not been playing to that level consistently as of late.
Plenty of guys have struggled to find a rhythm and prove their worth to the rotation, leaving Indiana out in no man’s land at the break. Which players have plenty left to prove?
Guard Aaron Holiday
The disappearance of Aaron Holiday this season has been surprising, to say the least. He looked like the leader of the bench unit after a strong finish to last season but was a non-factor in the playoffs and has been much of the same this season.
The Pacers have been searching for an extra playmaker on the offensive end and that duty was supposed to be filled by the struggling Holiday. He is shooting a career-worst 37.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from two-point range.
His future with the team may very well be up in the air, which offers different perspectives for what the plan should be moving forward. More of those thoughts can be found here, but Aaron will certainly want to prove himself for the Pacers and for any other teams that could be interested in acquiring him.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon
Similar to Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon was incredible to start the season and was beginning to look like a true face-of-the-franchise point guard. After coming back down to Earth a bit to end the first half, Brogdon will need to step up and lead the Pacers into the playoffs.
Indiana runs a lot of the offense through Brogdon and he has shown that he can pop off for big nights without much hesitation. The only downside is that Malcolm has been having far too many off nights to keep being one of the primary shooters. His poor play was reflective of the team’s lack of success as they barely survived the last few weeks before the All-Star break.
The Pacers should still have high hopes for Brogdon moving forward. He has grown immensely since entering the NBA and even in his two seasons with the Pacers. Indiana gave up a first-round pick to get him as well, making his presence even more pressing in the eyes of fans.
If the Pacers desire to pose any real threat to the rest of the Eastern Conference, Malcolm Brogdon has to step up and play high-quality basketball on a nightly basis. The team cannot afford for him to shoot 25 shots per night and not connect on the majority of them.
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.