With a well-rounded roster with two-way prowess coming off an impressive fourth place finish last season, Indiana Pacers fans were confident that the team can soar to greater heights this season. However, with key players being injured for long stretches and causing lineup instability leading to inconsistencies, the Navy and Gold have failed to meet expectations so far.
Help eventually came in the form of Oshae Brissett, who quickly proved to be another bargain signing by GM Kevin Pritchard. Initially inked on a 10-day contract, the assortment of injuries hounding the team opened the doors for the second-year forward, netting him more minutes which he maximized with fiery two-way play. This led to the Indiana Pacers brass rewarding him with a three-year deal.
Brissett bringing great value to undermanned Indiana Pacers
Brissett’s numbers so far have been very good. In 23.3 minutes per game, the sophomore is tallying 10.1 points on 47.5/41.5/77.3 shooting splits, 5.7 rebounds and an eye-popping 1.1 blocks per contest, even though he stands at 6-foot-7. As a starter though, those figures jump to 13.6 points, 8.4 boards and 1.6 swats per game, per Basketball Reference.
Though Oshae is operating in a compromised role given the Indiana Pacers’ season-long exhaustive injury reports, his admirable play makes him deserving of a big role even when the team is at full strength. His smooth three-point stroke and physical defense makes him the ideal 3-and-D player to compliment the team’s army of scorers.
That being said, his sudden uptick in production may affect how the front office maneuvers around their assets, with heightened offseason activity a great possibility. Be it dangling big names for to move up in the draft or securing players who bring better fits to the roster, Brissett’s versatility and flexibility figure to make the Indiana Pacers less hesitant in pulling the trigger in possible deals.
Here are three players to monitor who can be on the move with Oshae Brissett’s ascent.