Goga Bitadze has now finished his second season with the Indiana Pacers. One could argue he has come a long way since that infamous media day picture during the 2019-2020 NBA Draft. What has changed from his first year?
During his first year in the NBA, Goga Bitadze had to conquer more than just the standard rookie year woes that come with becoming an NBA player. Whether it was moving to a new country or not seeing his family, the mental challenges that come with that are tough.
How has Goga Bitadze developed for the Indiana Pacers?
Goga Bitadze saw NBA action in just the second game of that 2019-2020 season, where he would play just over four minutes and score the first points of his career. He would go on to play in just 54 games in the season before the NBA suspended its season due to COVID-19.
Through those 54 games, he averaged 3.2 points, and 2 rebounds per game while shooting 19% from three and 46% from the field. Also worth noting, he averaged just 8.7 minutes per game and that was justified in the eyes of former Pacers head coach Nate McMillan.
Goga just looked a bit off. His screen placement was off, he wasn’t good at switching, and he couldn’t really space the floor with his three-point shooting.
This season I noticed Goga’s shot-blocking ability. The 21-year-old seemingly had more confidence than his first season and nearly doubled his total number of blocked shots with 60 to the year priors’ 37 blocks. Along with a notable block against his media day peer, Zion Williamson.
Goga struggled again this year from behind the arc. Shooting 25% on 1.8 attempts is not the best, but it is an improvement from year one where he shot just 19%.
He takes most of his threes off the catch and can’t get to the spot he wants just yet, but this was still an improvement.
If he can make another jump next season with his shooting percentage, I would have more confidence in his ability to stretch the floor going forward.
With his role expanding throughout his second season, Goga saw more playing time where he averaged 12.5 minutes a game. With those minutes Goga showcased his rebounding ability.
This season he averaged 3.3 total rebounds and accumulated 150 total rebounds to his previous 106. He was much better at being active around the glass and seemed more focused. The only downside being his fouling, with 2.1 averaged a game, but I am being picky.