Despite a rather quite offseason from the Indiana Pacers, the team will enter next season bannering one of the deepest rosters in the league. Aside from the Blue and Gold’s talented starting lineup, its second unit will once again assume the robe as one of the team’s definitive strengths entering the upcoming campaign.
Leading the pack for the Pacers bench is point guard TJ McConnell, who had a career-year last season despite the team’s disappointing campaign. As the team’s de facto sixth man, the pesky playmaker emerged as one of the leaders in a locker room that uncharacteristically struggled in the previous season.
How does TJ McConnell rank among the league’s best backup point guards?
Unsurprisingly, the point guard position, which is widely believed by many to be the deepest in talent in the league, spreads down even to the reserves. Superstars Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, among others, spearhead the position, but the league also has a bevy of talented playmakers who can lead a squad in ways more than one.
Thus, how does TJ McConnell rank among the best backup playmakers in the association? In this piece, we dive deep into the crop of talented point guards off the bench entering the 2021-22 NBA season.
Honorable Mentions: Kendrick Nunn (LAL), Patty Mills (BKN), Cameron Payne (PHX),
Ranking Indiana Pacers’ TJ McConnell among best backup PGs – No. 5: Monte Morris, Denver Nuggets
In his fourth season with the Denver Nuggets last season, point guard Monte Morris once again served as one of the most stable hands on the team, supplying steady play off the bench as a catalyst for the team’s second unit to the tune of 10.2 points and 3.2 assists per game on a solid 48.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 38.1 on threes.
One of the defining features of Morris’ game is that while he isn’t exactly a standout in any facet of the game, he is among the best in the league at minimizing mistakes, managing to only rack up 0.7 turnovers per game despite playing a career-high 25.4 minutes per outing last season.
With lead guard Jamal Murray projected to miss most of the following campaign, Morris will be tabbed as the team’s first option at the point guard position, as he did in the playoffs. Despite the talent difference between the two, the Nuggets should be relieved having Morris as a wonderful replacement on the interim.
Ranking Indiana Pacers’ TJ McConnell among best backup PGs – No. 4: Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks
Speaking of career years, Dallas Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson also tallied across the board individual highs last season. Functioning as new Pacers coach Rick Carlisle’s go-to option in the second unit alongside Tim Hardaway Jr., the 25-year-old averaged a solid 12.6 points and 3.5 assists per contest on a very efficient 52.3/40.5 shooting clip.
Brunson thrived both on and off the ball, managing to keep defenders honest and occupied with his presence while superstar Luka Doncic was the center of attention. In all honesty, Brunson should have gotten serious consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year award, in which he was questionably left off the list of finalists.
Despite a coaching change in Dallas, Brunson should serve as one of the team’s best options come crunch time once again next season. Alas, he should be one of the biggest benefactors of Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, who will now man the sidelines for the Mavericks.
Ranking best backup PGs – No. 3: TJ McConnell, Indiana Pacers
As said numerous times before, TJ McConnell really came to his own last season. While the Indiana Pacers were one of the biggest casualties due to injury and the subsequent instability that came with it, he helped keep the engine running for the Blue and Gold last season, doing most of his damage off the bench.
McConnell managed to turn heads last season with his catalyzing play in the second unit last season. His 6.6 dimes per contest was heads and shoulders above other bench playmakers while he led the league in total steals and came second in steals per game, just behind league leader Jimmy Butler.
While he is not the best scorer, lacking a three-point shot outright, he logged an eye-popping 55.9 percent shooting from the floor last season. That should continue in the upcoming campaign, where he should once again hold the keys to Indy’s second unit.
Ranking Indiana Pacers’ TJ McConnell among best backup PGs – No. 2: Dennis Schroder, Boston Celtics
Do not be prisoners of the moment and point to Dennis Schroder‘s disappearing act in the playoffs last season for the Los Angeles Lakers as the sole barometer of what he can offer to the table. At his best and when he is engaged, the German guard is one of the most explosive scorers and facilitators in the point guard position, particularly on bench duty.
While Schroder tragically fumbled the bag in free agency, he managed to land a good environment for him in Boston. With the Celtics seemingly inclined on starting Marcus Smart for good, Schroder should slide in as their sixth man and fill their playmaking void, especially with their offense heavily reliant on isolation plays by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Despite being surrounded by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, he still managed to carve out a great regular season for himself. Still, in a more ideal situation, he could be in line for a repeat of his exceptional 2019-20 campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he was inarguably among the best bench players in the league.
Ranking Indiana Pacers’ TJ McConnell among best backup PGs – No. 1: Derrick Rose, New York Knicks
In continuance of his well-documented renaissance, former league MVP once again finished the season as arguably the best playmaker off the bench in the association last season. After 6MOY-worthy campaigns in Minnesota and Detroit, Derrick Rose sustained his strong play with the New York Knicks, which were among the league’s most pleasant surprises.
Reunited with longtime coach Tom Thibodeau, Rose soaked up most of the point guard minutes for the Knicks, especially in the playoffs. With New York not having a lot of shot creation aside from Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, Rose provided the scoring goods for the team, with his great postseason run culminating in a near-prime-Rose-like 19.4 points and 5.0 assists per game on a steady 47.6 shooting from the floor and an eye-popping 47.1 rate from downtown.
With Kemba Walker now projected to start for the Knicks, Rose should remain as the team’s go-to bench option and as one of the most dangerous second unit weapons in the league. As long as his health permits, this is the perfect role for him as he enters his twilight years.