Following a pair of disappointing headlines this week the Indiana Pacers are without two of their rotational players. Edmond Sumner will likely miss the entire season with a torn Achilles while T.J. Warren is out indefinitely as he recovers from the foot injury that held him out of last season.
If Warren misses a portion of the upcoming season, the Pacers will be in a rut right out of the gate. That means rookie Chris Duarte will need to be ready to make a sizeable impact when he makes his debut with the team.
Chris Duarte needs to be ready for the Indiana Pacers
The big selling point for Duarte coming out of the draft was his readiness and ability to be an impact player on both ends of the floor. His ceiling may not be as high as some other prospects from the 2021 NBA Draft class but he stood out as a player that was going to come in and be part of a rotation right away.
During the Summer League, Duarte made it very clear that he was capable of doing just that. He showed plenty of flashes as a knockdown shooter and scorer in transition but was also an impressive defender during his time in Las Vegas.
Indiana now has to hope that Duarte can carry that over to the regular season as his role is almost guaranteed to get bigger. The Pacers need an extra body to fill in where Warren was slated to lead the offense and be the top perimeter defender on the roster. Can Chris Duarte be that guy?
Offensively, the Pacers will have enough options to help ease some of the burdens that come with losing a high-level scorer like Warren. Caris LeVert was dominant to end last season and would be my bet to lead the team in scoring during Warren’s absence.
Malcolm Brogdon is also a very reliable shooter from the perimeter and is a good driver to pinch defenses. Add a star scorer in Domantas Sabonis on the inside and the Pacers should have no problem skating by without Warren. In fact, they set a franchise record with 115.4 points per game last season despite Warren playing in just four games.
The real challenge will be replacing Warren and Sumner on defense. I do think a combination of Duarte and Oshae Brissett will be enough to help the Pacers survive in that regard but Duarte really has to be ready.
It is not like the Pacers to be this desperate for rookie contributions but with how quickly their depth has faded, they need to rely on their youngster this season. Chris Duarte has a lot of pressure riding on his shoulders as he enters his first NBA season.