Domantas Sabonis will be the Indiana Pacers’ main barometer this season
The Lithuanian center enjoyed a career-year last season, averaging career-highs with 20.3 points and 6.7 assists per game. Sabonis easily proved that he’s the second-best passing center in the league, only bested by MVP Nikola Jokic. His post scoring and rebounding remained top-notch, while he expanded his range under former coach Nate Bjorkgren’s up-tempo offense as the Pacers’ undisputable first option.
However, as Indiana failed to build on their impressive start last season, Sabonis’ monstrous stats proved to be less sterling than they seemed. Despite posting his best year yet, the Pacers struggled as a whole.
While a bulk of that should be attributed to constant injuries, Domas is not without his faults, and how he improves on his weak points despite his already All-Star play could be the difference between cracking the upper echelon of the conference and settling for a mediocre record.