Indiana Pacers Season Review: Grading Oshae Brissett in 2021-22

How is it possible that a player who regressed in most of his statistical categories was still one of the better parts of the Indiana Pacers season? In a year filled with injuries, it can be as simple as leading the team in games played.

This is two disappointing Pacers seasons in a row that Oshae Brissett was a bright spot. Bringing him in in 2020-21 was one of the few positives that came from Nate Bjorkgren’s first and last season coaching the Pacers.

Brissett being more and more of a factor as the 2021-22 season went along was one of the few reasons to look forward to Pacers games, but there were some shortcomings as well.

What went right for Brissett throughout this season for the Indiana Pacers?

As mentioned above, the most important part of what he brought this year was availability. Brissett led the Indiana Pacers with 67 games played, and at one point was the only available player that was also on the 2020-21 Pacers roster.

The funniest part of leading the team in games played this year is that he was also the only player to qualify for the team leader in per-game stats. So by default, Oshae will go down in the record books as having led the 2021-22 Indiana Pacers in every statistical category possible!

Oshae Brissett’s season stats: 9.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.1 APG on 41.1/35.0/69.5 shooting splits.

Though his season average for minutes played was 23.3 per game, that’s mostly dragged down by a befuddling start to the year from Rick Carlisle. Despite showing promise at a position the Pacers desperately needed during the last month of the 2020-21 season, Brissett inexplicably played in just 12 of the first 23 games and only broke double-digit minutes in three of those.

After that point, Brissett missed just four of 59 games the rest of the way and averaged 26.0 minutes per contest.

The stats in that stretch aren’t too much different than his season averages (10.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.2 APG on 41.1/35.5/71.3 shooting splits), but he was consistently one of the more impactful players on the floor thanks to his ability to play both forward positions.

That versatility was extremely important to an Indiana Pacers team that was in constant flux after the trade deadline. Even with so much change, how many players on the Pacers in the last couple years have been capable of something like this highlight?

In the 24 games after the February 10th deadline, Brissett averaged 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and shot 42/36/73 in 30.9 minutes per game. That’s an extremely encouraging level of production for a player that was out of the rotation to start the year, and speaks volumes to what he may be able to do in a bigger role.

Considering Oshae is only 23 years old and has only 88 career NBA games under his belt, there’s plenty of room for growth and optimism moving forward.

What went wrong for Brissett this season?

Shooting regression.

In 21 games last year, Brissett shot a scolding 42.5% from deep, 48.5% from the field, and 76.9% from the line. Many people were quick to point out how much of an outlier these numbers were compared to his time in college and the G-League and with good reason.

In 113 games from 2017 to 2021, Brissett shot 39.1% from the field, 44.2% from two, 29.9% from three, and 73.3% from the line. Obviously, a 21-game sample was ripe for some correction, but thankfully Brissett’s shooting from deep fell to a league-average 35% rather than his career average of closer to 30%.

Unfortunately, the rest of his shooting saw a more significant drop. Brissett’s free throw shooting fell from 77% to just below 70%, his two-point shooting fell from 55% to 47%, and his overall field goal percentage fell from 48% to 41%.

One of the biggest culprits in his drop in overall efficiency besides the three-pointer was his finishing at the rim, which inexplicably fell from 73% last year down to just 58% this year.

Even if Brissett stays around a league-average shooter and doesn’t improve on anything from this year, he should still be considered an important piece in whatever direction the Indiana Pacers decide to go.

Ironically, the best way to retain Brissett would be to decline his team option this summer and make him a restricted free agent. If he plays out his contract next year, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent and can go wherever he chooses.

Brissett’s size, versatility, and willingness to play whatever role is asked of him make him an extremely easy fit regardless of what happens to players around him.

Add in that he’s currently the only player under contract that can comfortably play both wing positions and is younger than Chris Duarte, it’s a recipe for what will hopefully be a relationship that extends beyond just next year.

Grade: B+