Indiana Pacers: Ranking their projected backcourt over the next 5 years
By Joe Lyon
No. 5 Pacers vs. Pistons
The Detroit Pistons have a pair of high-round draft picks that are still incredibly young in Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Both have had some amount of success to date, but much of their ranking as a top future backcourt relies on future growth potential. Ivey being a rookie has merely scratched the surface of his potential while Cunningham has shown star potential thus far in his career. Cunningham and Ivey are also hurt in the ranking by the current injury woes they are experiencing. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Haliburton and Mathurin: 38.4 PT, 8.3 RB, 12.7 AST, 2.4 STL, 46% FG, 40% 3PT
Cunningham and Ivey: 36.1 PT, 11.1 RB, 10.3 AST, 1.9 STL, 42% FG, 30% 3PT
Immediately what jumps off the page is how the Pacers young backcourt has the advantage in assists, steals, and efficiency in shooting percentage. The Pistons backcourt struggles from deep in comparison to the young Pacers backcourt.
Given that these two teams are so familiar with each other both playing in the central division of the eastern conference, it will be fun to watch these two backcourts square off on a regular basis over the next 5 years. Both cores have tremendous growth potential given the youth across the board.
However, given the advantage in efficiency and lack of injury history to date, give the advantage to the Pacers in this head to head matchup of potential.