The fate of Indiana Pacers’ Chris Duarte is unclear….at best

First and Foremost, I am not explicitly saying the Pacers are Will Ferrell and 50 Cent’s favorite basketball team, but in an all-time celebrity fan draft those guys are both first rounders (other first rounders include the likes of Aubrey Graham, Justin Timberlake, Jack Nicholson, etc.)

Aside from claiming celebrity fans there are still a few things the Pacer’s need to take care of in the (at the time of writing this) last 13 games. Obviously there is still a chance for a play-in push and while maybe that would be good for cultural purposes, it would not be great for our draft selection. Winning to me, is never a bad thing and in a season where we have already exceeded expectations, getting rewarded with a top selection sounds better than an 8th seed. However, I still think there are some things that need to be assessed in this regular season that would give great insight in how the team goes about their offseason no matter what pick they are at (because the lack of a strong wing is going to continue to glare). One of those things is what the heck do we have in one Chris Duarte. Did he peak as a rookie? Have we seen him make his last buzzer beater? Is he a valuable trade piece or is he a part of the long term future?

Chris Duarte has been a lot of things this season.

Some might say he has been a disappointment when compared to his rookie season (and Rookie of the Year bid he had for a bit). But I’m not quite sure that’s fair to him in just his second year and with less than 100 games played (He’s currently at 99 so I can get away with this) he has still showed more than some at this point in their career.

The shooting has definitely been worrisome as he’s gone from 37% last year to 31% this year. Everyone remembers the numerous buzzer beaters last season but more importantly there was way more dependence on Chris to take and make shots before Buddy Hield got to town. Which is why its unfair to judge Chris this year compared to last. There is a guy in front of him that is currently leading the league in 3-pointers that took so many opportunities away overnight. You cannot expect similar production with less opportunities there’s just no way around it. Instead, Duarte this year has been assigned tougher defensive assignments (has played way more forward this year compared to last year where he was primarily a 2) and is being asked to make way more decisions as opposed to just catching and shooting. How you feel about his defense is up to you (you could make 100 arguments for the Pacer’s defense as a whole) but the trust in his decision making is real and Carlisle knows that putting the ball in his hands will rarely result in a bad play. Now in terms of what these new responsibilities mean, is that the coaching staff is developing him and want him to to be more than what he showed last season. The question is, where will that progression lead to?

Duarte was drafted to be more than a 3&D player.

Contrary to what the NBA might say, no team drafts a guy to JUST be a 3&D player. If they settle into that role GREAT! It means they have a stable floor and every team needs those guys to be successful… scratch that, every team needs those guys to be consistent. But, if a guy can play that great defense on multiple positions AND create for himself? That leads to more plays being called for them, which turns into more minutes and better production.

I think Duarte has the potential to do way more stuff offensively than stand in the corner and wait for the ball to come to him. He knows when to attack closeouts and draw contact and has shown the ability to not necessarily play make but make decisions on how the offense flows. He is young but he’s also smart that’s one of the reasons he was drafted and why so many already contending teams were looking at him. We want a guy who is dangerous not just as a shooter but as an offensive player and I think Chris Duarte can be AT LEAST a really good role player if given the opportunity to grow.

Every moment that Duarte gets into a rhythm he sustains some sort of injury

Now with opportunity obviously requires availability. It seems that every moment that Duarte gets into a rhythm he sustains some sort of injury. (He just went out with a sprained ankle as I am typing this you can’t make that up) This was seen and felt even more so this year with the lack of options on the wing. It was Duarte’s early injury in November that started this trend and I am not so sure he’s ever properly gotten his footing since. Especially when that injury is what allowed for the emergence of Andrew Nembhard as the starter. (Rick Carlisle LOVES having 2 ball-handlers on the court) This is also important to note as while so many guys have had the benefit of playing alongside Haliburton and excelling because of it, we haven’t seen much of Duarte as the secondary guard alongside him. Instead we’ve seen him play mostly alongside TJ McConnell who at times seems to only want to give Chris the ball with 5 seconds left on the shot clock. With only so many games left it might be okay to try some new lineups (pending health) and I think one of the great benefits of having a floor-raiser of Haliburton’s caliber is you can really find out what you have with a guy much quicker.

I have a lot of Duarte bucks (official currency of Duarte fans everywhere) and I am not ready to cash them in yet. He was mentioned a lot in trade IDEAS (not the same as rumors and I’m a fan so I saw all of the ideas) and look how that panned out for Myles Turner. He was an older rookie so with that came the perception of a limited ceiling, but that ceiling is still higher than what lot of 25 year old players have. I think we know what we have with Chris Duarte and that is potential, and a lot of it.

Indiana Pacers: 50 greatest Pacers players [2023 update]

The Indiana Pacers are a storied franchise, even though many casual NBA fans may not realize it. But back in the ABA days, the Pacers were a force.