Aaron Nesmith is still a valuable part of the Indiana Pacers' success, but it's becoming increasingly more clear that he's just a complementary piece more than anything else. And this is especially the case when he doesn't have Tyrese Haliburton on the court to feed him the ball.
To be completely fair to Nesmith, he has dealt with multiple injuries this season and has played in just 34 games. And on Wednesday night, he returned from a five-game absence that was caused by an ankle sprain.
But even when he does play, he is leaving a lot to be desired.
The Vanderbilt alum is still playing with a lot of energy, but he hasn't stepped up the way the Pacers were hoping he would this season, especially on offense.
On the year, he is averaging 12.9 points while shooting 38.1% from the field and 36% from deep in 29.7 minutes. For reference, across his two seasons prior, Nesmith averaged 12.1 points on 50% shooting from the field and 42.3% from deep in 26.6 minutes.
Nesmith's efficiency has taken a big hit this season. And until Haliburton makes his return, it's unlikely that it's going to get much better from here on out.
Aaron Nesmith greatly benefits from Tyrese Haliburton's presence
Obviously everybody on the Pacers is better when Haliburton is on the court. It's just what he does.
The Wisconsin native is one of the best facilitators and playmakers in the NBA, and he makes everybody around him better because of that. Plus, he is a huge scoring threat himself, which makes it tougher for opposing defenses to zero in on the other players on the court for Indiana.
But arguably nobody misses Haliburton more than Nesmith does.
Pascal Siakam is still doing Pascal Siakam things and earned his fourth career All-Star nod this year. Andrew Nembhard has stepped up as a lead point guard and has become a much better playmaker (even though he was already a good one to begin with). And guys like Jarace Walker are still making an impact even without the star guard.
But in Nesmith's case, he is struggling, and that's largely because he's a catch-and-shoot guy who isn't getting as many opportunities this season.
Haliburton's absence hurts the South Carolina native for two reasons: 1) he isn't getting fed the ball as efficiently, and 2) defenses are zeroing in on him and making his life much more difficult.
Nesmith is a very good player overall, but he's not a shot-creator at all, and everybody is seeing that firsthand this season. He is going to remain a big part of Indiana's success as the team looks to re-enter the title picture next season. But it's obvious that he has his limitations, and they are getting exposed in a major way right now.