This article, as opposed to most of the other ones posted in my tenure as Site Expert at Eight Points, Nine Seconds, will be far more personal than most others. No, I won't be discussing my personal relationship to the Indiana Pacers or even anything going on in my day-to-day life. All I have to say is that in this job, there will be moments in which you give a take, one that you fully believe in, and it is your responsibility as a writer and as a person to keep track of it and to update accordingly.
There have been pieces written this offseason that have aged spectacularly. While many were focusing on the Pacers depth as a point of strength, I called it a liability. When most outlets were thinking of the Ivica Zubac trade as a mistake, I made sure to highlight that the deal was a steal based in no small part to its timing.
All of that is to say, last night Braden Smith was one of six players active for the Pacers. After a summer of calling him a bad prospect who would likely never be an NBA caliber player, it's important to say this:
He looked really, really good in Monday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
One night wonder, or start of a legend
While any player can have an excellent single game, it does still feel important to make that admission at this point in time. Even if this is the best game in Smith's career, it was clearly unfair to say he would likely never be a difference-maker when he was one in his first shot at extended minutes.
We won't know until he plays more, but this is a very, very impressive start for Smith's career as a pro.
The Pacers have so many injuries – truthfully, the only reason Smith did play was because he was only one of six Pacers eligible to play – that we should expect to see the Purdue Boilermaker quite a bit more over the coming few weeks.
With both TJ McConnell and Tyrese Haliburton still out with hamstring injuries, Smith is the only pure point guard on the roster, and his showing against the Hawks proves that he deserves more opportunity as those two work their way back.
The Pacers should have their own concerns about how this season goes, but as Jalen Slawson and Quenton Jackson can attest to, these gap years are great breeding grounds for breakout seasons from unheralded prospects. Smith could be the next in that recent Indiana tradition.
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