Obi Toppin must improve in this area to live up to his extension

In his first season with the Indiana Pacers, forward Obi Toppin enjoyed the best campaign of his NBA career so far.

Last season, the former New York Knicks forward averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 57.3% from the field and 40.3% from the three-point line. Additionally, he appeared in all regular season games for the Pacers, starting 28 of them and averaging 21.1 minutes. Every single one of these stats was a career-best for Toppin.

In addition to his big leap statistically, Toppin drastically improved his defensive game. Though there is still a lot of room for improvement, Pacers fans should be happy with what they saw out of the Dayton alum on the defensive side of the ball.

After Toppin's career year, re-signing him this summer felt like a no-brainer. Fortunately, the Pacers front office felt the same way as the team brought him back on a new four-year, $58 million contract.

Although there is a lot of reason to be optimistic about the 26-year-old remaining in Indiana for the foreseeable future, there is a very real possibility this extension will backfire.

Toppin is a fantastic player. However, his lack of consistency on both sides of the court must be fixed for the contract extension to be worth it for the Pacers.

Obi Toppin must become more consistent if he wants to remain a key player for the Pacers

When Toppin is on his game, he can be one of the best players on the court for Indiana. He is a very well-rounded player who can score at every level on the court. Additionally, at his best, he is a very efficient scorer. However, he also has his fair share of games when he feels almost like a negative on the court.

Last season, Toppin had seven games scoring at least 20 points. However, he also had 40 games scoring in single digits. In terms of efficiency, Toppin had an impressive 55 games shooting 50% or better from the field, but he also shot the ball at a 40% rate or worse 22 times.

Furthermore, his consistency on defense is equally as important. Especially for a team like the Pacers, who are a bad defensive team overall, Toppin can continue his emergence and stand out in the rotation if he works on his defensive game.

Overall, Toppin is an asset to the Pacers and can help them in the long run. However, if he fixes his inconsistencies on the court, it will pay dividends for him and the team for a long time, especially as they inch closer to serious title contention.