Pacers Report Cards: Grading every Pacers player's Conference Finals performance
By Mueez Azfar
Obi Toppin
Stats: 4 Games, 24 MPG, 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.8 TOV, 1 FPG 58.6/50/66.7 Splits on 66.4% TS
Obi Toppin's outlook in the Conference Finals was similar to his outlook all season, but magnified.
As usual, Toppin was a scarily efficient shooter, shooting close to 60% from the field and 50% from deep in the four games. In Game 1, Toppin scored 15 points on 6/8 from the field and 1/2 from deep to go with four rebounds and two assists, which was one of his best games of the playoffs. However, his defense remained a problem for the entire series.
Toppin's flaws as a defender are not due to physical shortcomings, far from it. In fact, his frame and length are why he is a good post defender. However, that may very well be the only good defensive aspect of his defense. By far Toppin's worst defensive trait is his over-aggressiveness. It was hard to see a pump fake in the Celtics series that Toppin didn't bite for, and his tendency to over-commit on certain plays either led to unnecessary fouls or defenders spinning past him for an easy bucket.
This offseason, whether he returns to Indiana or not, Toppin needs to work on his defensive discipline. Already a good offensive player, with enough shooting and athleticism for two players, Toppin needs to work on not reaching, biting for every pump fake, and overall moving his feet better.
Perhaps his improvement on the other end can give Indiana the extra defensive push they need to stay at the top of the East, but perhaps not. As for this series, Toppin was solid but could have been better. Like I said earlier, it was a repeat of how he looked all season but magnified.