Pacers Report Cards: Grading every Pacers player's overall playoff performance
By Mueez Azfar
T.J. McConnell
First Round Stats: 6 Games, 18 MPG, 9.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 1 TOV, 1.3 FPG 43.6/25/100 Splits on 49.4% TS
Second Round Stats: 7 Games, 20.6 MPG, 11.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 1.4 TOV, 1.4 FPG 51.3/28.6/100 Splits on 53.7% TS
Conference Finals Stats: 4 Games, 24.1 MPG, 15 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.3 TOV, 2 FPG 50/28.6/66.7 Splits on 53% TS
Overall Stats: 17 Games, 20.5 MPG, 11.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 5.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 1.2 TOV, 1.5 FPG 48.6/26.9/86.7 Splits on 52.2% TS
T.J. McConnell came a long way from getting DNPs to start the season. Heading into the playoffs, McConnell was penciled in to be Indiana's backup point guard and do the same thing he did all season; be a pest, throw timely assists, and make his patented leaning mid-range jumper.
This would take a while to materialize, as McConnell's first five playoff games weren't anything special. If anything, he looked downright unplayable to start the playoffs and nothing like the do-it-all pest on both ends that he was in the regular season.
However, when he bounced back, the whole arena felt it. After five games of subpar play, McConnell exploded for 20 points on 7/9 shooting and 2/2 from deep along with nine assists and four steals to give Indiana the boost they needed to win Game 6 and the series.
From that point on, McConnell essentially did not have a bad game for the rest of the playoffs. His second-half spurt in Game 2 almost propelled Indiana to a win before he was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter, and his defense on Jalen Brunson, both of the help and 1-on-1 kind, did just enough to give Indiana control of the series for good.
Despite not being able to hit many threes, except for his 2/2 outing in Game 4, McConnell was near-perfect for the Knicks, as he shot 51% from the field with nearly all of his shots having an absurdly high degree of difficulty.
McConnell performed quite well to start the Boston series, leading to many people stating that he should get the starting point guard role after Tyrese Haliburton was ruled out for Games 3 and 4. Despite still coming off the bench, McConnell still played 29 minutes in Game 3 and 25 in Game 4, by far his highest of the postseason.
He responded with his best performance yet, scoring 23 points on 10/17 shooting in Game 3 with nine rebounds and six assists, followed up with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists in Game 4, doing everything in his power to make sure Indiana went down swinging.
In the end, despite the sweep, McConnell showed exactly what he could do given the opportunity, and validated the decision to keep him on the team through the youth movement. Like Nembhard, he is also eligible for an extension this offseason, so don't be surprised if you see a deal to keep him in Blue and Gold for the remainder of his career, like how Chad Buchanan stated.