Many questioned the Indiana Pacers' decision to draft Taelon Peter with the 54th overall pick in last year's draft (and that includes me), because he didn't address a need and was widely expected to go undrafted. However, Peter had the best game of his NBA career against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, and he put everybody on notice.
In the win, the Liberty alum recorded 14 points (a career-high) on 5-for-11 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. He wasn't lights-out, necessarily, but there is no denying that he put his talents on full display against Brooklyn.
As it stands, it's not likely that Peter is going to have many more opportunities the rest of the way. He's stuck behind Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Kam Jones, and Quenton Jackson on the depth chart, and head coach Rick Carlisle has developed a bit of a reputation for not playing rookies often.
Still, Peter proved to everybody that he possesses a lot of talent, and he could be a player to keep an eye on moving forward.
Taelon Peter can be a great fit for the Pacers
Even if the draft pick was a questionable one on its own, there wasn't much doubt that, on paper, Peter could be a great player in Carlisle's system.
The Arkansas native was a fantastic shooter at Liberty, shooting 45.3% from deep on 4.9 attempts in his one season there, and he plays with a lot of energy and runs at a fast pace. He is also very explosive, making him a good finisher at the rim, and he is a pretty underrated defender. Chances are that he wouldn't be able to contain someone like Stephen Curry, but he plays with a lot of effort and can hold his own.
Not everything is on Peter's side, however. He is turning 24 at the end of the month, and we still don't really know which guard position he's going to play full-time. He's not a strong enough playmaker to be a point guard, but he's also a bit undersized (six-foot-three) to play shooting guard at the NBA level.
Still, the talent is there. The energy and effort are there, and if he can put it all together, he could be a mainstay in Indiana for years to come. And especially now that the Pacers no longer have Bennedict Mathurin on the roster, there could be an opportunity for Peter to prove he can provide some value in the long run.