Different Players, Same Pacers.
What you may have missed in the Pacers 16 point comeback to stun the Cavaliers 116-115
With everything that has happened to Pacers fans the last few weeks, tonight felt like a breath of fresh air. With not a lot of expectations for next season, the biggest thing I want to see as a fan is for our young guys to show what they got and have a chance to develop. I promise myself every year I won’t overreact to Summer League, but I loved what I saw out of the guys tonight. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few guys managed to crack the rotation this year.
Kam Jones
The game tips off and 6 seconds in Kam Jones draws an offensive foul. Pacers take a second to get the ball before the inbound and Kam is skipping around waiting. Although he didn’t fill up the stat sheet he still played decently well and you could feel the energy he was ready to bring. Biggest thing I noticed was his vision and willingness as a passer. One possession that stood out to me was him catching it on the block and touch passing it to Enrique Freeman as the defender slid over and getting the easy assist.
He seemed to be able to get into the paint anytime he wanted, he took a few layups that barely missed and a few more drives where he kicked it back out. His first step and strength allows him to get downhill easy, I would love to see him attempt more drives though. He only played 20 minutes today which makes me believe his hamstring was flaring up and could explain why he didn’t keep attacking. He also played a few really physical, strong possessions on defense that led to transition points the other way.
Taelon Peter
Let me go ahead and make my crazy claim of the article. Taelon Peter will crack the rotation at some point in the season. I don’t think it will be a big role but instead something like what Ben Sheppard saw his rookie year. Taelon looked like a NBA player tonight and would fit right into the Pacers system. He finished 4/5 from the field tonight with his one miss being an open, but very deep three point shot. Two of those buckets were dunks, he also tallied 2 steals and played great on ball defense throughout the game. Jaylon Tyson on the Cavs finished with 20 points and 12 assists and really just picked the Pacers apart. With a minute left in the game down one, Taelon steals the ball from him and goes down and dunks it to finally give the Pacers a lead.
A few possessions later Taelon gets matched up on ball again, this time against Tyrese Proctor who he forces into a bad shot and miss. In a one point win, Taelon Porter finished with a game high +12. Plus-minus isn’t a good stat on it’s own but when watching Taelon’s game you see he is actually making a huge impact. His other two buckets came from a great cut where he caught his defender sleeping and a slow, at his own pace drive where he finished off the glass. He didn’t finish with an assist but willingly passed even though he wasn’t getting many touches. If his shot can fall at a decent clip and his defense translates he could very well take some minutes this year.
Quenton Jackson
The best performance of the night for me goes to Quenton Jackson, someone else who could also crack the rotation this year. Quenton finished with 24 points and 2 steals on 80% from the field and spearheaded the comeback, scoring 12 in the 3rd quarter. When he wasn’t casually jumping over teammate Kam Jones, Quenton was… everywhere else on the court. Seriously, I wonder how many NBA guards are as athletic as QJ. Every drive he took he looked like he was jumping off of a trampoline.
The biggest highlight of the night he had was late in the 3rd quarter when he stole the ball, drove against two on the break and deaccelerated between the two to make the tough bucket. His energy like Kam, was electric tonight. He is currently on a two-way deal and will be a restricted free agent next year. He is a player to consider with TJ turning 34 at the end of the season.
Johnny Furphy
Furphy only got to play 9 minutes tonight before leaving the game after taking an elbow to the face. The term “sneaky athletic” doesn’t even work for Johnny Furphy, he’s actually athletic. He started off the game with a quick rip and drive for a score and then another rip through that led to a paint touch and kick out for a RayJ Dennis 3. On both of these moves he looked much quicker and noticeably bigger. I think him being noticeably bigger was reinforced a few minutes before he left the game when he was caught down low on defense and walled up to force two misses in the paint.
He looked a little antsy at times and nervous with three turnovers early. However it didn’t seem to bother him on his shot. Johnny Furphy looked down a defender for his first three pointer and was not phased at all. His second came from an open look in the corner. Johnny has the size and the shot, if he can continue to fill out his frame and develop the Pacers could have another great rotational piece waiting for Tyrese Haliburton’s return next year.