Indiana Pacers Preview: Roy Hibbert

Jan 5, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Indiana Pacers center

(55) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers are heading into a very intriguing 2014-15 season, in which big man Roy Hibbert is going to be given every opportunity to step up. He has been unable to do that over the past couple of seasons, but there will be absolutely no excuses after this season. Frank Vogel’s offense is going to run through the post without having Lance Stephenson or Paul George on the perimeter, and Hibbert is going to be a much larger piece of the offense than he has been in recent years.

So what type of season should Pacers fans be expecting to see from Hibbert?

Quite simply, this season is going to go one of two ways for the 7’2″ center. It could either be a major success where he puts up career numbers and turns his career back around, or he could come up with another major disappointment and show up to be the bust that many labeled him last season. The Pacers are looking to figure out exactly what kind of player Hibbert is this season, and putting the ball in his hands more will give him the opportunity to prove himself.

One of his main issues with the Pacers’ offense over the past couple of years has been not touching the basketball enough. He made comments towards the end of last season about “selfish players” on the team, and not getting the number of touches that he wanted. There has always been excuses for Hibbert’s poor play outside of his playoff performance from last season.

Hibbert currently has two years left on his contract, but does have a player option after this year. It’s likely that he will opt into the $15 million season that he would have next year, but the Pacers could look to move him if he proves that he is still capable of playing a major role when put in the right situation. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about him this season, but there are also reasons to be wary about him.

Last season with the Pacers in 81 regular season games, Hibbert averaged 10.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. He placed second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year award voting, and has been the anchor on defense over the last few seasons. It seemed at the end of last year that he had lost his passion defensively, which ended up being the main reason that he didn’t win the award.

Needless to say, this is going to be a make or break season that decides the rest of Hibbert’s career. The expectations for him are at an all-time low, and he will have to put in a lot of hard work and consistent play to bring those back up. Indiana has stuck with him despite all of the disappointment from last year, and coach Vogel is confident in his ability to turn things back around.

It’s certainly going to be an interesting season for the Pacers, and especially for Hibbert. He will finally get to play the way that he has been wanting to, and will have to put up a career number in order for Indiana to make a run at the playoffs. Indiana fans need to buckle up for what appears to be a career-altering season from Hibbert one way or the other.