ICYMI: Three Pacers in SI Top 100
Over the weekend, Sports Illustrated released their list of the top 100 players in the NBA which featured three Indiana Pacers players.
The Rankings
Lowest on the list at #80 was Pacers point guard George Hill – his first appearance – and deservedly so after stepping up into a major role due to Paul George‘s injury in the offseason. According to Pacers.com, Hill averaged career highs in points, rebounds, and assists last season, and while there’s no question those numbers directly relate to his usage, the Broad Ripple native still deserves credit for helping the Pacers in their progress towards the playoffs last season.
Next on the list and new to the Pacers is Monta Ellis, coming in at #57 in the top 100. SI justified Ellis in the bottom 50 by saying that amidst his “awkward fit” is a player that can give his team 20 points per game and work the opposition “into a tizzy.” In the past, Ellis hasn’t exactly been a perfect fit with coaches and teammates, but he’s a hard worker who will contribute a lot to Indiana’s offense this season.
Last but not least, Paul George, who was ranked #20 in the league by SI. Before Pacers fans get into a tizzy of their own, let’s examine their reasoning –
It’s hard to blame Sports Illustrated for their reasoning, really. It’s both true that: A) George hasn’t reached his full potential, and B) that his injury is potentially career-altering. George just turned 25 years old this past May and therefore has a lot of time left on the court assuming he stays healthy the rest of the way through – but the injury suffered in Las Vegas no question has an impact on his game, now it’s all about how he returns.
The Verdicts
Putting George Hill at #80 is fair when you consider the fact that he is ahead of other point guards like Deron Williams and Ricky Rubio, and with Brandon Knight directly in front of him it’s probably an accurate assessment of Indy’s Hometown Hero. However, a combination of things will affect how Hill performs this season – PG’s full return, the addition of Monta Ellis, the “faster, smaller” setup, etc. – and it will be interesting to see how he comes out and plays on the floor and whether or not the contributions he made last year will stick again this coming season.
Monta Ellis is next, and he moved up 9 spots (#66 -> #57) from 2014 to now. Ellis is in the company of Jrue Holiday, Derrick Rose, and Demar Derozan, and in fact, is ranked ahead of all three. Holiday, Rose, and Derozan all suffered injury trouble of some sort last season that set them back, but Ellis is out of that company and more in the company of vets like Luol Deng, who is still finding a way to contribute 10+ years into his career. It remains to be seen and is thus difficult to predict whether or not Ellis will bring to the table exactly what the Pacers are looking for, but it’s still a promising situation and a bargain from a contract standpoint.
Finally, Paul George. I’m in the same boat with SI – finding it difficult to rank the Cali native super high, and for the same reasons. George missed the list last year (obviously) but was ranked #25 the year before when he led Indiana to the Eastern Conference finals. Another complication with this list is that it has no bias positionally. For example, Dwight Howard is one spot ahead of George, while Al Horford is one spot behind, but how can one justify the contributions of three completely different sets of players except but relative to their team?
Should George have been ranked higher? Possibly. But Jimmy Butler is just two spots ahead of him and as much as Pacers fans don’t want to admit it – there’s a chance Butler ends his NBA career with more to show for than George, but again it’s far too early to speculate. Some will say that Carmelo Anthony at #15 is justification enough for George’s place to be totally out of wack, but PG will have to prove his game this year to send him shooting higher up the rankings for next season.
Check back to Ink on Indy for more Pacers news – preseason starts Oct. 3 v. New Orleans.