NBA PM: Hibbert Carrying Battered Pacers

Hibbert Finding Form, Perfecting the Art of Defense

While the Indiana Pacers haven’t gotten off to the greatest of starts, center Roy Hibbert has been one of only a few bright spots for Indiana this young season.

As a player who has always run hot or cold, Hibbert has been invariably consistent to start this season, in part because he’s been the only healthy starter remaining from last year and in part because it certainly does look like he’s matured a lot as a player after losing to the Miami HEAT in the Eastern Conference Finals the last two years.

Perhaps the area where Hibbert has seen the biggest jump this year has been on offense, where he is averaging a career-high 14 points per game.

“Coach has really made a concerted effort to make sure I get some looks, but I’ve just been trying to be as aggressive as possible in certain situations and trying not to force things,” Hibbert said. “I’m not saying that since five guys are out I need to chuck up 30 shots. I just want to make sure I’m efficient.”

He’s been more efficient to start this season than he’s been in three years, shooting 47.3 percent from the field, up significantly from a career-low 43.9 percent a year ago. Still, it’s hard to deny that he’s probably getting a few more looks a game this year with Paul George, Lance Stephenson, George Hill and David West all either hurt or playing for a different team.

Despite all that, Hibbert said his role doesn’t really feel all that different this season.

“I don’t feel like there is weight on my shoulders,” Hibbert said. “I’m trying to make sure I’m efficient, and I’m sure I’d feel more weight on my shoulders if I had to take those 20, 30 shots every night, but I don’t have too.”

So despite the fact that he’s taking (and making) more shots per game than a year ago, there’s no team edict or pressure for him to do so. There is, however, every expectation that he continue to dominate on the defensive end of the floor, and so far he’s been particularly good there, blocking three shots per game, second in the league only to Anthony Davis.

At 7’2, it’s no surprise that he’s an effective shot-blocker, but there’s more to the skill than height, as Hibbert will testify.

“It’s probably the most difficult just realizing when to try to block shots, when to go straight up, when to hard foul or something like that,” he said. “So it’s something that is quick. You need to be real quick out there, so to me it’s kind of difficult. “

Not all players are created equal in terms of blocking shots, however. Hibbert admitted that some players are more challenging to defend than others.

“A couple years ago, Derrick Rose was probably one of the toughest guys (to block) because he’s so explosive that if I go straight up he usually can absorb the contact and still be able to finish the layups,” Hibbert said. “I think only him, LeBron (James) and Melo (Anthony) are tough because if I go straight up they’ll miss the layup, but then they have the body strength to stay in the same plane and get the rebound and put it right back in.”

Of course, Hibbert will only see most of those players at the rim if he helps on defense. The players he actually guards are much harder to block.

“I usually don’t block seven footers’ shots; usually help side is where I’m wanted,” he said. “Very rarely do I block my own guy’s shot.”

Whoever ends up on the wrong side of Hibbert’s defensive efforts, he definitely has gotten back on track this year. He’ll be thrilled to get some of his teammates back so the team’s wins can match his personal efforts, but for those concerned that Hibbert had debilitated permanently, fret not. So far this season, he’s playing better than ever.

Bledsoe Nearly Turned in Signed Qualifying Offer

One of the biggest stories of the offseason was the restricted free agency of Eric Bledsoe. While plenty of players before him have gone through it unscathed, coming out of the experience with tens of millions of dollars and a clearly-defined role on their current or new team.

For Bledsoe, however, the summer was an odd one, which saw Phoenix chasing after and ultimately signing point guard Isaiah Thomas, yet another high-usage ball handler who’s arguably better at scoring than distribution. When that happened, Bledsoe came to the realization that he may have to take the one-year qualifying offer a la Greg Monroe in Detroit, but thankfully for him that didn’t happen and he was able to sign a five-year, $70 million deal to remain in Phoenix.

“I was glad to stay here,” Bledsoe told Sports Illustrated. “We had a great time last year. We were winning games. I felt great about this team and the organization. I was grateful and happy to be here. They signed some guys, but I never worried about that.”

Despite what he says, he was a little worried that the long-term deal wouldn’t come through after Thomas was signed. He actually was very close to submitting his qualifying offer.

“I already signed it,” Bledsoe said. “I just didn’t send it.”

Now, of course, he’s had an up-and-down year statistically as he figures out how to share the floor and the ball Thomas and fellow point guard Goran Dragic. While he and Dragic worked well together last year, marriages typically only feature two people. Tossing in a third can complicate things.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” Bledsoe admitted. “But at the same time, I’m all about the team. Whoever gets the ball, the other guys just run the floor. We started off slow but I think we’re going to pick it up and as the season goes on.”

So far this season he’s dishing, rebounding and defending at the same rate as a year ago, but he’s scoring nearly four points per game fewer this year in only 1.5 fewer minutes per game. In other words, he may still be figuring out how to score the ball like last year, but no other part of his game has struggled. That means this adaptation to the inclusion of Thomas is perhaps further along than even Bledsoe realizes.

But the best news is that he doesn’t have to do the free agency dance all over again next summer.