An unfortunate Indiana Pacers game bombarded by the Pelicans Friday evening was the unavailability of Ben Sheppard. The rookie missed the game due to illness. With him and Doug McDermott out, it opened up minutes for Jarace Walker, who played pretty well.
Still, Sheppard has become a valuable part of the Pacers’ rotation. The rookie shooting guard earned playing time earlier in the year thanks to his defense. Yet he wasn’t firmly in the rotation because he still couldn’t hit the open threes he was getting from TJ McConnell and Tyrese Haliburton.
Sheppard fixed the issue of missing open shots. He actually hit all of his threes against the Pelicans on Wednesday. His efforts on defense give the Pacers more front court versatility off the bench. This is also true when Andrew Nembhard doesn’t make his shots.
Shooting is essential on this team with Haliburton as the leader. He is the NBA’s passer and will find guys open before they even know they are open. The Pacers need guys who can hit the open threes that Haliburton provides them. Aaron Nesmith did it extremely well in the starting lineup.
McConnell does the same thing for the bench unit. His probing in the lane makes people collapse on him and he can throw it back to open guys on the perimeter. Sheppard couldn’t hit those three points before the All-Star break and that’s why his playing time wasn’t as high.
Now that Sheppard has fixed his shooting, he is now a key part of this bench unit. He is firmly in the rotation and plays an important role in the future of this team. Sheppard is the main reason Indiana felt comfortable enough to send Buddy Hield to Philadelphia.
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If he continues to hit his three-pointers and plays the solid defense he is known for, he has a chance to win the starting two-guard position against Nembhard in some matchups. He just needs to continue to develop and do the little things to improve as an NBA player.
