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Roy Hibbert has seen his production take a steep decline as the season has progressed.
He was a leading candidate for the Most Improved Player award after he averaged 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks and shot 49.1% from the field in November, but the fall has been precipitous.
In five games during the month of January, Hibbert is shooting just 37% and averaging only nine points and eight rebounds for Indiana.
Over the weekend he admitted to Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star that he planned to seek out a sports psychologist to help with his on-court struggles. Hibbert, incredibly polite and unassuming in a profession that breeds overconfidence, has been in a funk for almost seven weeks.
“It is mental,” Hibbert told Wells. “I need to keep working to get through this.”
It’s no coincidence that the Pacers have struggled along with Hibbert.
Since Dec. 1st, Indiana is 7-13 after beginning the season 9-7.
Over that 20-game stretch, Hibbert has averaged 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 41.2% shooting. His minutes have declined slightly, but his field goal attempts have not.
He had seven double-doubles in his first 16 games, but has recorded just four in the 20 games since. Lost in his shooting woes have been his difficulty handling the basketball. Known as a deft passer for a player his size, Hibbert has turned the ball over 2.19 times a game this season, including a forgettable performance against the Wizards on Dec. 31 when he had seven turnovers.
His field goal percentage (44.6%) is even lower than it was during his rookie season (47.1%) and is lower than his career-high last season as well (49.5%).
More positively, Hibbert has maintained a PER of 16.2 (slightly above average) and his total rebounding percentage has jumped to 15.9% this season. However, his numbers are still several points lower than the league’s best rebounders and Hibbert had a 16.1 PER as a rookie.
The center’s struggles are especially disconcerting given all the work he put in this past offseason.
While his workouts with Hall of Famer Bill Walton may have been slightly overexposed, he entered the season as a completely different athlete. I use that term specifically because the once-lumbering big man now embodies the word.
In addition to an outwardly physical transformation, Hibbert put himself in a better chance to succeed by getting his exercise-induced asthma over control.
“I take an Advair twice a day, once in the morning and once again at night. In emergency situations, I have an inhaler in case I need some extra relief or anything like that -- I don’t have asthma attacks,” he told RealGM.
“I also make sure my conditioning is right. If I play fewer minutes than usual, I’ll do extra conditioning work.”
Remember those times when four Pacers would on one side of the court setting up the offense while Hibbert slowly arrive from the defensive end?
They have been all but nonexistent this season.
Unfortunately, his success in November may have induced his recent mental anguish. He was one of the league’s success stories two months ago, but he’s almost been written off at this point.
We must remember he has already overcome critics of not only his physicality but also his ability to transfer his success in college to the professional game.
Earlier in his career, Hibbert would be able to gauge his playing time based on who the Pacers were playing, but this season O’Brien has often demanded that players continue feeding the center in the post despite his struggles.
“In years past I would think that I’d be used more and less based on matchups, but this year my minutes have been more consistent,” he said.
“If I’m having a good game, I’m usually on the court a little more. It used to be that if I was playing against a smaller, quicker guy I wouldn’t be out there as much, but this year it’s simply a matter of me getting the job done.”
Hibbert hasn’t had very many good games over the last seven weeks, but the Pacers are sticking with him as they keep an eye on the future.
He was a leading candidate for the Most Improved Player award after he averaged 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks and shot 49.1% from the field in November, but the fall has been precipitous.
In five games during the month of January, Hibbert is shooting just 37% and averaging only nine points and eight rebounds for Indiana.
Over the weekend he admitted to Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star that he planned to seek out a sports psychologist to help with his on-court struggles. Hibbert, incredibly polite and unassuming in a profession that breeds overconfidence, has been in a funk for almost seven weeks.
“It is mental,” Hibbert told Wells. “I need to keep working to get through this.”
It’s no coincidence that the Pacers have struggled along with Hibbert.
Since Dec. 1st, Indiana is 7-13 after beginning the season 9-7.
Over that 20-game stretch, Hibbert has averaged 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 41.2% shooting. His minutes have declined slightly, but his field goal attempts have not.
He had seven double-doubles in his first 16 games, but has recorded just four in the 20 games since. Lost in his shooting woes have been his difficulty handling the basketball. Known as a deft passer for a player his size, Hibbert has turned the ball over 2.19 times a game this season, including a forgettable performance against the Wizards on Dec. 31 when he had seven turnovers.
His field goal percentage (44.6%) is even lower than it was during his rookie season (47.1%) and is lower than his career-high last season as well (49.5%).
More positively, Hibbert has maintained a PER of 16.2 (slightly above average) and his total rebounding percentage has jumped to 15.9% this season. However, his numbers are still several points lower than the league’s best rebounders and Hibbert had a 16.1 PER as a rookie.
The center’s struggles are especially disconcerting given all the work he put in this past offseason.
While his workouts with Hall of Famer Bill Walton may have been slightly overexposed, he entered the season as a completely different athlete. I use that term specifically because the once-lumbering big man now embodies the word.
In addition to an outwardly physical transformation, Hibbert put himself in a better chance to succeed by getting his exercise-induced asthma over control.
“I take an Advair twice a day, once in the morning and once again at night. In emergency situations, I have an inhaler in case I need some extra relief or anything like that -- I don’t have asthma attacks,” he told RealGM.
“I also make sure my conditioning is right. If I play fewer minutes than usual, I’ll do extra conditioning work.”
Remember those times when four Pacers would on one side of the court setting up the offense while Hibbert slowly arrive from the defensive end?
They have been all but nonexistent this season.
Unfortunately, his success in November may have induced his recent mental anguish. He was one of the league’s success stories two months ago, but he’s almost been written off at this point.
We must remember he has already overcome critics of not only his physicality but also his ability to transfer his success in college to the professional game.
Earlier in his career, Hibbert would be able to gauge his playing time based on who the Pacers were playing, but this season O’Brien has often demanded that players continue feeding the center in the post despite his struggles.
“In years past I would think that I’d be used more and less based on matchups, but this year my minutes have been more consistent,” he said.
“If I’m having a good game, I’m usually on the court a little more. It used to be that if I was playing against a smaller, quicker guy I wouldn’t be out there as much, but this year it’s simply a matter of me getting the job done.”
Hibbert hasn’t had very many good games over the last seven weeks, but the Pacers are sticking with him as they keep an eye on the future.
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