Is Pacers Nation Worried About Danny Granger?
by dbcb on Feb 2, 2010 10:15 PM EST
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Lets just start with true, straight to the point statements:
Danny Granger has been very disappointing so far this season and does not look like the franchise player we signed to a nice fat contract last off season.
His shooting percentage is by far the worst of his career.
His 3pt shoot percentage is the worst it has been since his rookie season.
That statement is 100% true in my opinion. The real questions are:
1. Why?
2. Should we be worried that this is the Danny Granger we have designated our franchise player?
After the jump, a couple thoughts on both... and of course a poll.
Why?
There are a few possible explanations for his poor (for him) play. Some are more "upbeat" I guess you could say and some are much more cynical.
1. His team is even worse than last year.
The fact is, Granger has no co-star. He has no one on this team to take off any pressure. But, the same could be said about last year though right? Well, no. Last year he had 2 decent point guards: TJ Ford and J. Jack. TJ was MUCH better than he was this year and JJ was a veteran presence who could take pressure off of Granger both could set up Granger with easier buckets. Earl Watson and AJ Price just don't give to this team what Ford and Jack did last year. Price is a 2nd round pick rookie and Watson has a PER of 10 ish which is just downright awful.
2. He isn't 100% healthy.
He started the year hurt. He finally took time off and he came back quicker than expected. WAY quicker. This could explain why he is settling for so many jumpers and could explain why his shot is off: he just doesn't have the lift and explosiveness he had last year because his heel hurts.
3. It is just a bad year.
It happens. He could just be having an off half year.
4. He isn't as good as he was last year.
He could frankly just not be as good as he was last year. He could be a an 18ish pg scorer not a 25pg scorer. LAST year could have been the aberration, not this year.
5. He got his contract, now he doesn't care.
This happens too. I don't think he is that type of player, but its a possibility. Wouldn't be the first time in NBA history.
6. Scouts are more focused on him because of last year and have found a weakness.
He broke outlast year as a star. Naturally, this means he is goign to get more focus from opposing scouts and coaches. They are simply adjusting to the threat of Granger and Granger is not used to it and struggling because of it.
I will stop there. Post some of your ideas in the comments.
Am I concerned?
No, not yet. He has improved every single year in the league. This obviously points to him being a gym rat who wants to improve each year. I really think his team is just so bad that the game plan is "stop Granger at all costs, let Murphy beat you." I also don't really believe he is 100% healthy. He should have been shut down an extra few weeks just as a precaution.
Now, if this were to continue for another year, then I would be worried. But not yet. I don't think we should crucify him (like some of you are doing) just yet.
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Players have struggles. Reggie Miller, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan all had their low points and everyone forgot about them because of the other 95% of the times when they were great. You can thank O’Brien for his offensive struggles with his idiotic offensive system. He seemed to play a lot smarter and more dedicated with O’Brien gone and Lester Connor at the helm. We NEED a new coach. Maybe these players will give a damn.
I think it's a combination of all the above ...
personally I am tired of seeing our so-called superstar sulk.
Does Kobe sulk … NO! he get pissed and demand more from his team and management!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Batman need a WHAM or a POW or something from his pops to get his-ass in gear.
He grew up poor now has some change in his pocket.
Team sucks.
Last year he had a consistent point guard delivering the ball (J JACK) and now he doesn’t.
Build around Roy Hibbert!
The team is horrible
That’s the real problem. Danny is trying too hard, and that makes him less effective. He needs to relax and just play his game. He knows he’s the only good player, so he tries too hard. When he tries too hard he is less effective. When he’s less effective, the team gets worse. When the team gets worse they lose more often. When the lose often, Danny tries even harder. It’s a vicious cycle. Also, I personally don’t think he’s 100% healthy.
I think it’s just terrible for him to be around O’Brien. I just picture a little demon on Danny’s shoulder that looks like Jim O’Brien that just whispers in his ear for him to shoot 3’s constantly. We need a coach that will tell him that he’s too athletic and too long to not work his way to the basket.
Yes…. exactly. But I think he can be even better. I think Danny could have an extremely dangerous post game. I think he could flourish with a turn around jumper. Being down low would most likely help his rebounds per game and maybe even his assists per game. I don’t know how O’Brien doesn’t realize his system will never work. Hell if we played Lester Conner’s type of basketball I think TJ Ford would even play really well. TJ is in the worst system possible for his game.
I agree with that sentiment
I agree with your statement about DG sulking during games. I was watching the game on the League Pass and even the Toronto commentators noticed it. One of them (I can’t recall his name) commented on how Danny shakes his head whenever one of his teammates misses a shot or doesn’t pass them the ball. He also made the comment that you don’t really have room to criticize your teammates when you yourself are playing like crap. I would say that Danny has probably been setback somewhat by his injury, and he also probably didn’t believe that the team would be in this kind of shape. I think if he wants this team to be effective, he has to be more concerned with his team winning and his teammates doing well, rather than his stats. I love the guy, but after watching him this year, he definitely has some growing up left to do. Anyway, long time reader, first time poster, I hope to continue joining in these discussions in the future.
There should be a 3rd option on that poll
Danny can be a really nice piece. But is he really going to be the best player on an NBA champ?
To me Danny Granger was better when he was the 2nd option. The he can use his passing skills to involve more people.
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "
I think this discussion is so hard cause Danny isn’t necessarily a number one player on a team…. I think he’s a “1B” player. Meaning he’s borderline a top player but he’s just not there.
I totally agree.
Though, I think if you had a PG who was a 1 or 2 and a 3 big guy it would make Danny a 1.
25 PPG.
You don’t just overachieve. There was clearly something there when he was scoring 25 PPG for 82 games. He IS a number 1 player. Give him a number 2 player and he gets some relief from the defense.
You guys seem to forget he’s hurt and still scoring 22.
You set him up with even a decent PG, say Andre Miller.. and a big man like even Brendan Haywood, maybe a little better than that.. playoffs doesn’t sound crazy.
Yea… it’s not a question if he can put a team on his back we just may not get the leadership from him. And I say may cause: One, I don’t know the situation cause I’m not there: And two, Even if he isn’t the leader we could use right now he can mature. Once again I’m sorry that I’m beatin a dead horse but this all goes back to the coaching staff. Danny should not be getting desperate and taking these three’s and yet O’Brien encourages it. We need a Tony Dungy type of coach, a guy who leads by example… now I don’t know if there is one out there right now but that’s but we need…. and most importantly… that’s what Danny needs.
If you’ve lost faith in Danny Granger, you are a dumb fan. You don’t know basketball. Who is the Pacers #2 option, Troy Murphy? Roy Hibbert? Brandon Rush? LOL. That’s exactly what teams coming into Indiana say: ‘LOL’ Because if they stop Granger, they stop the Indiana Pacers. The fact that Granger is still putting up 22+ PPG INJURED is a major statement about how valuable he really is to this team, and what kind of basketball player he is.
You know, nobody is going to agree with me, but here it goes:
LeBron James. The man is the face of the NBA, best player in the league.. Kobe might be a little better, but what the hell. Cavs fans and everyone on ESPN say that he has no supporting cast. Bullshit. Maurice Williams is a borderline allstar and he’s certainly better than this poor excuse for a PG unit we’ve got in the overpaid, overhyped TJ Ford, joke of a Free Agency product Earl Watson, and a 2nd-round rookie in AJ Price. The team runs through the PG.. Cleveland’s got the edge. Anthony Parker/Boobie Gibson/Delonte West are all better than Rush. I’ll admit that Dahntay Jones is good, but he’s still not the shooter any of the Cavs’ trio is. JMoon and Hickson aren’t much better than Murphy, but he’s still slow and white. They’re both so much more athletic than Troy and Moon is a monster defensively (yeah, Hickson’s fat and slow but still more athletic than a white guy). Shaq may be overpaid, but he’s determined. And he and Varejao perfectly complement each other to greatly dominate Hibbert and Foster, as nice a surprise as Hibbert has been this season, he’s still nothing special defensively. And again, Foster’s white..
So as dominant as LeBron seems, Granger could be the exact same way if he even had an Anderson Varejao or Maurice Williams.. Not TJ Ford and Roy Hibbert.
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