He’s a pretty unbelievable talent. He’s already a great driver and a pretty good shooter. His FT% indicates that his 3PT% should improve, and he certainly seems willing to put the work in.
The biggest questions to me are:
1) How much will he improve as a playmaker? Playing alongside Halliburton means he won’t be the primary ball handler most of the time, but having the ability to set the table for others and lead the offense when Halliburton sits would be huge. In general, he’s pretty turnover prone at the moment and isn’t a very willing passer.
2) How good a defender will he be? He’s got a 6’9″ wingspan and he’s athletic, so he projects to be a good defender, but plenty of guys have the physical tools and just don’t really “get it” on that end (or don’t excise the gambling habit).
His slashing game pretty perfectly compliments Halliburton’s more perimeter and passing-oriented game, so the Pacers really look like they’re in awesome shape in the backcourt for many years to come, but that development does need to happen.
I also love the way Rick is handling that development, but there is a degree to which you need in-game reps to develop. In particular, you would think Benn is the future starter, so you want to build that chemistry and get him more reps playing against starters instead of bench guys, so will be worth watching going forward.
1 Comment
He’s a pretty unbelievable talent. He’s already a great driver and a pretty good shooter. His FT% indicates that his 3PT% should improve, and he certainly seems willing to put the work in.
The biggest questions to me are:
1) How much will he improve as a playmaker? Playing alongside Halliburton means he won’t be the primary ball handler most of the time, but having the ability to set the table for others and lead the offense when Halliburton sits would be huge. In general, he’s pretty turnover prone at the moment and isn’t a very willing passer.
2) How good a defender will he be? He’s got a 6’9″ wingspan and he’s athletic, so he projects to be a good defender, but plenty of guys have the physical tools and just don’t really “get it” on that end (or don’t excise the gambling habit).
His slashing game pretty perfectly compliments Halliburton’s more perimeter and passing-oriented game, so the Pacers really look like they’re in awesome shape in the backcourt for many years to come, but that development does need to happen.
I also love the way Rick is handling that development, but there is a degree to which you need in-game reps to develop. In particular, you would think Benn is the future starter, so you want to build that chemistry and get him more reps playing against starters instead of bench guys, so will be worth watching going forward.