How Has Pacers' Rookie Earned Trust?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Dec 5, 2024 1:28 PM ET

On Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers got embaraaed by the Brooklyn Nets, 99-90. Indiana has now lost four games in a row and slid to the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference after making it all the way to the Conference Finals the year before.

In the loss to Brooklyn, Indiana shot a combined 24.2 percent from 3-point range, and only one player--Tyrese Haliburton--scored more than 15 points. As a whole, it was a devastating loss, but there was a single bright spot.

Rookie wing Johnny Furphy scored 12 points in 25 minutes, making four of his eight shots from behind the arc. It set a new career-high for the 35th overall pick, and the Pacers enjoyed his success while wallowing in their failures.

"We thought he was top 14 in the draft," said Rick Carlisle after the game. "He slipped into the second round for unknown reasons...he's a tough kid, he's solid."

The Pacers traded up in the second round to snag him with the San Antonio Spurs' pick. He has appeared in 13 games and is averaging 3.4 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range. In his lone college season at Kansas, he shot 35.2 percent.

Furphy was drafted with the hopes that he could be a big shot maker, and he has the full faith of the Pacers' organization to shoot, shoot, and shoot.

"If I'm open, I've been told just to let it go," explained Furphy. "They're just telling me, if you're open, shoot it, which feels good. I'm just trying to do anything to win, it's pretty unfortunate we couldn't get the win tonight."

As the Pacers continue to slide, high quality games from unexpected players, like Furphy and Moses Brown, will continue to be the difference-maker in an otherwise bleak season so far.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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