Clocks are set back to the playoffs five years ago, and the Pacers are waiting for a savior.
The Pacers and Knicks played in the Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals in game six, with the Indiana Pacers leading the New York Knicks 3-2 and the Home Pacers not wanting to return to the Knicks' home stadium at Madison Garden Square to play a seven-game game. By the end of the game, the Knicks were 92-90 ahead of the Pacers by two points. Carmelo Anthony, who scored 39 points, felt a blast, and after turning his back to the ball, he turned away from Paul George and directly hit the basket, trying to complete the Tomahawk split, but did not succeed.
Anthony killed from the bottom line, only to kill a 26-year-old 7-foot-2 black shadow, who was the Pacers' defensive gate Roy Hibbert. Hibbert raised his left arm high between Anthony and the basket and ventured down! It was Hibbert's fifth block of the night, and this time it once again ignited the otherwise tense atmosphere at the Bankers Life Arena, the home of the Pacers, and drove the fans crazy. This time the block also translated directly into a quick break by the Pacers, with Lance Stevens smoothly dropping the ball into the basket at the other end of the court and the Pacers hitting a wave of climax. A 9-0 surge completely dispelled the suspense of the game, and the Pacers successfully pocketed the victory of the game, while also successfully eliminating the New York Knicks in the playoffs. At the same time, this moment of capping became a brilliant moment in Hibbert's career, and he himself made a poster of this cap and pasted it in his honor showroom, and it was still two.
Hibbert was once one of the best rim-guarding players in the league, but in five years, he has basically disappeared before our eyes.
Think about why? Hibbert is only 31 years old this year, his physical condition is also quite healthy, and his skills in all aspects of the basket are also very good, and according to common sense, players with this condition should not be unable to play. Hibbert was also named to the All-Star and All-Defensive Second Team, how did he get abandoned by today's fast-paced league?
The answer is that the league has found a new way to win, and Hibbert is still standing still.
Frank Vogel, a former Indiana Pacers coach who just dropped out of class at the Orlando Magic, said: "Hibbert's fading out of the league surprised me, I talked to him about it, and I think he can still play in the current league. But to be honest, what Hibbert used to do with the Pacers is no longer in line with the trend of the league today, and now the way the league plays has changed completely, and Hibbert is one of the victims of the general trend. ”
To figure out how Hibbert faded out of the league, you can't help but understand how he became famous. We tried to contact Hibbert himself, but he declined to be interviewed. Hibbert used to have a decent scoring ability, averaging 22 points per game in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals series against the Miami Heat. But what really sets him apart is his ability to protect the basket, and hibbert was undoubtedly a rim protector before the league changed the rules for vertical jumping. However, the change of the rules had a great impact on Hibbert, which stipulated that defenders must have their arms straight when blocking interference with attacking players, and only vertical jumps were allowed. Before the rule change, Hibbert defended LeBron James with some experience, but Since the rule changed, Hibbert's state has begun to decline, and probably many actions in his subconscious should not be blown foul. At that time, this "vertical jumping rule" was thought by many people to be aimed at Hibbert, which led to Hibbert losing a lot of fouls because of this rule.
Without this rule, Hibbert can do a good job of defending under the basket and guaranteeing fewer fouls. So the Pacers can play a very aggressive defense, and their defense can be extended beyond the three-point line without worrying about the other side hitting the basket, because there is a defensive iron gate under the basket.
According to the NBA's official statistics, the Indiana Pacers in the 2012-13 season and the 2013-14 season Hibbert single-man town under the basket season, defensive efficiency in the league first. In both seasons, the Pacers were able to limit their opponents' scoring to 97 points per 100 rounds while reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years. In those two years, Hibbert's defensive victory contributions and blocks were in the league's top five positions. And in the 2013-14 season, Hibbert was able to reduce the opponent's close-range shooting rate from within 6 feet by 16 percentage points, which is the number one player who has played more than 45 games and defended more than three opponents' close-range shots per game.
Although hibbert's ability to protect the frame may not have declined much, it is undeniable that the role of this ability itself is declining in today's NBA league.
For example, the 2014 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Pacers met the Eighth Eastern Conference Hawks in the first round, and the Hawks unexpectedly delayed the game to game seven. It was this Eagles team that won 60 regular season games the following season. In the series with the Pacers, they chose to put five players with three-point ability on the court in response to Hibbert's shortcomings and attack the Pacers' defensive shortcomings. In this case, Hibbert can only choose to stay within the free throw line as much as possible to minimize losses. Because his strength is to stay in the box to protect the basket, the disadvantage is that the footsteps can not keep up with the outside players, can not prevent the three-point line, it is because of this, the Atlanta Hawks almost completed the feat of the black eight.
Hibbert's lack of athleticism was one of the reasons he gradually faded out of the league. Hibbert was in the Pacers' time, and the team's president was Bird the Big Bird. Larry Bird, who implicitly pointed out Hibbert's problems in 2015-16, said he wasn't sure if a tall, slow-moving center player like Hibbert could adapt to the faster-paced NBA league.
According to official statistics, from the 13-14 season to the 15-16 season, Hibbert stayed in the area from the free throw line to the inside area for more than 71% of his total playing time, which was the third in the league at that time. Do you know who the other two players are, the second is Tristan Thompson and the first is Timoffy Mozgov. It is certainly no accident that their value on the pitch also decreases step by step over time.
Paul George, who is still a member of the Oklahoma Thunder, said of his old teammate: "I feel sorry for him, the pace is getting faster and faster is the trend of the league, which is difficult to change. Paying more attention to the rhythm, I feel that there are very few teams that will put the future of the team on a big player like him. But there are the biggest players in the league like Boban Majanovic who can still have a place in the league, so I think Hibbert is still a good choice for teams that need to have the ability to protect the frame. ”
To be honest, hibbert can no longer play a dominant level of defense as before, and other players with better mobility and foot speed are struggling to learn how to survive under the vertical jump rules. Vogel said: "A lot of players have noticed the importance of this, like Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid, their style of play, not only the center players will pay attention to this, but a lot of players in other positions are learning about it. Forward players also need to study this rule to effectively avoid losing too many senseless fouls when defending players like James Harden. ”
From another point of view, it was really Hibbert who hit a bad time. All the NBA players, even the big ones, are starting to develop their three-point shooting abilities. According to official statistics, players taller than 6'11 inches tall in the league have more than doubled the number of three-point shots compared to five years ago. In 2013-14, the average three-point shot per 100-game season was only 7.7, compared to 16.7 last season. It is worth mentioning that the proportion of long-range shots of these big players is also increasing year by year, and the proportion of long-range shots in the 2017-18 season was 35.1%, which is 1.1 percentage points lower than the league average of 36.2%.
In fact, Hibbert's gradual fading out of the league is certainly not only these reasons, he has been paired with Paul George for many years to support the Pacers' defense. In the 2014-15 season, Paul George suffered a season reimbursement after a training break in the United States, and Hibbert had to shoulder the defensive burden of the team alone. Former Pacers player David West, who now plays for the Golden State Warriors, also revealed that the team's decision to sign Andrew Bynum before the start of the 2014 playoffs made Hibbert very frustrated.
David West said: "At the time he felt that everything was terrible and it also affected his form on the pitch. It's not that Bynum isn't a great player, but bynum, who is 7'1" and weighs 320 pounds, makes Hibbert feel threatened. ”
Hibbert then left the East to join the Los Angeles Lakers in the West, playing for one season in 2015-16, but this season did not play much. At that time, the Lakers lineup was very young, and the team's defensive efficiency was at the bottom of the league throughout the season, which naturally did not help Hibbert's value. According to official statistics, all players who have played more than 45 games and who have defended more than three times per game at close range are counted. Hibbert was the league's no. 1 rimer in 2013-14, dropped to fourth place in 2014-15, and in 2015-16, the ranking suddenly dropped to 63rd.
David West said of Hibbert: "During the Pacers period, our team had a strong belief. That is, we will not be discouraged by each other's ability, we need to unite and go hand in hand. Then something happened that we couldn't control, and Hibbert also left Indiana and went to the West to play a completely different style of game. ”
Later, Hibbert went to Denver to play six games for the Nuggets and returned to the East. Most of the 2016-17 season was spent with the Charlotte Hornets, and back here he seems to have regained his original form, even elite level defense. He limited his opponent's shooting percentage near the basket by 12 percentage points, a figure that ranks in the league's top three.
I think that's enough proof that Hibbert's playing prowess and skill haven't gone down too much, like the glory of the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately, even if his strength is still the same, still slightly lonely, he can no longer keep up with the NBA, a giant ship that is moving at full speed.
Chris herring
Compilation: Sunny