Donald Sloan will play in his 105th regular-season NBA game Wednesday night when the Pacers host the Philadelphia 76ers to town. It’s the season opener, and although both teams are already banged up — at least nine players will be sidelined — there are still a number of interesting storylines. Sloan’s progression is one of them.
I asked him earlier this week when he last started in a meaningful game. It took him a moment.
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He started one game last year, but it was the fourth-to-last regular season game and head coach Frank Vogel rested his starters on that April night. Still, the reserves managed to win in Milwaukee.
Donald Sloan to make his first meaningful start in the NBA on Wednesday.
Sloan’s only other starts in the NBA were three years ago while playing his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That team won just 21 games.
“Cleveland none of them were meaningful,” he joked.
Well, there was one game that had some meaning, he noted, because Antawn Jamison moved into 46th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Dale Ellis and Reggie Theus, with 19,017.
“That was meaningful,” Sloan, 26, added, “trying to get him those six points or whatever.”
Other than that, you’d have to go back to his play in the D-League, or even back to college at Texas A&M because those levels were about proving he belonged on the ultimate stage.
Now, with injuries to George Hill and C.J. Watson, the first two ball handlers on the depth chart, Sloan will be thrusted into the starting lineup, a makeshift group because of a handful of pre-season injuries.
“It’s a big jump from what I was used to last year, but it’s going smoothly,” Sloan said of the opportunity.”It seems like it’s been a pretty good transition for me.”
“It’s been a weird start for us so far. Being here since September and knowing a lot of the guys from last year, it’s not as hard but I’m still getting a feel for C.J. [Miles] and (Rodney Stuckey) and Damo [Rudež], and Solo’s [Hill] getting minutes now so he’s on the court. It’s different, but I pickup things pretty quick.”
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Sloan played in six of the seven exhibition games, and averaged a team-best 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.3 rebounds per contest. He shot 42.6 percent from the floor and completed 86.4 percent of his foul shots. Because of those performances, coach has faith that Sloan, who has a one-year guaranteed contract with the team, will shoulder the extra duties just fine.
“What he did in the preseason gives me confidence that we’re going to be all right,” Vogel said. “He played exceptional in the preseason, showed that he can run the show, distribute, make shots, guard at an appropriate level. That’s what’s going to be asked of him the first few games.”
Added Hill, who has helped Sloan quite a bit: “He’s doing well so I feel like we’re in good hands with him running the point until C.J.’s gets back. He’s shown us that he can play 35 minutes and be a solid point guard. Whatever the case or scenario is, we know that he’s going to do a great job.”
Coach Vogel wouldn’t put any expectations on the season due to so many uncertainties, but he said they have “a chance to something really fun this year.”
Fun, interesting. Use whatever word you prefer. It may be like a roller coaster of a season, with highs and lows, excitement and then disappointment.
“The guys are ready to battle,” Sloan continued. “They’re willing to do anything to stay on the court. They see the opportunity now, guys are hurt, so let me know show coach what I can do. It’s not only offensively, but guys are busting their tails defensively and trying to do the right thing every play for the next guy. I think that’s going to be one of our biggest keys playing without the guys that we normally have.”
Fans, Sloan said, can expect no matter who is out there “… to play their ass off, and do everything that needs to be done.”
Below is a summary of the Pacers’ injuries:
George Hill (left knee contusion) – at least three weeks
George Hill collided with Ricky Rubio on a fast break one week ago in Minnesota. Initially, it appeared that he was held out for precautionary reasons. However, Hill later had an MRI done.
“I’m not a doctor,” he said when asked for the results. “I don’t know. I’m just a basketball player.”
At Saturday’s practice, Hill wore a sleeve on his left knee, presumably to add compression and help decrease swelling. He said there’s lots of fluid in that knee.
What has he been able to do since suffering the knee bruise?
“I’m breathing,” Hill quickly replied. “… Talk to you guys.”
Hill had an outstanding offseason, in the gym nearly every day – sometimes multiple times. It’s a tough setback for a guy who once he returns to the court, will be playing without the other half of the G2 Zone.
“It’s very frustrating, especially with Paul already being gone and things like that,” Hill said. “It’s a new team. To start right now, first day after all the preseason games are done and just one starter from last year’s team out there, it’s tough. I hate it because I worked my butt off this whole summer to prepare for this and I can’t even be there on the first day of our opening practice. I’m just going to continue to talk to them, and try to lead until I get back out there.”
C.J. Watson (bruised right foot) – at least two weeks
Watson started wearing a boot on his right leg on Oct. 26th.
Watson missed 19 games during the 2013-14 season, with the majority coming in March, and he intends for that not to be the case this season. He’s getting off to a bumpy start, however, as he bruised his right foot during a practice back on Oct. 4 — the day before FanJam.
It has kept him off the floor and from going through his everyday basketball routine. The good thing is that he played in the system last season; the bad news is that there are many new faces he has yet to play with enough to learn their tendencies.
“It’s just a bone bruise,” Watson said after practice on Monday. He was the last player off the floor as he fired off some stand-still shots. “It’s basically day-to-day, so we’ll see how it is each day and go from there.”
Other than standing and shooting, he’s been lifting weights and running on the team’s underwater treadmill. But that’s it.
“Nothing on the court,” the 30-year-old said. “I’ll probably be in the boot another week and then just go from there really. Hopefully the pain lessens, I can push off and plant.”
Watson began wearing a boot just Sunday. He’s previously dealt with sprains, strains, hip-pointers, and such. But a bone bruise … that’s new.
“I’ve never had this before,” he said. “I’m new to it, and just trying to make the best of it so I can get healthy.”
Rodney Stuckey (sprained right foot) – day-to-day
Stuckey set to begin a new chapter in his basketball career, with the Pacers after seven years in Detroit.
Stuckey sprained his foot in the Cleveland preseason game played at the University of Xavier on Oct. 18. Since then, he has mostly kept off of the foot. He hadn’t practice for about 10 days until Monday.
Because of the injuries to Hill and Watson, Stuckey will begin the season as the team’s backup point guard and play limited minutes.
“It’s important not to push him too much early because it’s really about the next three weeks more than about tonight’s game,” Vogel said. “We’re going to be smart about managing his minutes.”
Stuckey has felt that he’s made progress each day, but especially early on it limited his cutting movements.
While this is not exactly what the seven-year veteran thought he was signing up for in July, he seems to have a positive attitude about this injury and the team.
“Togetherness is what we’re going to be about this year,” Stuckey said. “… We’ll figure it out. Guys are just going to have to step up.”
David West (sprained right ankle) – at least three games
West rolled his ankle during the Oct. 18th home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
“I just sprained it really good,” he said two days later. “It’s a tough, tough sprain.”
Paul George (broken right leg) – likely out for the season
You know the story.
Pacers President Larry Bird on Tuesday: “I think Paul will probably be out all year. We don’t know yet, but it looks that way.”
Paul George chats with the team’s PR staff following a recent practice.