Warren drops 30 in Pacers debut
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
Ever since T.J. Warren was acquired by the Indiana Pacers this summer, I’ve seen some extreme takes about him on both sides. Shocking, right?
Some fans and media have said he’s not as good as Bojan Bogdanovic, and he only scored a lot last year because he played on a terrible Suns team. Other fans and media have said Warren will explode when playing for a better team.
One preseason game means very little…. usually. But when the Pacers played Sacramento on Friday in their first preseason game in India, Warren showed a glimpse of what he can do. He scored a game-high 30 points, including two of the biggest shots of the game, and connected on 11-of-18 from the field. He also went 5-for-6 from behind the arc. Not bad for a first impression.
“Adding T.J. (Warren) to our roster, it gives us another guy we can give the ball to in close games,” Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. “The play was drawn up for him, they executed it, and T.J. finished it and put the ball in the basket.”
Long time Pacers writer Mark Montieth is among those with high praise for T.J. Warren. While he was a guest on the Setting the Pace Podcast recently, Montieth said he believes Warren is an upgrade over Bojan Bogdanovic. If Warren can even be a similar player to the beloved Bogey, the Pacers will be in good shape. If he’s better? Watch out.
Yes, he was playing for the Suns last year. But T.J. Warren had a .549 effective field-goal percentage. From November 8th-January 9th, Warren averaged 20.3 points per game on 50% shooting in those two months. He’s going to be a weapon for the blue and gold.
He’s only 26 years old. He was acquired for very little. And as we’ve already seen, this guy can get buckets. He may not show much emotion on the court. But fans won’t care about that as much if he’s putting the ball in the hole.
