Remember when James Posey arrived in Indiana as a side piece in the Darren Collison deal and everyone said he could be a hidden gem? A guy considered a key to Miami and Boston’s championship runs, Posey was expected to be a leader on and off the floor, provide solid defense and timely three point shooting.
But as often is the case when highly touted players arrive in Indiana, they disappoint. In Indiana, Posey turned into perhaps the most single-faceted player in the entire NBA. All he did was catch and shoot threes (kind of like what I do with my basketball teams); of all the shots he took, 88% were three pointers! Sadly, Posey only made 31.6% of his three-point shots and made an abysmal 15 free throws all season, making him more of a liability than a weapon on the floor.
Posey’s total numbers for 2010-2011: 49 games, 17.1 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists.
At times he was still relatively valuable — when he knocked down the occasional big three or when he drew charges, which he was still experienced enough to do from time to time. But the reality was that Posey appeared kind of out of shape and overweight throughout the season, and his lack of quickness meant he struggled to guard most small forwards and his lack of size meant he struggled to guard most power forwards.
Watching Blake Griffin annihilate Posey (and to be fair, every other player the Pacers threw at him) en route to a career high 47 points was my most memorable highlight of Posey in 2010-2011 (because it almost made me cry).
Grade: D+
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