Can Roy Hibbert Be the Centerpiece of the Indiana Pacers Offense?

Roy Hibbert limped across the finish line last season, bottoming out in the playoffs on an extended offensive slide that begin months earlier. It was an ugly end to the year, but each new season offers a chance for a fresh start. 

Without Paul George and Lance Stephenson, the Indiana Pacers will be looking for a new focus for their offensive attack. Hibbert has a lot to offer, but it will require changes from both he and the team to make things work.

Hibbert shot a career-low 43.9 percent from the field last season, but his efficiency was definitely split into two segments. Over his first 41 games, Hibbert shot 46.4 percent, essentially his career average. Across the last 40 games of the season, he shot just 41 percent. 

It was a down season in several other offensive categories as well. He averaged a career-low 11.3 field-goal attempts per-36 minutes, and a career-low 24.5 percent of his attempts came from within three feet of the basket, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

According to the NBA's SportVU Player Tracking statistics, Hibbert averaged less than 10 touches per game between the elbow and the low block combined last season. These statistics are not available for previous seasons, so it's impossible to frame that number as part of a downward trend.

Even given his struggles with efficiency, having Hibbert touch the ball in scoring zones less than 10 times a night seems like a huge missed opportunity, especially considering that the Pacers averaged nearly 95 offensive possessions per game last season.

Sometimes it was hard to tell which aspect was driving which, but there was clearly a relationship between Hibbert's struggles and his level of offensive involvement on the team. As he had a harder time scoring efficiently, his teammates become less likely to involve him in the offense, which dragged on his confidence, which perpetuated the cycle, ad infinitum.

As the Pacers offense was crumbling, Tim Donahue of 8points9seconds.com talked about how the offensive dynamic between Hibbert and the rest his teammates was contributing to the problems:

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Roy Hibbert is like that guy among your group of high school or college friends who never moves beyond those years. As change happens, he becomes more and more out of his element and increasingly unhappy. As the group grows and evolves, he stays the same, becoming out of tune. Since he won't or can't adapt, the group is forced to either adapt to him or leave him behind, Adapting to him means limiting the possibilities and opportunities of the others and the group as a whole. This can lead to stagnation or resentment or worse.

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I would argue that the issue on Hibbert's side is more about an inability to change than an unwillingness. Almost everything he has to offer is centered around the low post. His middling speed and coordination put a cap on his effectiveness as a screener in the pick-and-roll. He has no consistent mid-range jump shot to speak of.

Those limitations were an issue last season because George and Stephenson were growing in effectiveness and commanding a bigger role in the offense. A lot of their offensive strengths were built around the pick-and-roll and getting into the lane. Having Hibbert stationed on the block meant that there was usually an extra defender between a penetrating Pacer and the basket. 

Without George and Stephenson, there is no one on the Pacers roster with the kind of off-the-dribble game that demands to be an offensive focus. That's a problem in its own right, but it means that shifting more touches and possessions to Hibbert on the low block is a reasonable option. 

While they didn't work well for George and Stephenson, offensive possessions focused on the low post can be symbiotic with the skills of David West—a good mid-range shooter and comfortable passer from the high post—as well as George Hill, C.J. Miles, Damjan Rudez, C.J. Watson and Solomon Hill—all good outside shooters who are comfortable focusing on that role in an offense.

Frank Vogel made it clear in an interview with Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley that he sees Hibbert as a big part of the Pacers offense this season:

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He made the All-Star team because he’s a two-way player, a dominant defensive force and a capable offensive player. He struggled a little bit on the offensive end, [but] it didn’t change anything he did on the defensive end. I thought much of the criticism was unfair, and I think he’s going to come back and pick up a little more of the offensive load while continuing to dominate the defensive end. I expect great things from Roy this year.

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While a focus on Hibbert in the post is not an ideal solution (he's simply not the talent George or Stephenson were), it may represent the best option given the pieces available.

The Pacers can help Hibbert succeed by giving him more opportunities to be in the middle of things, instead of just being a part of the picture. He can also help himself by making some simple changes.

While height is an asset, his high center of gravity means he's not always able to gain ground by backing opponents down. Hibbert is most successful in the post when he's able to catch the ball close to the basket and work quickly. That means getting himself into position quickly, a willingness to accept some cross screens, then working back and forth across the lane to seal off his defender.

After an entry pass is made, the Pacers like to have the passer cut to the basket, trying to rub their man off on Hibbert as they go by. When it works, it works terrifically well, but it often pulls Big Roy's focus exclusively to finding a passing angle. He then waits until the other player clears through before beginning his scoring move.

Here, Donald Sloan makes the entry pass and cuts baseline. By the time he clears through, the defense has adjusted and any opportunity Hibbert had to make a quick move has evaporated:

You can see the same thing on this possession:

Sending the entry passer on a cut often brings extra defenders into Hibbert's proximity. If he can expand his focus a little more, seeing both his cutting teammate and the way his own defender is reacting, he may find some easy scoring opportunities waiting for him. The Pacers may also need to recognize that these cuts don't yield enough benefits to outweigh the costs of slowing down Hibbert in the post.

While all of these things hold promise for helping Hibbert improve on his performance last season, he's simply not the dominant interior presence who can single-handedly carry the Pacers offense. They are short offensive talent in a lot of places this season, and collectively their ceiling is low.

But the Pacers should still have a defense that is among the league's best, and, like last season, even an average offense could carry them pretty far. Hibbert has more to provide and could be one of the pieces that helps the Pacers offense approach respectability this season.

To get there, the team will need to trust him more and have him do more to validate that trust.

All statistics from NBA.com/Stats, unless otherwise cited