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Player Review 2015: Donald Sloan

Age: 27
Years Pro: 4
Status: Unrestricted free agent
Key Stats: Posted a career-high 7.4 points per game in 20.9 minutes. Also had a career-high 2.7 rebounds per contest.

Before Paul George had his return. Before David West and George Hill recovered from their preseason injuries. Before C.J. Watson was healthy. It was Donald Sloan who often found himself at the helm of Indiana's offense, as he attempted to pilot the Pacers while injuries beset the rest of the lineup.

Sloan, a graduate of Seagoville High School in Dallas, Texas (where he played alongside LaMarcus Alrdidge), showed his hometown just how far along his game had come since his days in the Lone Star State. In a November game against the Mavericks, when Dallas' record was 10-4, Sloan torched the Mavs for 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting in what was a triumphant homecoming for the 6-foot-3-inch guard.

After that game, a 111-100 Pacers win, head coach Frank Vogel heaped praise on Sloan. "It must be because he’s back in Dallas," he quipped. "No, he’s been showing that all year. He’s been our starting point guard, and a big reason we’ve been able to win some games and weather a storm in this stretch."

The storm Vogel spoke of was the slew of injuries that thrust Sloan into the limelight in the first place. But as a starter — and in his stints as a reserve — for the Blue & Gold, Sloan showcased a skill set that flashed the potential of an everyday starter at best, and a second-unit point guard at worst.

Although his 3-point shooting barely broke 30 percent for the season, Sloan's assist-to-turnover ratio and ability to finish in the paint made him a weapon capable of collapsing opposing defenses. With a final figure of 2.92, Sloan ranked 17 among NBA guards for assists to turnovers, and led all Pacers guards in percent of points scored in the paint with 43.5.

However, despite Sloan's capable command of the point guard position, the return to health of George Hill and C.J. Watson pushed Sloan back to the bench and out of the rotation.

The Pacers face an interesting offseason dilemma in regards to their backup point guard spot. Team president Larry Bird wasn't bullish on the idea of bringing Watson — who is also entering free agency — back, citing Watson's age (31) and health at the end of the past two seasons.

On the other hand, Sloan is just 27 years old and has shown glimpses that he could be an above average second-unit guard. But his biggest deficiency, 3-point shooting, might lead the Pacers to look elsewhere in free agency, or perhaps turn to the draft to address the need.

Whether Sloan is resigned to the Pacers or not, his contributions to the season should not be distilled to the minutes he played at the tail ends of blowouts, or even his short stint replacing Watson in the final six games of the season. The push for the playoffs, the fight for the eighth seed; these pursuits might have died out by the first of April had it not been for Sloan's deft play while much of the season's expected starters were dealing with injuries.

"It only showed how deep we really are," said Sloan of the first part of the season. "It showed that give or take, guys labeled as third-string guys can be starters or second-string guys and produce. It was a big thing, not just for me, but for a lot of the guys who played."