TJ **** McConnell

[TheBonzaiEffect]

I'm banned from the GB because the Mods on RealGM are corrupt, so couldn't post in the threads there, but just wanted to say, this guy is so underrated. I thought he was underrated in Philly, but now? Man oh man. Even in the GB thread you see people saying, "he's a solid backup PG." Lol. He leads the NBA in steals. Off the bench. Has that ever happened? He's the best backup PG in the NBA, easily (Brunson has been great for us this year, but McConnell's still better).

I actually think he could start (his numbers are great as a starter), though he's not a scorer. But his passing, turnover economy, and defense are incredible.

[Scoot McGroot]

I'm banned from the GB because the Mods on RealGM are corrupt, so couldn't post in the threads there, but just wanted to say, this guy is so underrated. I thought he was underrated in Philly, but now? Man oh man. Even in the GB thread you see people saying, "he's a solid backup PG." Lol. He leads the NBA in steals. Off the bench. Has that ever happened? He's the best backup PG in the NBA, easily (Brunson has been great for us this year, but McConnell's still better).

I actually think he could start (his numbers are great as a starter), though he's not a scorer. But his passing, turnover economy, and defense are incredible.

Thanks!

I kind of disagree on TJ starting though. His strength really lies in being able to simply go all out in his time. When he started for us earlier this season, he really ran out of steam early and ended his game weak. When given too many minutes, his strengths quickly erode. He seems to be at his strongest somewhere between 15-28 minutes in any given night, though only occasionally on the ugh end there. His energy just peters out, and he’s unable to do what he’s used to, and starts getting a bit of careless turnovers, and instead of jumping into passing lanes, he’s a half second late and jumping into bodies for fouls. Otherwise, his complete indifference to taking the 3 point shot, and inability to hit reliably when he does take it, is a a bit of kryptonite to most offensive systems, and makes it tough to play him in the playoffs when the game slows down and the court shortens.

But otherwise, when allowed to attack, he’s dynamic. He absolutely affects every single minute he’s on the court, and is an even better teammate. Even when on the bench, he’s the first to help his teammates with observations or tips. We love him and any team should be happy to have him.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

I'm banned from the GB because the Mods on RealGM are corrupt, so couldn't post in the threads there, but just wanted to say, this guy is so underrated. I thought he was underrated in Philly, but now? Man oh man. Even in the GB thread you see people saying, "he's a solid backup PG." Lol. He leads the NBA in steals. Off the bench. Has that ever happened? He's the best backup PG in the NBA, easily (Brunson has been great for us this year, but McConnell's still better).

I actually think he could start (his numbers are great as a starter), though he's not a scorer. But his passing, turnover economy, and defense are incredible.

Thanks!

I kind of disagree on TJ starting though. His strength really lies in being able to simply go all out in his time. When he started for us earlier this season, he really ran out of steam early and ended his game weak. When given too many minutes, his strengths quickly erode. He seems to be at his strongest somewhere between 15-28 minutes in any given night, though only occasionally on the ugh end there. His energy just peters out, and he’s unable to do what he’s used to, and starts getting a bit of careless turnovers, and instead of jumping into passing lanes, he’s a half second late and jumping into bodies for fouls. Otherwise, his complete indifference to taking the 3 point shot, and inability to hit reliably when he does take it, is a a bit of kryptonite to most offensive systems, and makes it tough to play him in the playoffs when the game slows down and the court shortens.

But otherwise, when allowed to attack, he’s dynamic. He absolutely affects every single minute he’s on the court, and is an even better teammate. Even when on the bench, he’s the first to help his teammates with observations or tips. We love him and any team should be happy to have him.

I get that. Going balls to the wall like he does isn't realistically sustainable for 35 MPG every night over an 82 game season. That said, he started a couple nights ago and was forced to play 46 min. (which is unheard of these days!) and put up 17/6/12/2 steals on 8-13 shooting, and was +1 in a 3 point loss. So pretty damn impressive. His last game before that where he played over 40 minutes? 19/4/3/3 steals/2 blocks on 8-9 shooting. When else did he start? Those are the only two games I see with heavy minutes, and he performed great in both.

He isn't an aggressive scorer, but on the right team, I absolutely think he could start. I mean, Derek Fisher was a starting PG on a championship team, and T.J. is objectively better. You pair him with scorers, and I think he could be a great starting PG. And I also think with starting minutes, he'd learn to adjust and acclimate.

Just my 2 cents.

[Topofthekey]

Thank you

Yea, he's pretty great and we're happy to have him

He's really fun to watch too. At least if he's on your team. Fans of the other team probably all hate him when they see him play lol

You're right, he could start for the right team. But Pacers isn't that team unfortunately. For the Pacers, McConnell is ideally a backup PG that you unleash in short spurts to spark a run

[Scoot McGroot]

I'm banned from the GB because the Mods on RealGM are corrupt, so couldn't post in the threads there, but just wanted to say, this guy is so underrated. I thought he was underrated in Philly, but now? Man oh man. Even in the GB thread you see people saying, "he's a solid backup PG." Lol. He leads the NBA in steals. Off the bench. Has that ever happened? He's the best backup PG in the NBA, easily (Brunson has been great for us this year, but McConnell's still better).

I actually think he could start (his numbers are great as a starter), though he's not a scorer. But his passing, turnover economy, and defense are incredible.

Thanks!

I kind of disagree on TJ starting though. His strength really lies in being able to simply go all out in his time. When he started for us earlier this season, he really ran out of steam early and ended his game weak. When given too many minutes, his strengths quickly erode. He seems to be at his strongest somewhere between 15-28 minutes in any given night, though only occasionally on the ugh end there. His energy just peters out, and he’s unable to do what he’s used to, and starts getting a bit of careless turnovers, and instead of jumping into passing lanes, he’s a half second late and jumping into bodies for fouls. Otherwise, his complete indifference to taking the 3 point shot, and inability to hit reliably when he does take it, is a a bit of kryptonite to most offensive systems, and makes it tough to play him in the playoffs when the game slows down and the court shortens.

But otherwise, when allowed to attack, he’s dynamic. He absolutely affects every single minute he’s on the court, and is an even better teammate. Even when on the bench, he’s the first to help his teammates with observations or tips. We love him and any team should be happy to have him.

I get that. Going balls to the wall like he does isn't realistically sustainable for 35 MPG every night over an 82 game season. That said, he started a couple nights ago and was forced to play 46 min. (which is unheard of these days!) and put up 17/6/12/2 steals on 8-13 shooting, and was +1 in a 3 point loss. So pretty damn impressive. His last game before that where he played over 40 minutes? 19/4/3/3 steals/2 blocks on 8-9 shooting. When else did he start? Those are the only two games I see with heavy minutes, and he performed great in both.

He isn't an aggressive scorer, but on the right team, I absolutely think he could start. I mean, Derek Fisher was a starting PG on a championship team, and T.J. is objectively better. You pair him with scorers, and I think he could be a great starting PG. And I also think with starting minutes, he'd learn to adjust and acclimate.

Just my 2 cents.

Sure! The weird thing is that most of his production was on his first 20-30 minutes he played, and he really petered out in terms of production and effectiveness overall. They were good games overall, but he really would’ve been just as effective in much shorter minutes, and definitely lacked his normal impact late in the game. He COULD start, but I think he’d still be best at 25ish minutes and generally is better against backups than starters.

He’s absolutely a dynamite guy and impactful in limited minutes, which makes him one of the best backups in the league, with his ability to do so much with so little.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

Thanks!

I kind of disagree on TJ starting though. His strength really lies in being able to simply go all out in his time. When he started for us earlier this season, he really ran out of steam early and ended his game weak. When given too many minutes, his strengths quickly erode. He seems to be at his strongest somewhere between 15-28 minutes in any given night, though only occasionally on the ugh end there. His energy just peters out, and he’s unable to do what he’s used to, and starts getting a bit of careless turnovers, and instead of jumping into passing lanes, he’s a half second late and jumping into bodies for fouls. Otherwise, his complete indifference to taking the 3 point shot, and inability to hit reliably when he does take it, is a a bit of kryptonite to most offensive systems, and makes it tough to play him in the playoffs when the game slows down and the court shortens.

But otherwise, when allowed to attack, he’s dynamic. He absolutely affects every single minute he’s on the court, and is an even better teammate. Even when on the bench, he’s the first to help his teammates with observations or tips. We love him and any team should be happy to have him.

I get that. Going balls to the wall like he does isn't realistically sustainable for 35 MPG every night over an 82 game season. That said, he started a couple nights ago and was forced to play 46 min. (which is unheard of these days!) and put up 17/6/12/2 steals on 8-13 shooting, and was +1 in a 3 point loss. So pretty damn impressive. His last game before that where he played over 40 minutes? 19/4/3/3 steals/2 blocks on 8-9 shooting. When else did he start? Those are the only two games I see with heavy minutes, and he performed great in both.

He isn't an aggressive scorer, but on the right team, I absolutely think he could start. I mean, Derek Fisher was a starting PG on a championship team, and T.J. is objectively better. You pair him with scorers, and I think he could be a great starting PG. And I also think with starting minutes, he'd learn to adjust and acclimate.

Just my 2 cents.

Sure! The weird thing is that most of his production was on his first 20-30 minutes he played, and he really petered out in terms of production and effectiveness overall. They were good games overall, but he really would’ve been just as effective in much shorter minutes, and definitely lacked his normal impact late in the game. He COULD start, but I think he’d still be best at 25ish minutes and generally is better against backups than starters.

He’s absolutely a dynamite guy and impactful in limited minutes, which makes him one of the best backups in the league, with his ability to do so much with so little.

Ahh, appreciate the insight. I don't get the luxury of watching a ton of Pacers games (but always follow them closely), so interesting to hear about when his production comes even in games he logs heavy minutes. Since you see a lot of games, why do you think he doesn't shoot much (as in open jumpers)? He actually shot 44% from three in 2017 (though a small sample size). This year he's shooting a robust 52% on 10-16 footers, and 50% on long twos. Even if all wide open, that's really impressive. That accounts for 17% of his shots, too. Should he be less reticent to shoot? His stroke looks good to me, and and the percentages are there (at least on mid-range -- elite -- and long twos -- very good -- ...even on threes, it's not awful).

[Scoot McGroot]

I get that. Going balls to the wall like he does isn't realistically sustainable for 35 MPG every night over an 82 game season. That said, he started a couple nights ago and was forced to play 46 min. (which is unheard of these days!) and put up 17/6/12/2 steals on 8-13 shooting, and was +1 in a 3 point loss. So pretty damn impressive. His last game before that where he played over 40 minutes? 19/4/3/3 steals/2 blocks on 8-9 shooting. When else did he start? Those are the only two games I see with heavy minutes, and he performed great in both.

He isn't an aggressive scorer, but on the right team, I absolutely think he could start. I mean, Derek Fisher was a starting PG on a championship team, and T.J. is objectively better. You pair him with scorers, and I think he could be a great starting PG. And I also think with starting minutes, he'd learn to adjust and acclimate.

Just my 2 cents.

Sure! The weird thing is that most of his production was on his first 20-30 minutes he played, and he really petered out in terms of production and effectiveness overall. They were good games overall, but he really would’ve been just as effective in much shorter minutes, and definitely lacked his normal impact late in the game. He COULD start, but I think he’d still be best at 25ish minutes and generally is better against backups than starters.

He’s absolutely a dynamite guy and impactful in limited minutes, which makes him one of the best backups in the league, with his ability to do so much with so little.

Ahh, appreciate the insight. I don't get the luxury of watching a ton of Pacers games (but always follow them closely), so interesting to hear about when his production comes even in games he logs heavy minutes. Since you see a lot of games, why do you think he doesn't shoot much (as in open jumpers)? He actually shot 44% from three in 2017 (though a small sample size). This year he's shooting a robust 52% on 10-16 footers, and 50% on long twos. Even if all wide open, that's really impressive. That accounts for 17% of his shots, too. Should he be less reticent to shoot? His stroke looks good to me, and and the percentages are there (at least on mid-range -- elite -- and long twos -- very good -- ...even on threes, it's not awful).

I think it’s mostly that he’s a relic of the past age of shots. He thrives on mid-range shots, or getting to the basket when he lulls the defense to sleep. And, though he hits the mid-range at roughly 50%, it’s still the most ineffective shot in basketball overall. It’s not the ease of a layup, and it doesn’t have the chance at getting 3 points like a longer shot, so I think his coaches have been drilling that shot out of him. His 3 point form, to be honest, is very ugly. He takes a long time to set up, and then he has to absolutely launch himself through his legs to try and hammer push the shot to the basket. In person, it’s the kind of shot that when you watch it, you get a little sick to your stomach . He’s absolutely uncomfortable launching it, and he’s putting it up only because his coaches have basically told him that if he doesn’t take those wide open 3’s, they’ll bench him. And, even as he takes awhile to setup, the defense just won’t defend him or close on him, as they know he’s not efficient on it, and he’s more likely to try and pass out of it as they close on him. This is really the only problem of his game, as in the playoffs, it allows the defense to shrink the court and make it tougher for everyone to score.

He’s really kind of the 4A type player in terms of starting. Like baseball has A, AA, and AAA, there are some guys that are too good to play AAA, but not good enough for the majors, TJ is kind of 4A (or AAAA), in that he’s too good for the bench (AAA), but not quite good enough to start, so he’s in the in between, if that makes sense? Great spot starter for injuries, terrific backup PG overall, and great team leader.