It's Official: AJ Price is a steal.

[Miller4ever]

^^For his shot selection, it's actually nice for a rookie. Considering that he mostly takes jumpers, his FG is 40% and 3P is 36%, and he's 88% from the line thus far. I would just like to see him drive more.

[Dunthreevy]

^^For his shot selection, it's actually nice for a rookie. Considering that he mostly takes jumpers, his FG is 40% and 3P is 36%, and he's 88% from the line thus far. I would just like to see him drive more.

I definitely don't think he has bad shot selection overall, because the shots that he takes are definitely makeable shots, just seems like he occasionally has a quick trigger on the 3ball.

[Miller4ever]

Yeah, that's true. I don't know how much of it is because he wants to take 'em and how much of it is because Obie told him to.

[Gremz]

Personally I think O'brien's system could at times even make Ray Allen's shot look poor if he were in it. Not a dig at the coach, just the way it is.

[Grang33r]

David Thorpe from ESPN Insider also thinks Price is a steal.....

DeJuan Blair, Omri Casspi, Jonas Jerebko, Taj Gibson, Chase Budinger, Marcus Thornton and Brandon Jennings have all been labeled draft night steals this season. Add Price to the list.

The second-rounder is one of just six rookies with a player efficiency rating of 15 or better. I watched Price play in person recently and was impressed by how he is balancing his instincts as a scorer with his job of running the team. To wit, he ranks eighth in assist rate among rookies, ahead of similar score-first guards such as Jonny Flynn and Tyreke Evans. Better yet, Price has the lowest turnover rate of any rookie point guard. That combination, plus some solid scoring games, has earned him huge rotations minutes; he’s averaging 20-plus minutes per game and 10 points per game in January. This after appearing in just 12 games and averaging just eight minutes per game in 2009.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

I'm excited for next year with Watson likely gone and TJ either traded already or still in the doghouse. Price should have a great opportunity to get a lot of minutes and further show what he's capable of.

[Cookin Baskets]

I'm sure Price will be good, but I dont understand whats Obrien's problem not playing Ford. I like T.J Ford he is a solid point guard, I think pacers would win more games if they played him more games. Whats the story behind that. As 76ers fan I know how crazy Jim O'brien is with C-Webb/A.I era. I don't get why he is being treated like a scrub, I'm sure Toronto would love to get him back. I think T.J Ford is underrated and your coach is crazy for not playing his best point guard basically dissing him for scrubs like Earl Watson who I like him for his bball iq smarts but not over T.J Ford who is just as smart and more talented by a long shot. T.J Ford needs to request a trade.

[Dunthreevy]

I'm sure Price will be good, but I dont understand whats Obrien's problem not playing Ford. I like T.J Ford he is a solid point guard, I think pacers would win more games if they played him more games. Whats the story behind that. As 76ers fan I know how crazy Jim O'brien is with C-Webb/A.I era. I don't get why he is being treated like a scrub, I'm sure Toronto would love to get him back. I think T.J Ford is underrated and your coach is crazy for not playing his best point guard basically dissing him for scrubs like Earl Watson who I like him for his bball iq smarts but not over T.J Ford who is just as smart and more talented by a long shot. T.J Ford needs to request a trade.

Obviously you haven't seen many Pacers games the past 2 seasons. T.J. Ford is the least effective PG on our roster. He's garbage and that's why he's been benched.

[8305]

Aside from similar size I don't see much of Jamal's game in Price. Price is actually a good perimeter shooter and doesn't overhandle the ball. I guess it remains to be seen if Price can move his defense beyond the below average defense generally seen from Jamal.

From what he has shown so far I see no reason he can't be a starting caliber point guard. I like him better than anyone coming out of college beyond Wall and Turner at that position.

During the free agent season I was really interested in persuing Ray Sessions but it looks to me like Price might be at least as good a prospect. Probably a better fit in the system we currently run.

[Miller4ever]

Price needs to improve his distribution, mostly. Right now he's a shooter, and he's good at it, and he has had some great forays into the paint, but he needs to get the ball to his teammates, even if he's looking to shoot first. He has not dished a single assist in both games against Philly. In 36 minutes, he averages 4.6 assists, which is pretty much below average. Of course, we can say that Obie's system doesn't really help out with padding assists, but that's the one area he's got to work on to become a starter.

[Grang33r]

Good article on Price from our very own PacerPerspective. (Does he post here anymore? Havnt seen him since i returned)

Not even the most clairvoyant of scribes could have predicted that Earl Watson would be the starting point guard of the Indiana Pacers over T.J. Ford at this point in the season.

Watson, a hard-working veteran, however, isn’t the story. Instead its rookie A.J. Price, who is playing important minutes in the NBA despite serious doubt not long ago whether or not he would even finish his career at Connecticut.

Price suffered a torn ACL in March of 2008 as the Huskies were upset in overtime by San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The injury, which occurred during his junior season, was just the latest in a long-line of issues.

A brain hemorrhage cut his freshman season short and Price missed two seasons after undergoing a procedure to correct the condition that brought on the hemorrhage. Then he was suspended during his sophomore campaign for being involved in the theft of some laptops in Storrs.

Link- http://pacers.realgm.com/articles/185/2 ... n_a_flyer/

[Gremz]

PacerPerspective is busy with his writing. Still does random RealGM podcasts, but there hasn't been one for a while.