INDIANAPOLIS — A little more than a month, roughly a quarter of the NBA season, had passed. Indiana center Roy Hibbert, after a summer that included signing a healthy contract extension, hovered near the bottom of the league’s field goal percentage stats.
Just what you want from your 7-foot-2 two-way anchor. Defense was no problem, but even Hibbert felt it would be a nice idea to put the ball in the basket on occasion. After 22 games, Hibbert was shooting .373 (87-of-233). He had a message for his mates:
Sorry guys. Real sorry. Honest to gosh, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye sorry, especially after that four-year, $56 million contract.
“I had a rough beginning of the season offensively. I didn’t start off the way I wanted,” Hibbert said. “I relied on my defense. Toward the end of the season, my offense started picking up and my defense was still solid and I said to myself, ‘I can start peaking toward playoff time.’ ”
But before that peaking, more apologies.
“It was too much,” said teammate David West, one of the guys who told Hibbert to quit apologizing. “Nobody’s going to play perfect every night. He was having an impact on the game defensively. He was just putting too much pressure on himself offensively.
“He worked his way out of it. He didn’t complain. He was just mature about it. He wasn’t blaming the offense and how plays were being run, he took it square in the chest.”
Now in the Eastern Conference semifinals, he’s giving it to the Knicks. Hibbert was the best player on the court, dominating the interior in Games 1 and 3, games the Pacers won. In Game 2, when he came out for 75 third quarter seconds, the Knicks began an irreversible rally for their victory. So for Game 4 tomorrow, the Knicks must limit Hibbert or face a near-death 3-1 deficit.
In Game 3 on Saturday, Hibbert scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Normally the Pacers’ fourth offensive option, Hibbert is tied with West (14.7 ppg) in the series against the Knicks, trailing only Paul George (17.7). Hibbert has outscored Knicks counterpart Tyson Chandler, 44-21, outrebounded him, 32-12, and blocked nine shots to Chandler’s five.
While Hibbert has been a nice offensive surprise for the Pacers, his defense has been what it has been, which is terrific — even if he finished 10th in Defensive Player of the Year balloting. The Knicks have recognized his presence, have attacked.
“They’re testing me and, as a big guy, you have to protect the basket no matter what. I can get dunked on three times in a row, it’s not going to faze me,” Hibbert said. “This is what I am. I’m a rim protector. I’m a Georgetown Hoya. You know the lineage right there.”