PHOTO: A plot of Hibbert's declining rebound rate
Things aren't so merry in Indianapolis these days.
The Indiana Pacers, who started the season 16-1, have toiled through an extended slide of late as they have won just 10 games (against 13 losses) since the start of March.
During this stretch, the Pacers have posted a point differential of -5.1, and boast the second worst offense in the NBA by offensive rating. In addition to various reports of in-house dissension, they were also surpassed by the Miami Heat as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Much of the blame has fallen on the hefty shoulders of center Roy Hibbert, who finds himself at the center of the maelstrom on account of his sub-par statistical output. Although he has never ranked among the league-leaders in terms of rebounding statistics, the 7-foot-2, 290 lb center has seen a significant nose-dive in his rebounding metrics, as depicted in the graph below:
[courtesy: @doctrkre]
On the season, Hibbert is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game on 29.9 minutes per game, although those averages have dipped to 4.0 and 28.8 respectively since March 1st. Among centers, Hibbert ranks 20th in terms of total rebounding percentage (a measure of the percent of available rebounds collected). On a per-36 minute basis, Hibbert ranks 19th.
Hopefully, for the Pacers, Hibbert can find a way to turn around his lackluster performance, as his back-up in Ian Mahmini has somehow fared even worse across all rebounding metrics.
[h/t: r/NBA]