T.J. Warren Is On A Historic Run For The Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers forward Doug McDermott was doing a typical media session for the Pacers just a few days after the team arrived in the Orlando for the NBA restart. He was posed a simple question, “Has anyone stood out during practices that you’ve seen so far?”

“I’ve been really impressed with T.J. Warren,” McDermott answered. “He’s really expanded his range. He’s knocking down a lot of threes.”

Warren is in his first season with the Pacers, and up until the season was suspended due to the pandemic, he was hitting 37.5% of his shots from three-point range. He graded out as a solid shooter, but nothing special. Most of his work as a scorer came from inside the arc.

Then the NBA restarted this week, and since then, Warren has been perhaps the league’s best scorer and overall player. He is averaging a league-high 39.7 points per game across three games while shooting 65.3% from the field and 60.9% from deep. He has been unstoppable in the bubble.

Baked into those numbers is a 53-point explosion against the 76ers on August 1st, Warren’s career-best scoring night. He tied the Pacers’ franchise record for made three-pointers (nine) and made shots in a game (20) while scoring the third-most points in one contest from an Indiana player. It was an unforgettable night.

“[Warren] was born to get buckets,” Victor Oladipo said after that game. “It’s no surprise to any of us that he was able to do what he did tonight... it was amazing to watch.”

Warren hit nine of his 12 shots from beyond the arc in his first game, proving McDermott’s earlier observation to be correct. Warren mentioned that during his quarantine, he frequently went to a gym to work on his outside shot. Since he couldn’t play against other players, he wanted to work on getting more consistent from deep.

So far, so good. Even since his massive night against Philadelphia, he’s hit five of his 11 looks from deep and has stretched out both the Wizards and Magic defense. Other teams haven’t had an answer for his deep ball yet.

But simply crediting Warren’s outside shot for his scoring outbursts in the bubble would be reductive and unfair. He has been dominant and unstoppable from everywhere on the court; opposing teams can’t guard him.

“He certainly had a hell of a game and you got to give him credit," Sixers coach Brett Brown said after Warren lit up his team from, well, everywhere (per Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice). “He punished us tonight," Philadelphia forward Tobias Harris added.

Warren hit 11 two-point shots in that game. Two days later against the Wizards, he dropped in 13 buckets inside the arc on his way to 34 points. He was skating by defenders and nailing tough jumpers, displaying his confidence from all over the court. He’ll take any shot, and right now, he’s making all of them.

“If it’s a wide-open three? I’m taking it. Pull-up [jumper]? I’m taking it,” Warren said earlier this season. “[I’m] just comfortable with every type of shot.”

What made his performance against Washington even more impressive were his non-scoring contributions. He grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds and dished out four assists, his second best distributing night as a Pacer. On defense, he nabbed three steals and swatted four shots, the most blocks he’s had in a single game during the 2019-20 campaign. He wasn’t close to 53 points, but it was perhaps his most complete night in a blue and gold uniform.

“Coming here with the circumstances and everything going on, I took it upon myself to just really lock in and just really take [my game] to another level,” Warren said of his huge game against the Wizards.

At the conclusion of that battle, Warren had dropped in 87 total points in the bubble, just one point shy of Indiana’s franchise record for points in consecutive games. He was scoring at a level rarely seen throughout Pacers history.

The following night, the team took on the Orlando Magic. Warren needed 32 points to tie the Pacers all-time record for points in three consecutive games (119) set by Jermaine O’Neal back in 2005.

Thanks in part to a 17-point scoring outburst in the first quarter, Warren was able to cruise to exactly that 32-point mark on the way to a third straight Pacers win. He cemented his place in the Pacers’ history books and continued to lead to the team to victories.

“I think he’s just playing in a flow,” Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. “He’s knocking down a high percentage of his shots, [he’s] just really efficient right now.”

Guard T.J. McConnell joked that the team will have to follow Warren around in the bubble to see what he is doing and how he is preparing for games. This ridiculous run of scoring has everyone — teammates, coaches, fans, and media — invested in what Warren is doing.

Warren himself is more interested in crediting his teammates for his stellar play. Even though he acknowledged that this is the best brand of basketball he has played in his career, he wouldn’t be able to do it without his teammates.

“Everybody’s stepping up,” Warren said after the team beat Washington. Then, the next night, it was mostly the same message. “It’s an all-around team effort, I’m just doing my part.”

“His part”, in this instance, just so happens to be scoring at a historic level. Warren has scored all of his points while only attempting 12 total free throws in the trio of games. He is on an unmatched run of shot making — for reference, O’Neal took 46 free throws in his three-game run.

“I’m just really in a rhythm, I’m really picking my spots,” Warren said. “[I’m] just being efficient and just playing hard overall.”

“T.J. Warren has been scoring his whole life,” Oladipo said after the 53 point performance against Philadelphia. That is undeniably true — Warren has always been known for his ability to score and hit tough shots. But this is different. Warren has expanded his range and his confidence, and now his scoring is on another level. The Pacers have yet to lose in the NBA restart thanks to Warren’s ridiculous scoring output. If he can keep it up into the postseason, Indiana is going to be a force to be reckoned with.