Indiana Pacers: 5 goals for Cory Joseph in 2017-18
By Tony East
2. Continue to make high basketball I.Q. plays
Something that stats don’t show particularly well is basketball knowledge. Being in the right place at the right time or cutting at the perfect moment can be just as valuable as an extra point of shooting percentage or an extra bit of wingspan length.
One way to show a guy makes a lot of right plays is looking at his plus/minus. If his team plays better than its opponent when he is on the floor year after year, that is a testament to his ability to make the right play. Last season, for example, Joseph was a +52 in 80 games, showing the team did well when he played.
Look at this clip, where he recognizes his matchup is staying with DeMar DeRozan instead of guarding him on the screen action. He runs to the rim for a free basket. He needs to have as many plays like this as possible for Indiana next season.