2009-10 Expectations – Troy Murphy
November 23rd, 2009 | by sweetbob |
Troy Murphy was a walking double-double in 2008-09, it was a career year across the board. Can he sustain those numbers while being on a team that is looking for its first post-season berth in a few years? What areas can he improve in? We’ll look at these questions on trying to figure out expectations for Troy Murphy this season.
Murphy has already battled an injury early this season, but when he’s on the floor, he’s putting up some nice numbers. What bothers me about him is that when he was injured and missed some time, the Pacers went on a winning streak. Are the numbers that he’s putting up worth his bad defense? Roy Hibbert is a big guy and has improved his defense this season and Jeff Foster is getting up there in age. Tyler Hansbrough is short to be a power forward and I’m not even going to say anything about Josh McRoberts. Clearly there aren’t any other option than to trot Murphy out there every game when healthy.
The team expectations for this year is the playoffs. They have been the 9th best team in the Eastern Conference the last few years, so they need to improve by just a few games this year to squeeze into the playoffs. If Murphy can improve his defense, stay out of foul trouble, and keep up his double-double numbers, I’d say the Pacers have a shot at the playoffs. If his shooting percentage takes a hit and he can’t stay healthy, the Pacers may have to wait another year before seeing any post-season action.
Tags: jeff foster, josh mcroberts, roy hibbert, troy murphy, tyler hansbrough
