NBA Thanksgiving 2019: What each team has to be thankful for

Indiana Pacers

The Malcolm Brogdon gamble is paying off

There was no question about Malcolm Brogdon being a good player, but when the Indiana Pacers handed him a four-year, $85 million contract, the question became: Is he that good? The Milwaukee Bucks should’ve paid the price to keep their prized restricted free agent, but for the Pacers, a team in need of a starting point guard, it was still something of a gamble.

Brogdon has more than lived up to the hype, which is especially impressive without Victor Oladipo in the backcourt to claim the majority of the scoring load. Brogdon is averaging a team-best and career-high 18.8 points, 8.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Though he’s only shooting 32.1 percent from 3, he’s still shooting 46.6 percent overall. Coming off a 50-40-90 season, there’s no question Brogdon can shoot when there are other scoring threats around him. Put a healthy Oladipo next to him and that backcourt is going to sing on both ends.