# Brandon Rush is starting to make an impact



## Knick Killer (Jul 16, 2006)

He played great last night against the Pistons scoring his season high 19. He shot the lights out nailing 5/8 from beyond the arc. Also the game before that against the Heat he had 17 pts. Do you guys still think we should have kept Bayless? Personally at first I was extremely pissed when we traded Bayless for Rush but seeing how these two guys have been playing so far in their short careers, It's made me change my opinion on the trade. I have really grown to like Rush as a player and I hope he keeps getting better and can become a solid starting shooting guard in this league. I guess I owe Larry Bird an apology!


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## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

Rush doesn't have the mentality to be more than a role player in the NBA. He has all the talent to be a 2nd/3rd option, but I fear he's going to become a 3-point shooting role player and solid defender. He definitely has confidence issues, and he even said that due to his time in Kansas, he learned to be a role player and isn't used to attacking. Considering our woes at the PG position, I would much rather have Bayless.


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## Tyreke (Jul 14, 2009)

Like Pacers Fan said he is a decent role player and I think he'll always be one. Hope I'm wrong but the player has to have an aggressive mentality to be a star in this league, and that's definitely something that Rush doesn't have.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

If Brandon Rush can become a good defender and shooter I'm not quite sure why some of the Pacers fans would be disappointed in that. Granger's going to need someone who can create space for him and keep him from having to guard the best perimeter scorer on the other team. Indiana has Granger locked up long-term, and appear to have some solid young players who'll be rotation guys at worst to build with in Hansbrough, Hibbert, Rush, and possibly even Price. If they can add a solid point guard and a scoring power forward they might have something they could really work with.


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## Knick Killer (Jul 16, 2006)

Bogg said:


> If Brandon Rush can become a good defender and shooter I'm not quite sure why some of the Pacers fans would be disappointed in that. Granger's going to need someone who can create space for him and keep him from having to guard the best perimeter scorer on the other team. Indiana has Granger locked up long-term, and appear to have some solid young players who'll be rotation guys at worst to build with in Hansbrough, Hibbert, Rush, and possibly even Price. If they can add a solid point guard and a scoring power forward they might have something they could really work with.


Or if they can add a guy by the name of JOHN WALL!


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## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

Bogg said:


> If Brandon Rush can become a good defender and shooter I'm not quite sure why some of the Pacers fans would be disappointed in that. Granger's going to need someone who can create space for him and keep him from having to guard the best perimeter scorer on the other team. Indiana has Granger locked up long-term, and appear to have some solid young players who'll be rotation guys at worst to build with in Hansbrough, Hibbert, Rush, and possibly even Price. If they can add a solid point guard and a scoring power forward they might have something they could really work with.


Granger doesn't really have another reliable offensive option besides Hibbert, who isn't all that reliable. If you think about Granger and Rush the way we used Jalen Rose and Reggie, it makes a bit more sense. Granger still isn't much of a threat off the dribble, and if Brandon can develop that killer mentality and be the Rose to Granger's Reggie, we would easily be a playoff team.

Of course, Granger isn't Reggie Miller and Rush is far away from Jalen Rose circa 2000, especially in terms of playmaking ability, but having two big-time scorers on the perimeter who can both shoot is incredibly difficult to stop.

I think our frontcourt is just fine even if we trade Murphy and Foster. Hansbrough and Hibbert might need 2-3 more years, but then again, so does the rest of the team. We'll need a bench for sure, but we already have some depth on the wing and all we really need besides our players developng (and Brandon stepping up) is a PG who can actually run the offense. John Wall would average about 8 turnovers per game in Obie's offense, but besides that, he'd thrive.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Landing the top prospect in the draft who also happens to play the position you most need to fill would obviously make things much easier, but quite literally hoping to win the lottery isn't really a "plan". I like Hibbert because he looks like he's going to be solid and it's incredibly difficult to get a legitimate starting center without overpaying for them. Ideally Rush would become a second option, but adding a scoring power forward(not Murphy) is another solution should Rush not become that guy. With current economic conditions the most important thing is that Indiana not overpay for a stop-gap solution at point guard that will handcuff them financially. 

If I were running the Pacers I'd try to spin off the vets with value(Murphy, Foster, and Dunleavy) for whatever prospects and/or picks they can get packaged with contracts that expire either this year or next. Ford is probably a sunk cost that they'll just have to keep until his contract expires next year. So long as they don't acquire any bad contracts between now and the summer of 2011 the Pacers are poised to go into that free agency period with only about 30 million committed between Granger, Jones, Rush, Hibbert, Hansbrough, Price, and two drafts' worth of rookies. That leaves an awful lot of cap space available to put the finishing touches on the rebuilding project.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

With January wrapped up Rush posted better than 10ppg and 4rpg shooting 45% overall and a remarkable 44% from three for the month. If this is indicative of a mini-breakout the Pacers may have found themselves a starter going forward.


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