As harsh as it may sound, there's been very few times in the past five years where an NBA team would say they're missing James Wiseman. The Golden State Warriors are still missing the idea of what the former second overall pick could have been, but in reality he never consistently displayed it in his nearly three seasons with the franchise.
This season could have been different for Wiseman, having signed with the Indiana Pacers where his size and athleticism may have been perfectly suited. Unfortunately the 6'11" big man suffered a devastating season-ending torn achilles in the opening half of the season, with the Pacers now desperately missing Wiseman as they search for answers at the backup center spot.
The Pacers could do with James Wiseman in the East Finals
While preseason can be taken with a grain of salt, Wiseman actually looked to fit in really well with the Pacers' style under head coach Rick Carlisle. He averaged 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in just 12.8 minutes per game in the preseason, shooting a scorching 70.8% from the field in the process.
Had the achilles injury not occurred in the regular season opener, it was actually entirely plausible for Wiseman to have played himself into a consistent role for Indiana off the bench behind starting big man Myles Turner.
With Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson both suffering torn achilles, the Pacers have been left with Thomas Bryant and Tony Bradley as their backup centers during these playoffs. Indiana have been excellent in advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, but their big man depth was exposed in Game 3 against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
The size and athleticism of Mitchell Robinson has been overwhelming on the boards for the Pacers at times in this series, while All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 20 fourth-quarter points to lift the Knicks to a stunning 106-100 comeback victory in Game 3.
With Bryant proving himself unplayable in recent games, Bradley was asked to play 15 minutes on Sunday in which he recorded only two points and three rebounds. While it's hard to guarantee that Wiseman would be a better option in this moment, his size and athleticism could have easily made him a better alternative to Bryant and Bradley as the Pacers try to limit the Towns-Robinson combination.
Indiana are still in a good spot with a 2-1 lead in the series, but their center options are now becoming a major problem in which Wiseman could have been a more viable answer despite his label as a draft bust.