Breakout Pacers Forward Should Get Playoff Minutes After Impressive Showing

The Indiana Pacers have locked up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, meaning they didn’t have to play their top players in Friday night’s matchup with the Orlando Magic. That allowed young forward Johnny Furphy to get more minutes.

After a bit of a slow start, Furphy was challenged by one of his coaches to play harder. He took the challenge to heart, which led to a good statistical output, but even better, he produced one of the team’s best highlights of the season with a poster dunk.

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That aggressiveness and confidence, despite limited playing time all season, can be contagious, and something that the Pacers could use in the playoffs.

The team made it to the Eastern Conference finals, but many argued it was more due to injury luck than their own stellar play. That alone should provide the team with motivation, but getting some added juice from some young players off the bench could provide even more of a spark.

Furphy clearly showed he had the ability to up the energy for his team in that game, and also showed some skill with a 17-point performance on 6-10 shooting and 2-5 shooting from three. He did go 3-7 from the free-throw line, but that was more of a one-off than a trend the rest of the season.

At six-foot-nine and 200 pounds, Furphy has the size and length to be serviceable on the defensive end, something that can earn anyone playoff minutes. If he can add on solid shooting and more energy plays, he could have a significant impact coming off the bench and provide a dynamic opponents didn’t see much of during the regular season.

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Even the coaching staff seems to love having the second-round pick on the roster because of his attitude.

"He's just a pure competitor," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Everything about him is pure. He doesn't have a selfish bone in his body. Does everything hard. Does everything with the right spirit. Tonight he was obviously a bright spot in this game, just with the activity, the running. The dunks, people get excited when a young player makes a play like that, but his overall vibe is a winning vibe."

A winning vibe is exactly something that could benefit the Pacers in the playoffs, especially for a team that could benefit from added wing depth. Despite being just 20 years old, Furphy has a chance to elevate his game even further and elevate the rest of the team for another deep playoff run.

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