What Arkansas guard Anthony Black would bring to the Indiana Pacers
Anthony Black is one of the more unique prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Arkansas Razorbacks guard is among the shiftier players in the draft, and that applies on both ends of the floor. His top speed is rarely matched by other prospects, and he can reach it with the ball in his hands. But he can change direction and pace with ease, and that makes him hard to stay in front of.
On offense, that makes Black difficult to contain. He puts a ton of pressure on the rim thanks to his ability to skate past his matchup, and he then punishes defenses with great passing and vision or decent finishing. On defense, he spins away from screens and moves his feet to stay in front of his man. His shiftiness makes him impressive.
The rest of his game stems from his speed. His aforementioned passing doesn't jump out statistically, he only averaged 3.9 assists per game. But his assist rate was high for the Razorbacks, and he threw some clever passes to get his teammates open.
Because he could put a defense in rotation with his drives and ability to navigate pick-and-rolls, even his passes that didn't lead to assists were beneficial for his team. They opened up shots elsewhere.
When Black called his own number while attacking, he made it count. He attempted 118 shots at the rim this past season, per CBBAnalytics, and canned 64.4% of those shots. His accuracy in floater range wasn't particularly impressive, but his volume shows that he can get to his spots in close and be an offensive engine. Creators are valuable in the NBA.
Defensively, Black is one of the best perimeter defenders in the 2023 draft class. His foot speed helps him stay in front of opposing players, and as a six-foot-seven-inch guard, he can switch on to bigger players and hold his own. That makes him an extremely valuable defensive player.
Black's combination of size and speed on the defensive end is incredibly rare. Most of the discussion about switchable defenders in the NBA relates to bigger forwards switching down on to guards, but a guard who can move up on to forwards could be just as valuable. Black might be able to do that.
He also is well positioned and gambles at the right time. His steal and block rate are both solid, and both are good indicators of defensive ability.
The 19-year old also shines in transition. A speedy ball handler with court vision should do well in those instances, and Black does. He has the perfect mold of skill to punish opposing teams in the open floor with his passing, agility, and rim pressure. He can catch up to the play in transition defense as well, which is another area of expertise for the youngster.
Black isn't a perfect prospect. His jumper is inaccurate, he knocked down just 30.1% of his three-point shots this past season. He needs more of an in-between game, and the young guard could add muscle. Overall, his off-ball game needs work.
He improved as an off-ball defender at Arkansas, and more reps away from the play on defense will help him grow further. But that isn't a strength for the prospect at this time.
Black is projected to be selected in the top-10 of Thursday's NBA Draft, and there are rumors about a few teams having interest in that range. He could be an in-demand prospect for lottery teams.
The Indiana Pacers, who met with Black at the NBA Draft Combine, may not be among them. The blue and gold already have Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, and Buddy Hield acting as ball handlers for the team, and a few other veterans loom as well. Rosters can change long term, but it's still hard to envision Black in his ideal role with Indiana.
There is an argument to be made that a large creator who can defend could fit anywhere. If the Pacers do choose Black, that could be why. But on paper, he doesn't seem to be the right prospect for Indiana, who owns the seventh overall pick, despite his impressive talent.
Still, a team that has fewer guards and has time to develop the young ball handler will be happy to get Anthony Black. He is immensely talented. But it seems unlikely that the team will be the Pacers.
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