The True Value of Roy Hibbert
Roy Hibbert has become a dominant force in the post on the defensive end of the court. He is arguably the best rim protector in the league and has helped the Pacers become a title favorite over the heat. Josh Biers, our editor in chief, has even gone as far to say that Roy Hibbert is a top 5 player in the NBA. Zach Lowe recently stated that Hibbert is the most important player in the NBA behind Lebron. This lead me to look deeper into Roy Hibbert this season and ask; how good is he?
I have watched Hibbert three times this season; both times against the Miami Heat and once against the Portland Blazers. He is 1-2 in those games. He had one excellent game, one average game and one poor game. His excellent game was the first against the Heat. He was a force in the paint on both sides of the ball. He finished with 24 points and although he only had one block he protected the rim at an elite level causing Lebron to have a poor. Against the Blazers he played well, protecting the paint and putting in a modest 16 points. This was his best rebounding game of the three pulling down 14 boards. His final game was against the heat where he was in foul trouble most of the night and only played 23 minutes. There were a few things I took away from these three games and from what I have seen from Roy Hibbert in the past.
The heat are a favorable match-up for Hibbert. They don’t have anyone who can guard him in the paint and as a result he has his best offensive games. He also is a great rim protector and can cause Lebron James issues when he wants to get to the basket. Against other teams in the NBA I am not sure how effective he really is. The Blazers who are a shooting team didn’t really attack the basket too much and made Roy a non-factor for most of the game. These very different match-ups made me decide to break down hibbert by his skills and evaluate him for what he really is and not get to lost in one aspect of him.
Rim Protection- This is his undeniable strength and what people value the most for a big man and for good reason. The easiest shot in the NBA is right next to the basket. It only gets more difficult to make shots the farther you get away from the rim. Hibbert has an incredible ability to go straight up and protect the rim. His blocks are up this season and his opponent FG percentage in the paint is the lowest in the NBA when he is on the floor.Grade: A+
On-ball defense- This is also very important in the NBA. Serge Ibaka is an elite rim protector, but a mediocre on-ball defender. It’s why he isn’t considered for defensive player of the year. Hibbert is a much better on-ball defender than Ibaka, but I am worried we don’t know his true value. From what I can tell David West is tasked with guarding the best offensive big man for the opposing team, which leaves Hibbert with the second best. Most teams don’t have two offensive big men, so Hibbert more often than not is guarding defensive minded big men. This isn’t a knock on Hibbert as much as it is a compliment to West. This is partly why the Pacers are so dominant. Hibbert doesn’t have to focus on his man as much and can just protect the rim. It leaves me to wonder how good he would be if tasked with the best offensive big man, but from what I have seen he is solid. Grade: A-
Rebounding- His rebounding numbers are not all that bad. He average 8.6 a game, but because he is 7-2 and 290 he should be much better. He rebounds at about the same rate as Chris Bosh who is criticized for his poor rebounding ability. Elite big men average in the double digits for rebounds and Hibbert is just not quite there yet, which is surprising. He spends most of his time around the rim and should be swallowing up the rebounds. Right now Hibbert is tied for 24th in the league for rebound with Miles Plumlee. You don’t want to be tied with Miles Plumlee in any category let alone rebounding. Based on his size this is by far his weakest attribute and something he needs to work on. Grade: C
Scoring- Roy Hibbert actually has a very nice arsenal of post moves in his game. He can get on the block and go hard to the basket or give you a nice floater or hook shot. His offensive skill set is very impressive. However, he doesn’t really score that much. He averages 12.6 points, which is pretty consistent with his career average. Hibbert is a bit inconsistent game to game. He has games where he scores 25 points and then games when he scores 5. More often than not he is in single digits then he is in the 20’s. He also shoots a relatively low percentage for his size. He is 50th in the NBA in shooting percentage for interior players; right next to Jared Sullinger and Enes Canter two mediocre players in the NBA. He does have nice skill moves but he just doesn’t have a scorers mentality. He is the third and sometimes fourth option in the Pacer offense. He never commands a double team and that is a must in the NBA for a dominant big man. Dwight Howard is almost always commanding double teams in the paint. Grade: B
Passing: Nothing about Roy Hibbert has shown me that he is an excellent passer. He doesn’t command a double team so most of the time he gets the ball on the block he is looking to score. He doesn’t take the ball on the high post and distribute to teammates like Marc Gasol or Joakim Noah does. He really doesn’t have any exceptional passing ability and for a big man in the NBA today that can separate someone from average to great. Noah is an excellent defender but a mediocre scorer like Hibbert. However, he is a great passer and because of that he is a weapon when he gets the ball at the high post. Hibbert isn’t asked to do this by the Pacers because David West is a high post player and better at it. West isn’t an exceptional passer but a strong one and if Hibbert isn’t better then how good is he really? Grade: C+
Part of Hibbert’s ascendency to star status centers around his ability to slow Lebron James. This is what every team is searching for because Lebron is the best player in the world and if you want to win a championship you have to stop him. Hibbert is the best at doing that right now and because of that I think we overvalue him. How can someone claim Roy Hibbert is the most important player in the NBA when he is only excellent on one end of the floor. I can’t give the ball to Roy Hibbert in the last seconds of a game and say, “win this for us big fella”. He just isn’t that type of player. If you want to be considered the one of the best you have to do it on both ends. In my mind Hibbert is just a rich man’s Tyson Chandler. We all know how valuable Chandler is, but he would never be in the conversation for top 10 players in the NBA; so why is Hibbert? Tyson Chanlder was the first to stop Lebron in the finals three years ago with the Mavs. No one was saying he was the most important player behind Lebron then.
Hibbert stat line from this season
12.6 ppg 47% Fg 8.6 rebounds 2.9 blocks 2 turnovers 1.2 assists
Chandler stat line after the Mavs season when they won the championship
11.3 ppg 68% Fg 9.9 rebounds 1.4 blocks 1.6 turnovers 0.9 assists
Those are pretty comparable numbers. Hibbert is a better rim protector than Chandler, but not by much. They score about the same amount yet Chandler does it on 4 less shots a game. Chandler is also a better rebounder. I am not saying that Chandler is better than Hibbert. All I am trying to say is don’t be too quick to over value Hibbert and his rim protection. Without Paul George and David West the Pacers would be a much different team. You don’t build around a player like Roy Hibbert you pick him up to compliment your team and he is very good at that.
I would say Roy Hibbert right now is a B+/A-player and is cementing his star status to start the season. Centers in the NBA are a rare commodity and to find one as strong as Hibbert is valuable, but that still doesn’t make him one of the 10 best players in the NBA. If he can continue to improve on the offensive side of the ball while maintaining his defensive dominance he can become one of the best players in the NBA. Until he can maintain that level for an extended period of time then he is what he is. A B+/A- player with one exceptional skill and let’s leave it at that.