Johnny

Furphy

The 35th overall pick in this summer’s draft, Furphy’s opportunities to compete in camp have been limited due to injury. He tweaked both ankles, restricting his availability in practice. The Pacers will not practice on Thursday to allow Furphy and the team’s other banged-up players additional recovery. Due to Indiana’s depth, Furphy will only be an option in dynasty leagues this season.

Furphy looked really good through his first three games of the summer, but he did struggle a bit in this one. However, there’s no reason to be concerned. The second round pick is averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.5 triples per game this summer, which is impressive to see out of a player that is still only 19 years old. He may be able to earn rotation minutes for the Pacers this season, but his role will likely be too small for him to impact fantasy much in year one.

After a relatively muted performance in his summer debut, Furphy looked more comfortable on the court on Sunday. He led the Pacers in scoring while recording a full stat line, making plays on both ends of the floor. Cracking the Pacers rotation as a rookie will be difficult due to the team’s depth, but Furphy will have value in dynasty leagues.

Furphy’s production during his lone season at Kansas picked up once injuries freed up additional minutes for the freshman wing. From mid-January onward, the 6-foot-7.5 Australian averaged 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.6 3-pointers, shooting 46.4% from the field and 78.6% from the foul line. Well over half of Furphy’s shot attempts for the season came from beyond the arc, and the majority of his makes were assisted. He didn’t show much regarding the ability to create for himself, and the athletic testing numbers suggest that he may be more of a catch-and-shoot option at the NBA level. The Spurs drafted Furphy, but they’ll send him to the Indiana Pacers, where he’ll look to provide length and outside shooting prowess among a smaller group of wings.