The Indiana Pacers have recovered nicely from a poor start to this season. They hold a 32-23 record after Sunday’s impressive 129-111 defeat of the Los Angeles Clippers, and they sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They have won 10 of their last 14 games, and they may have the slightest of chances of overtaking the New York Knicks for the third seed in the East by the end of the regular season.
But the Pacers aren’t legitimate contenders for the NBA championship. They could use more depth, more length at the small forward position and a lot more defense.
One Sports Illustrated mock draft has them taking Kanon Catchings, a forward from Brigham Young University, with the No. 21 pick. Catchings is a 6-foot-9, 210-pound small forward who has the potential to become the type of player who can score from all three levels. NBADraft.net named De’Andre Hunter, a standout two-way forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as Catchings’ closest player comparison.
Catchings possesses ample athleticism, and he has some attractive defensive potential as well thanks to his 6-foot-11 wingspan and 8-foot-10.5 standing reach. He had a superb offensive outing on Jan. 28 versus Baylor in which he scored 23 points while making all eight of his shot attempts and all four of his 3-point tries.
Kanon Catchings didn’t miss vs. Baylor, 8-of-8 for 23 points in 25 minutes. At 6’9″, mechanics and release point to just shoot over every contest. pic.twitter.com/DTShejhTrQ
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) January 29, 2025
His stats this season — 8.1 points a game on 42.1 percent field-goal shooting and 36.8 percent from 3-point range in 19.2 minutes a game — may not be super impressive. But as a freshman, he could be an intriguing prospect for Indiana to develop moving forward — if he’s available for the team when it is on the clock at this June’s NBA draft.
