INDIANAPOLIS – There’s a Doberman inside Darren Collison. Dan Burke can see it. Behind the veil of that soft-spoken, well-mannered point guard, there is a proud, hostile hound, vicious enough to make you think twice before crossing his path.

Burke, Indiana Pacers’ assistant and defensive guru, spotted the grittiness within Collison early, long before the now-30-year-old signed a two-year, $20 million contract with Indiana this past offseason. Burke saw it during Collison’s first stint with the Pacers, back in 2010.

The two didn’t have long together — Collison spent just two seasons in Indiana — but Burke used those days to try to extract that aggressiveness from Collison, asking him to play angrier, to let himself be enraged that NBA teams thought there were seven better points guards in the 2009 draft. Or that New Orleans gave up on him after just one season.

Before Collison headed off to Dallas in 2012 — he was traded with Dahntay Jones to the Mavericks for Ian Mahinmi — Burke sent him off with the words he hoped would continue to motivate him: “Unleash the Doberman.”

“He wants to be nice and quiet, but you can see it,” Burke said after Pacers practice Thursday at the St. Vincent Center. “There’s a little meanness in there. If he could just unleash that …”

Burke trails off, lost in the thought of what 82 games of an angry Collison would mean to the Pacers.

“It’d be more head of the snake, actually,” Burke said.

And so far, that’s close to what Collison has been. On both ends of the court.

On offense, Collison has piloted the Pacers' high-octane attack, leading them to 114 points per game, fourth-most in the NBA. That gaudy point total is due in large part to Collison playing perhaps the best basketball of his career. He’s averaging 15.6 points and 8.4 assists per game, the latter of which is good for sixth-best in the league.

But perhaps Collison’s proudest accomplishment of the young season has been his ability to keep the high-speed Pacers' from flying out of control and committing careless errors. With such a young team, made up of so many new faces, many expected turnovers to plague a team still trying to get to know one another. But with Collison at the helm, that hasn’t happened.

Indiana is averaging just 14.2 turnovers per game, sixth fewest in the Eastern Conference. Consider that Indiana is also sixth in possessions per game (105.2), and the minimization of turnovers becomes all that much more impressive. Collison himself has been among the league’s best at protecting the basketball. He's giving the ball away just twice a game, while his assist to turnover ratio sits at an exceptional 4.2

For reference, all-star Chris Paul led all guards in that category last year at 3.8.

Meanwhile, on defense, Collison is half of one of the most disruptive backcourt duos in the league. He and Victor Oladipo have combined for 31 deflections according to nba.com, more than any other guard combo.

Of course, the Pacers are still surrendering too many points and have a long way to go on defense, Burke said, but deflections are a hustle stat and seeing a veteran like Collison rank near the top of the league are exactly, what a young, impressionable bunch like the Pacers need to see.

So what's triggered the Doberman within him? A couple of things, Collison said.

“I’m a much better player than I was in the past,” the nine-year veteran said. “I know the game a little better. I’m more mature. I don’t think I’ve lost a step, but I’m not as fast as I used to be. But my basketball IQ is at higher level than it ever has been.”

But perhaps more critically, Collison has taken his status in the NBA personally. For years, he said, he's been overlooked and underappreciated compared to other point guards of his caliber.

“I’m highly underrated,” Collison said. “I’ve always felt like I’m one of the most underrated point guards, if not players, in the NBA.”

Collison has a few ideas as to why he's so underrated, but right now, they don’t matter, he said. All that matters is that he and the Pacers continue to prove people wrong.

And if he starts feeling satisfied, content with what he’s accomplished, he knows he can count on Burke to tell him what he needs to hear:

“They don’t appreciate you. Prove ‘em wrong. Unleash the Doberman.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.

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