Roy Hibbert's work with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar paying off

LOS ANGELES — While reclining on training equipment inside the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility, Roy Hibbert thought about one of his biggest supporters.

Though Hibbert hadn't spoken to the man in more than a month, he wanted to reach out. Nothing big — he wasn't seeking advice or encouragement — just wanted to snap a picture of something he noticed on the wall and send it via text message.

His recipient would immediately recognize the image.

The gold No. 33 belonging to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hibbert's summertime mentor.

"Amongst the great man's jersey over there," Hibbert said after the Indiana Pacers' Saturday afternoon practice.

Over the summer, Abdul-Jabbar came to Indianapolis to help fix Hibbert. A few hours every day over a week in July, Hibbert listened and talked with a fellow 7-footer — one who had played the center position better than anyone in NBA history.

Together, the pair set out on remolding Hibbert as a more dominant 7-2 center. Some of the lessons seemed elementary — footwork, timing, low-post offensive moves — but necessary since Hibbert seemed to lose his way in the second half of last season.

After the summer, but before the games began, Abdul-Jabbar laid out his plan: for Hibbert to take higher-percentage shots and not get suckered into bad jumpers away from the rim and know when to box out versus going for the rebound.

Now, after 30 starts this regular season, how much have those five days with The Captain actually helped Hibbert?

The numbers tell one story. Hibbert still spends an awful lot of time on the perimeter, and his rebounding numbers are down from his first 30 games of last season. However, a closer look shows improvement in the areas that Abdul-Jabbar once stressed.

"I think at the beginning of the season, I was a little bit stronger on the offensive end, and that's taken a bit of a backseat, but I'm thinking now I'm starting to get it back," Hibbert mentioned as his self-evaluation over his first 30 games of the season

"Defensively, (I'm) moving my feet and not just protecting the paint but getting up on shooters and trying to contest jumpers and stay in front of guards and forwards."

Last season over his first 30 games, Hibbert averaged 12.6 points on 48.5 percent shooting along with 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Before the Sunday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Hibbert came in with averages of 11.2 points, 44.8 percent, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Unlike last year, however, Hibbert hasn't played a single minute with Paul George; and overall, the personnel has been completely different than last year as the Pacers deal with a rash of injuries. Hibbert even missed a week (four games) with an ankle injury.

Though Hibbert proclaimed how he would park himself in the paint this season, and not force jumpers the way he did last year when he felt the ball would never find him again, he has attempted 56 shots from the 10-16 foot range compared to 49 at the rim. However on Friday against Milwaukee, Hibbert refrained from the perimeter as half of his six official shot attempts occurred within 4 feet or less. And the reason Hibbert only had six shots — the Bucks fouled often, sending him to the free-throw line six times. Milwaukee's insistent hacking was a credit to Hibbert getting deep looks.

"He's working hard to get low on his post ups and get better position," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel who watched Hibbert's workouts with Abdul-Jabbar from the sidelines. "He played a lot better before his ankle injury and he had two to three weeks where his numbers really dipped. … He was a little tender on it when he came back, but still, it takes a little longer for a big guy like that to get his legs (back) with rhythm and timing."

According to statistics provided by NBA.com's SportVu Player Tracking, under the glass this season, Hibbert has recovered 57.9 percent of his rebound opportunities. Not great and ideally, this percentage should be better. In comparison to rival starting centers in the Central Division (Andre Drummond and Pau Gasol who grab rebounds at a much higher rate), his percentage doesn't stack up.

Hibbbert still plays as more of a box-out artist, than actual rebounder. However, if Hibbert would heed Abdul-Jabbar's advice more often and rebound the way he did the previous two games, Miami and Milwaukee, he would perform much better in finding the ball. Hibbert had 10 rebounds against Miami and seven against Milwaukee.

"In Milwaukee (Friday) night, we referenced some of the things that Kareem was talking to him about," Vogel said. "Particularly, it was about locating the ball. So he was watching the flight of the ball on his rebounds and not just over committing to the box out. He's still boxing out but he's boxing out with the vision of the ball, which is something that Kareem mentioned."

In judging Hibbert based on the first 30 games of the 2013-14 regular season versus the last 30, he's slightly off his early pace but still a far better player than the one who appeared through last February through April (8.8 points, 38.8 percent shooting, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks per game).

Also, in rating his defense, this time a year ago Hibbert had defended as the best rim protector, allowing only 41.0 percent on 8.3 attempts per game. Over this early leg of the season, Hibbert's holding opponents to a slightly lower 40.7 percent on 8 attempts. Again, this is without the help of his three best perimeter-defending teammates from last year (George, Lance Stephenson and George Hill, who has only played in five games).

The time with Abdul-Jabbar was pricey — Hibbert once admitted that tutors like his own and Hakeem Olajuwon "are expensive to work out with." But if Hibbert continues to remember the lessons, last summer could be priceless.

"Hopefully," Hibbert said. "I can do better than I did before."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

INDIANA at LOS ANGELES

Tipoff: 9:30 p.m. today, Staples Center,

Los Angeles.

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

Radio: WFNI-107.5 FM, 1070 AM.

PACERS (13-21)

Pos. Player PPG Keystat PG Donald Sloan 10.0 4.5 apg SG Rodney Stuckey 11.8 3.6 rpg SF Solomon Hill 10.3 4.5 rpg PF David West 12.1 6.8 rpg C Roy Hibbert 11.2 1.9 bpg Key sub C.J. Miles 11.9 .336 3PT%

LAKERS (10-23)

Pos. Player PPG Keystat PG Ronnie Price 5.3 3.6 apg SG Kobe Bryant 23.8 5.3 apg SF Wesley Johnson 9.7 3.8 rpg PF Jordan Hill 11.9 7.9 rpg C Ed Davis 8.1 7.2 rpg Key sub Nick Young 14.7 .439 3PT%

STORYLINES

First vs. worst: The Pacers have the top scoring defense in the league, holding opponents to 96.1 points per game while the Los Angeles Lakers are still a case study in how not to play defense. Goes to show you how stats can mean very little in basketball. Though the Lakers average more blocks and steals per game than the Pacers – who rank in the middle of the road or dead last in those categories, respectively – they still can not stop teams from scoring. The Lakers allow 109.0 points per game, worst in the NBA.

Threes are wild: Not only are the Pacers looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season, but a win inside Staples Center would stand as only the third time in franchise history that the team has swept the Lakers. Dating back to last season, the Pacers have won three straight over L.A.

Prediction: For the second straight game, the Pacers face an opponent that is prone to fouling. The Lakers get called for 22.0 personal fouls per game, so that should encourage Indiana to employ its slashers (Sloan and Stuckey) and size (Hibbert) to draw contact and get to the line. The Pacers are only 4-5 in games when they attempt more free throws than the opponent but compared to the 4-15 record when they don't, it's a benchmark they should try to hit. Still, if the Lakers have any sense of pride, they'll look to avenge their embarrassing loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Dec. 15 when at point they trailed by nearly 40 points. Los Angeles wins 98-97.

— Candace Buckner