The injury-riddled Indiana Pacers signed free agent Gal Mekel today to help stop the bleeding in the back court. George Hill (out until December probably), C.J. Watson (out another week or two), and Rodney Stuckey (playing on a minutes limitation) are all suffering injuries, and this has left third-stringer Donald Sloan with way too much on plate and nary a moment to rest.

Through in the fact that Sloan is a fringe NBA player to begin with and that Indiana is currently in a four-games-in-five-nights stretch, and Larry Bird’s decision to sign some help was really no choice at all. Especially when you consider that the Indiana Pacers are eligible to roster 16 players temporarily (above the normal maximum of 15) because so many players have missed so much time.

But who is Gal Mekel?

The 26-year-old has logged most of his professional minutes in Israel, but he saw some time with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Per Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, Mekel is flying to Boston, where the Celtics play on Friday, but we really don’t know much more than that.

So for a bit more perspective, we reached out to Rami Michail of FanSided’s Dallas Mavericks blog The Smoking Cuban.

What did Gal Melek provide for the Mavs?

Rami Michail: Gal Mekel came on last season as a “project.” The team had Jose Calderon, Devin Harris, and fellow rookie Shane Larkin on the roster, so playing time for Mekel was gonna be very limited. He did see the court early on in the season with Harris and Larkin missing time due to injuries but didn’t exactly impress. Coming into this season, Gal was faced with the same problem: Harris returned and the team brought on vets Jameer Nelson and Raymond Felton. Again, the numbers game was against Gal.

What is Gal Melek’s biggest strength on the court?

Michail: Gal is pretty good in the pick-n-roll. He isn’t the fastest or most athletic point guard in the league, but he knows how to use a screen and either get a good look for himself at the basket or find his rolling teammate. While it is only his second season in the league, he is 26 years old. He’s a pretty smart and will take care of the ball. He’ll always give it his all on the court.

What are the limitations that have so far prevented Gal from getting a shot?

Michail: Two things that hurt Gal’s game are his lack of consistent shooting range and athleticism. You can get by with one (look at Jose Calderon), but sticking in the NBA will be tough if you have neither. He shot just 25% from three last season and 34.9% overall. While it was a small sample size (31 games), we all knew this was a weakness of his coming into the NBA. Without a consistent jumper, teams will be able to sit on the roll man and dare him to shoot. Throw in his lack of “blow by” speed, Mekel can easily become a hindrance on the offensive end.

Do you think this is just an emergency stint for Gal on the Pacers, or can he play his way onto the team long term?

Michail: Coming into training camp, Gal seemed to be the easy choice to be cut from the roster, but that changed during the preseason. He showed improvement in his jumper and 3-point shot (55.6%). He also played a large role in games. Late against the Cavaliers, for example, he came up with a big assist and hit a big 3 to seal the win. In one of the preseason match ups against the Pacers, with top Mavs players out, Mekel got the start and finished with 19 points and 9 assists. His strong showing saved his spot on the roster, but the unexpected J.J. Barea waiver pickup made waiving Gal a necessity.

Yeah, it is just preseason, but he showed great improvement in his weaknesses. It should result in him sticking with the Pacers all season. I doubt he’ll be able to supplant C.J. Watson as Hill’s backup (when both are healthy), but he could be used in spurts or emergency situations. Pacers could even look to move Watson to the shooting guard spot and have Mekel platoon the other guard position off of the bench.

Rick Carlisle noted Mekel’s improvement and even said it’s one of the biggest changes he’s seen from a player over a summer. The Pacers might not be signing a great player, but he can help this injury-riddled team.