Cool name, terrible Johnny Furphy hot take

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"Pacers regret in drafting Johnny Furphy grows as Ajay Mitchell shines" screams the headline on Jack Simone's latest "story" on 8pts9secs.com.

The only cool thing here is the site's name: 8 points, 9 seconds. For those that haven't put it together, it's an ode to Reggie Miller's single-handed win against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the East Conference Semi-Finals on May 7, 1995.

The rest of it, not cool. There are no "Pacer Insiders" saying they regret it.

Simone writes: "Johnny Furphy has enjoyed a few highlight plays during his time with the Indiana Pacers, but Ajay Mitchell looks to be blossoming into an absolute star for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Indiana drafted him with the No. 35 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Five selections into the second round. But three spots later, the Thunder took Mitchell.

"It’s nearly impossible to find impact players (in the second round), and the teams that do are raved about for their ability to scout talent. Furphy is a fine player. He’s shown flashes of solid play. But right now, Mitchell is the third-leading scorer on a Thunder team that has started the year 13-1.

"Should the Pacers have taken Mitchell over Furphy, maybe he would have been able to help them traverse the current (Tyrese) Haliburton-less waters that they have found themselves in.

"Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but in this case, said hindsight makes a clear point: Indiana should have taken Mitchell over Furphy."

There's no doubt Mitchell, 22, is off to a flier in 2025-26. In 16 games, he's averaging 16.1 points (46%), 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 30% from three.

Furphy, 21, has played just three games this season because of an ankle injury so the sample size simply isn't enough to make an accurate comparison.

But 2024-25 averages per 36 minutes paint a different picture. So, let's break it down.

Ajay Mitchell — 2024-25 Season

• GP: 36 │ MIN: 16.6 │ FGM: 2.5 │ FGA: 5.1 │ FG%: 49.5 │ 3PM: 0.6 │ 3PA: 1.7 │ 3P%: 38.3 │ FTM: 0.8 │ FTA: 1.0 │ FT%: 82.9 │ REB: 1.9 │ AST: 1.8 │ STL: 0.7 │ BLK: 0.1 │ TO: 0.8 │ PF: 1.9 │ PTS: 6.5

Johnny Furphy — 2024-25 Season

• GP: 50 │ MIN: 7.6 │ FGM: 0.7 │ FGA: 1.8 │ FG%: 38.0 │ 3PM: 0.3 │ 3PA: 1.0 │ 3P%: 30.0 │ FTM: 0.4 │ FTA: 0.4 │ FT%: 81.8 │ REB: 1.4 │ AST: 0.4 │ STL: 0.4 │ BLK: 0.2 │ TO: 0.2 │ PF: 0.8 │ PTS: 2.1

Ajay Mitchell — Per 36 Minutes (2024–25 OKC)

(16.6 MPG → multiplier 2.1687)

• GP: 36 │ MIN: 36.0 │ FGM: 5.4 │ FGA: 11.1 │ FG%: 49.5 │ 3PM: 1.3 │ 3PA: 3.7 │ 3P%: 38.3 │ FTM: 1.7 │ FTA: 2.2 │ FT%: 82.9 │ REB: 4.1 │ AST: 3.9 │ STL: 1.5 │ BLK: 0.2 │ TO: 1.7 │ PF: 4.1 │ PTS: 14.1

Johnny Furphy — Per 36 Minutes (2024–25 IND)

(7.6 MPG → multiplier 4.7368)

• GP: 50 │ MIN: 36.0 │ FGM: 3.3 │ FGA: 8.5 │ FG%: 38.0 │ 3PM: 1.4 │ 3PA: 4.7 │ 3P%: 30.0 │ FTM: 1.9 │ FTA: 1.9 │ FT%: 81.8 │ REB: 6.6 │ AST: 1.9 │ STL: 1.9 │ BLK: 0.9 │ TO: 0.9 │ PF: 3.8 │ PTS: 10.0

Mitchell plays the two-guard alongside reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Furphy's role was expected to increase this season until the injury.

Mitchell has the safety net of the NBA's third best player (Nikola Jokic (1); Luka Doncic (2)) so, to be frank, there's less pressure on him to deliver while the Pacers, even if Furphy was healthy, would be under more pressure given Haliburton is out of the season, Myles Turner departed to Milwaukee, Quenton Jackson, Kam Jones and forwards Aaron Nesmith and Obi Toppin are all out.

Now, let's break down the per-36 minutes based on their careers out of the same draft class. Per 36, Furphy makes more threes, shoots more free throws, grabs more boards, makes more steals, blocks more shots and fouls less, has less turnovers and he also takes less shots.

Furphy is a 10-points-per-game scorer to go with 6.6 rebounds and almost two assists. Pretty decent per 36.

One of the NBA's best coach's Rick Carlisle has also taken the Australian under his wing.

"He's really kind of teaching me and instructing me how things go because I'm so new to this kind of (stuff)," Furphy said.

"So many things are coming out in different angles, he's been really good (in) taking me aside, doing individual workouts.

"I've definitely felt that sort of care level from him."

Furphy has barely scratched the surface, he has elite athleticism but is injured. To suggest the Pacers "regret" not drafting Mitchell simply because he's in a better situation, is playing well for the 13-1 Oklahoma City Thunder while Furphy, frustratingly (I'm sure) is watching his decimated NBA Finals squad go 1-12 to start the season is way off the mark. In fact, not even close.

Miller was other-worldly in that 8.9 seconds 30 years ago, this Furphy take, not so much.