Where they’re heading
There are not many steps left for the Pacers to take, and seeing as they got Miami to a Game 7 in last year’s Eastern Conference, the next logical landing spot is the NBA Finals. In order to help that cause, the Pacers aggressively bolstered their bench this summer, wiping clean some of the disappointments in the reserve unit last season and bringing in point guard C.J. Watson, versatile forward Chris Copeland and veteran Luis Scola.
While that will help, the Pacers’ ability to make the leap to the elite level likely depends on the performance of forward Paul George, who has emerged as a top-level talent, but still needs improvements to get himself on a level somewhere close to superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The Pacers gave George a max contract this summer thinking that he would raise his game, and though it is unreasonable to expect him to reach a James-like level, the Pacers need him to be a go-to fourth-quarter option.
Where they’ve been
The Pacers should serve as a model franchise for small-market teams looking to rebuild. Coming out of the ashes of a team that exhausted its goodwill within the city—thanks largely to the antics of Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson—Indiana has drafted wisely (Roy Hibbert, George, Lance Stephenson), made bold trades (George Hill) and put itself in position to attract free agents (David West).
The Pacers were just 37-45 three years ago, closing with a strong finish under Frank Vogel, who was the interim coach after Jim O’Brien was fired. The Pacers, wisely, kept Vogel, and he has ingrained a tough, no-nonsense attitude among his players, one that has seen them ascend from 12th to ninth to first in the league in defensive efficiency. Indiana won 49 games last year and announced itself as Miami’s biggest Eastern Conference challenger. They now have the depth and talent required to follow through on that claim.
Introducing … the new Danny Granger
Danny Granger, once the future of the Pacers, is making his return. Eventually. We think.
Granger played just five games last season, averaging 5.4 points in 14.8 minutes per game, before being put on the shelf with a left knee injury. He was slated to play again this year, but this time, a calf injury will keep him out for three weeks—one that the organization insists is not related to the knee problem he had last year.
Still, Granger was said to be suffering from, “jumper’s knee,” last season, and it is possible he will never really be back to his old self. In his absence, Stephenson made good on his chance last year, leaving the Pacers with a dilemma. They’re better off with Stephenson and George on the wings, but Granger is a proud veteran who might not do well in a bench role. In other words, if Granger should prove himself to be healthy, a trade is likely on the horizon.
Numbers game
Probably the biggest area in which George can improve is in the post, on both ends of the floor. Last year, he averaged 0.770 points per possession offensively when working in the post, according to Synergy Sports, and that is paltry for a guy who is 6-8 and has George’s physical gifts. George has not done much work in the post in his career, and last year, only 5.7 percent of his possessions came in that range.
Defensively, George was lacking the strength to handle James in the post in last year’s playoffs, and that needs to change. George has steadily gotten better at defending post-ups—he allowed 1.128 points per possession on post-ups the previous year, but had that down to 0.896 points last year—but he needs to work on it even more.
