NBA Season Preview: Indiana Pacers

Written by Brendon Donohoe

Welcome to our NBA season preview. Leading up to the first game of the NBA season, we will be counting down every team in the NBA.  Next up, the Indiana Pacers.

24) Indiana Pacers

2014-2015 Record: 38-44

Roster Breakdown

• Key Offseason Additions: Monta Ellis (FA), Jordan Hill (FA), Glenn Robinson III (FA), Myles Turner (Draft), Joseph Young (Draft)
• Key Offseason Losses: Roy Hibbert, David West, CJ Watson

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just a few years ago this team featured a roster that went to the Eastern Conference Finals, and now this roster finds itself at the bottom of the East. All is not lost though, as the team’s star hasn’t even hit his prime yet. Paul George will be entering his 6^th season in the NBA, but he be will be starting at a position he is not too familiar with. Paul George at power forward is an interesting experiment, but it’s an experiment I expect to fail. I do not see George as a player that can successfully man both forward positions, like say, Carmelo can. Paul is a SF/SG, not a SF/PF. His skill set will not match well against another quality power forward. He may eventually grow into it, but that will take some time. Offensively, Paul George will do fine, if not great. Defensively however, he might end up riding the struggle bus for much of the season.

Similar to Paul George, the remainder of the starting lineup may also find offensive success, while struggling defensively. No other player embodies this more than Monta Ellis. The team’s top free agent acquisition has made a career out of scoring, and not doing a lot else. I expect nothing less this year. Along with Monta in the backcourt is George Hill. Hill has never been great, but he has been good. He is perfectly adequate at all facets of being a point guard, and that includes defense. I don’t see Hill as good enough to cover Monta’s lack of defense, but he will be able to cover his own. At the three will be C.J. Miles, who had a career year last year, but that isn’t saying a whole lot. Miles is a below average starter, who would be better off as a bench option. Unfortunately, this team does not have a whole lot of options. Last, at center is Jordan Hill. Not much to say about Hill other than he is pretty average. Hill will probably put up 12-8, while playing decent enough defense. The starting lineup has offense, but the defense is just average at best.

The bench isn’t overly exciting either. Players like Solomon Hill, Ian Mahinmi, and Toney Douglas aren’t bad bench options, just not particularly good ones. Like some of the starters, they are average bench players, who will continue to be average. Chase Budinger might also be lumped into the group, but if he can regain the form he had in Houston, he might actually be worth a damn. Rodney Stuckey and Lavoy Allen are some of the few bench players on this team that are actually quality bench players. Rodney is able to spark the offense of the bench, while Lavoy is able to the same for the defense. Myles Turner might someday be the future center of this team, but he is just too raw to give serious minutes to. Joseph Young, Rakeem Christmas, Shayne Whittington, and Glenn Robinson III are all very young players, but all have very questionable futures. Odds are, the future isn’t too bright for these youngsters, but you can’t cross them out yet.

Question on Everyone’s Mind?

Will Paul George return to his superstar form?

When Paul George returned from injury at the end of last season, there was a noticeable red flag. Very often in those games, George looked overly cautious in protecting his once broken leg. When he came down from a dunk, he came down slowly while putting most of the weight on his good leg. His jumpers lacked elevation. He would also shy away from contact. Maybe I’m making something out of nothing, but mentally, I’m not quite sure if he has fully recovered. The athletic tools are still there, but he needs the mentality back to return to form. With that said, I do believe he will come into the season with his old mentality back. May take part of the season before he is back to 100%, but I do feel confident that PG-13 will recover his superstar form. Though I must say, playing out of position will not help this recovery process.

Season Outlook

Despite having high aspirations coming into the season, the Pacer’s seem destined for the lottery once again. The pieces just don’t fit particularly well on this team. Paul George is playing out of position. C.J. Miles is a below average starter. Monta Ellis will attempt to fill the void Lance Stephenson once filled, but I don’t believe Monta to be a good fit for the team. Jordan Hill is easily the team’s best true big man, which isn’t a great sign. The bench is fairly mediocre. I’m just not a big fan of the way this roster is constructed. Despite the fact that I think Frank Vogel is a very good coach, I think this will be his final year with the team.

Las Vegas Over/Under – 42.5

Prediction – Under with 36, finishing 12th in the East

Check out the other installments of our NBA season preview.

30) Philadelphia 76ers

29) Brooklyn Nets

28) Minnesota Timberwolves

27) Portland Trail Blazers

26) Denver Nuggets

25) Detroit Pistons