2014-15 NBA preview: Indiana Pacers
By James Makula
Indiana is probably one of the toughest teams to judge this season. They are filled to the brim with question marks. They lost Paul George to injury and Lance Stephenson to free agency. What Dr. Roy Hibbert shows up is also hugely important. Will we get the Hibbert that was decent offensively and caused the world’s best player to add a new shot to his repertoire, due to the doctor’s defensive domination, or will we get the Roy who can’t score, rebound or defend shots at his normal rate? A large part of me hopes that he was suffering from some undisclosed injury – his downfall was right around the time he got knocked in the head. If so, let’s hope he has recovered, because he’s a joy to watch.
One of the more fascinating aspects of the upcoming season for the Pacers is how Frank Vogel will react to the criticism of his offensive system and what his offensive system will look like without Paul George. George was actually below average offensively after his scorching start, but he was still always a threat and a focus of opponent defenses. Without him, the Pacers will avoid some bad shot selections, but they will also need new guys to step up and new guys to create.
The Pacers did bring in one of my favorite players: C.J. Miles. He has had an injury plagued career, but he has some undeniable NBA skills. He can shoot the lights out, and he is an intelligent player who understands the game – where to be on the court, when to keep the ball moving, when to shoot, etc. The Pacers also brought in combo-guard, Rodney Stuckey, who is the polar opposite of Miles. Stuckey will hold onto the ball too long, and he can’t shoot, but he can handle the ball in small doses, and he can get to the rim with the best of them (although, on those rim attacks, he will spend a lot of time looking at the refs as the other team is running the other direction).
While wasting a season is never fun, and David West will be a year older before the Pacers will contend again, this season will force Vogel to figure out an offensive scheme that can put some points on the board, and when players go down, others step up. The Pacers could see somebody like Hibbert finally figure it out, or possibly my man, C.J. will settle in. Indiana will still play fantastic defense, and they’ll be in the playoff mix during this upcoming season.
Best case: 50-32
The Pacers continue their defensive domination, and the Pacers and Dr. Hibbert figure out how to correctly use his offensive skillset. The Pacers also see George Hill, Solomon Hill and Miles succeed and become reliable assets. The Pacers grab a 4 seed and duke it out in six with the Cavs, but they come out on the losing end.
Worst case: 30-52
The Pacers best and worst cases paint the picture of how questionable the Pacers’ season will be. If Roy doesn’t figure it out and is the Roy of the 2nd half of last season, and none of their free agent signings are able to contribute positively, then the Pacers could be looking at a brutal season. David West has been hugely important to the Pacers’ success these last couple years. If he loses a step, it shouldn’t be overly destructive to his career, but if he loses the quickness to guard Taj Gibson or Kevin Love, then the future road to the finals becomes that much more difficult.
Frank Vogel is a very good coach, and it’s more likely that we see the best case than we do the worst case, but if the worst case does happen, don’t color me surprised.
Prediction: 43-39