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Sports Grumblings -
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles
NBA Basketball Grumblings -- 2008 Team Previews -- Indiana Pacers
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles/articles/486/1/NBA-Basketball-Grumblings----2008-Team-Previews----Indiana-Pacers/Page1.html
Mike Zink
 Mike Zink has been a part time sports reporter for nearly 15 years, covering all of the major circuits plus most college and high school sports. Fantasy Sports is relatively new to him but plans to treat it like everything else he has covered. Being the new kid on the block, with just a little under five years as a Fantasy Sports contributor Mike plans to go all out as basketball is his number one passion and his goal is to keep you up to speed in your respective leagues. In his spare time Mike works for several local papers, and has interviewed many of the top players in the game, so he feels qualified in bringing the very best that he can give. By Mike Zink
Published on 11/17/2008 |
 Jamaal Tinsley is not with the team, but he is still a story. The Pacers won't gel until Tinsley is dealt. |
The 36-46 Indiana Pacers finally sent Jermaine O'Neal and his cap-strangling contract to Toronto for guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, forward Maceo Baston, and a draft pick. The addition of Ford signaled that the Pacers were ready to go in a different direction at point guard.
Joining Ford, Nesterovic, and Baston are Brandon Rush (13th pick, part of draft night trade with Portland), Jarrett Jack (also from Portland), Roy Hibbert (17th pick, part of trade with Toronto), and local high school hero, Josh McRoberts (trade with Portland).
The Pacers biggest strengths are their ability to push the pace and score points with their solid, flexible depth at guard and small forward. T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack will absorb all of the available point guard minutes. Travis Diener, still recovering from a foot injury, will begin the season on the bench and be embittered in a battle for playing time when he recovers. Diener is a reliable option to have available if injuries or a favorable matchup dictates he should play.
The minutes at shooting guard and small forward are interchangeable and it appears that four players will be vying for those minutes. Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger will play starter's minutes, while Marquis Daniels and Brandon Rush will fill in the rest off the bench. Daniels has proven to be a solid utility wing off the bench with his solid defense and unorthodox offensive repertoire.
The addition of Ford and Jack improves the team speed and quickness of the backcourt immensely, giving Jim O'Brien's fast-paced offensive system a much-needed boost. It also gives O’Brien the option of playing small ball by moving Granger to power forward and using Jack or Daniels at shooting guard. With the available depth, the Pacers should push the pace for 48 minutes in an effort to wear down opponents with their running game.
Defense and post scoring are the Pacers most glaring weaknesses. Roy Hibbert showed in camp that he may single-handedly resolve both of these weaknesses in the future, but any production that Hibbert offers this year will be gravy and certainly should not be expected. Rasho Nesterovic will likely start at center for the Pacers, giving them a veteran presence at the post and a person who has the ability to pass and knock down shots. Scoring tough buckets around the rim, and more importantly stopping easy buckets at the rim on defense, remain big question marks in Rasho's game.
Jeff Foster may be more reliable around the hoop, but he is undersized at center and his offensive game is limited. Troy Murphy should eat up most of the minutes at power forward with help from Foster and Maceo Baston. Murphy will need to improve his rebounding this year to go along with his ability to step out and deliver from downtown.
The Pacers rely on a team defensive approach that often broke down last year at the point of attack. O’Brien hopes the improved backcourt quickness will help with on-the-ball defense making it tougher for the opposition to push the ball into the lane and find easy buckets at the rim. Defensive improvement is critical to the Pacers hopes of improving their record this year.
The Pacers just missed the playoffs last year thanks to a late surge that involved several key players that remain on the roster. Considering the talent around those key players has improved and includes players that fit the way Jim O'Brien prefers to play, earning a playoff spot has to be goal number one. Reality mucks up the initial logic though since several other Eastern Conference teams have made improvements that should make a playoff berth much tougher to earn.
The empty green seats at the Field house spread like poison ivy last year as fed up fans refused to invest any emotion or ticket money into a short-handed team with top players who did not appear to care. The massive roster changes by Larry Bird over the summer as well as an active public relations campaign pushing a positive view of the players combined to entice the local public into giving the Pacers a fresh look.
The team's slogan this year is, "Ignite the Passion. Restore the pride." There cannot be full ignition until Jamaal Tinsley is traded, simply because, even though he is not with the team, he remains a story. The Pacers hope the fan base will rally around their assembled group of good guys playing basketball the right way, and find a reason to keep following the team throughout the season.
Unless playing the right way produces more wins than expected, the Pacers will still struggle in attendance this year. In addition, the season begins with a brutal schedule. The first 20 games include three games with Boston, two with Cleveland, and two with Orlando, one with Detroit, LA Lakers, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix. If the Pacers win more than six of those first 20 they will be off to a good start, but the casual fan will not see much to get excited about.
Last year, the Pacers were tons of fun to watch over the last three months of the season. The team provided fans with a great effort and often outplayed their opponents. So while gathering wins in the first 20 games will be a struggle, it does not mean the Pacers cannot give a great effort, and should they lose, go down swinging with everything they have. That type of effort will eventually capture the attention of casual fans and re-ignite that passion which is desperately seeking a spark.
Predicted Record: 40-42
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