Tomorrow night's NBA Draft will be an exciting event for the Indiana Pacers.  They have the 15th (and 42nd) pick in what is considered a relatively weak draft, and no one really has any idea who they are going to pick.  There's no chance the Pacers are going to get the only two players considered 'sure things', Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams, who are projected to go 1 and 2 (ie Cleveland and Minnesota).  

Earlier, Larry Bird shot down rumors that the Pacers were packaging the 15th pick and Roy Hibbert for the 2nd pick to get Williams. 

"We're not doing that," Bird said. "I'm not interested in trading Roy. Roy is one of our core guys.  The draft is a good draft, not a great draft. If there was somebody at 2 that we were really targeting that I think would make us a lot better, yeah, you'd have to do it. But I believe in Roy."

Okay, so who are the potential candidates at 15?  (Let's be honest, the 42nd pick is unlikely to make it through training camp at best, so we can forget about that one.)

Most expert and mock projections have the Pacers picking either BYU 6'2" combo guard and top scorer Jimmer Fredette, or Providence 6'5" shooting guard Marshon Brooks.  Interesting.

Looking at the Pacers roster right now, they pretty much have starters settled in every position.  Collison is the incumbent at point guard, George at shooting guard, Granger at small forward, Hansbrough at power foward and Hibbert at center.  I don't see either Fredette or Brooks displacing George at shooting guard, unless they trade Granger and move George up to small forward.  Fredette and Brooks could get minutes off the bench, and it's no secret that the Pacers have been shopping around Dahntay Jones and Brandon Rush, two disappointing options at that position.

The other weak spot is probably power forward, especially if Josh McRoberts is not returning.  Hansbrough has only played roughly the equivalent of a single season, and even though he has potential, he is considered by most as an energy guy off the bench.  Jeff Foster is ageing and James Posey is too small and only shoots threes.  So if the Pacers go for a power forward, they might have a think about 6'9" Tristan Thompson from Texas, though it's hard to see Thompson getting significant minutes behind Hansbrough and the other veterans.

That's the problem with this draft.  The Pacers are okay at all five starting positions but not great at any of them (unless you put Granger in that category).  But there's no one that will be available at 15 that can really help the team out in a significant manner, even as a bench player.  The bench already has AJ Price at the point, Rush, Dahntay Jones and (possibly, if they re-sign him) Dunleavy at the wings and Posey (and potentially McRoberts and Foster if they are re-signed) as the bigs.  Oh, and there's Lance Stephenson too.  Not exactly a great looking bench but unlikely to be substantially improved from the draft.

Larry Bird said they have narrowed their pick down to four players, two of which he believes will be available when the Pacers are on the clock.  Fredette is a shooter with unlimited range, but will his lack of size and relative lack of athleticism and defensive abilities hinder his performance in the NBA?  Is he another Adam Morrison waiting to happen?  He's not even guaranteed to slip to 15 either, with Utah and Phoenix (12 and 13) showing interest in Jimmer and New York (17) potentially moving up in the draft just to get him.  Thompson's stock has been rising in recent weeks but he is a senior and might not have as high of a ceiling.

My guess is the Pacers will take the best available player, and I think we might be in for a surprise.

 

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There are reports that former Lakers assistant coach, 45 year old Brian Shaw, will interview for the assistant coach job in Indiana.  Shaw had tried to get a head coaching job in LA, Houston and Golden State and failed for all of them, so he has now set his eyes on assistant role again.

Interestingly, Shaw will reportedly meet with Frank Vogel, which strongly suggests to me that Vogel will get the head coaching job next season.  If Vogel can get Shaw, widely known as a 'players coach', I think that will be a boost for this young Pacers team.  

On the other hand, it also concerns me a little.  If Shaw is such a great coach, why hasn't he gotten a head coaching job by now?  And why has he been turned down by all the teams that he has applied for thus far?

Nevertheless, I still say hire the man.  no comments

As a regular on weekly highlight reels, I guess this could be regarded as a 'break out' season for power forward Josh McRoberts, who was almost traded for OJ Mayo before the trade deadline (as a part of a deal that involved other pieces that weren't exactly divulged) and may not even be a Pacer next season as he is likely to test the market as a free agent.

The athletic 6'10" McRoberts provided more than the Pacers could have hoped for on the offensive end this season.  He finished at the rim with some highlight dunks, threw in a few three pointers and even led the occasional fast break with his unusually decent ball-handling skills.  For the year he averaged a career high 7.4 points in 22.2 minutes per game, playing in 72 games and starting in 51 of them.  When Frank Vogel took over as coach Hansbrough began to start ahead of McRoberts but he still played significant minutes.  His season high was a 20 point game in a blowout loss against Chicago in late January. 

McRoberts wasn't too shabby in other departments either.  He averaged 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists, had 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals per game, all career highs.  He also shot 0.547 from the field, a surprising 0.383 from 3-point range (23-60 for the season) and a respectable 0.739 from the line.

Offensively, McRoberts is who he is -- a utility forward who can use his athleticism, ball-handling and passing skills to provide a spark off the bench.  Every now and then he will have a good shooting night and put up points in the mid-teens, but it's a stretch to imagine him starting on any playoff teams this year apart from the Pacers.  If he continues to work on his game and get more minutes, he could average around 10 points a game, but he will never come close to being an All-Star in the NBA.

Defensively, however, was another story.  Even though he is a solid 6'10" and 240 pounds, McRoberts lacked the size and defensive experience to take on the bigger and craftier post players and the quickness of smaller, more athletic forwards.  He can grab boards with his leaping ability but isn't a particularly skillful rebounder in the mould of a Jeff Foster.  And although he has now played 3 years in the NBA, McRoberts is still just 24 and prone to mental lapses.

Nontheless, McRoberts overachieved in the eyes of many this season.  If anything, he was at least entertaining to watch on the break.  Will he be a Pacer next season?  Judging from the fact that the Pacers used him as trade bait and the fact that he is a useful player to have for many teams, it seems unlikely that he will be back.  Will the Pacers really miss his presence?  A little bit, I think, but if the Pacers don't acquire a genuine starting calibre power forward during the offseason, it will at least give Tyler Hansbrough more minutes to develop.

Grade: B+ 


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Finally, I am starting this series of posts on each Indiana Pacers player and how they performed in the 2010-2011 NBA season.  I thought I'd start off with one of the brightest spots: rookie Paul George.

Selected with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Paul George was considered a bizarre choice at the time because he was projected as a small forward, the same position occupied by the Pacers' best player, Danny Granger.  It was the highest pick the Pacers have had since they chose Erick Dampier in 1996 (also the 10th pick) and many fans thought the Pacers had blown it.

Well, they were wrong.  In a draft where the only 'sure things' were John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and possibly Evan Turner, Paul George may eventually be regarded as the steal of the draft.

PG didn't have eye popping numbers in his rookie season: 61 games, 19 starts, 20.7 minutes per game, 7.8 ppg, 3.7rpg, 1.1apg, 1.0spg, 0.4bpg, shooting 0.453 from the field, 0.297 from 3-point range and 0.762 from the free throw line.  His career high was a 23-point performance against Washington on April 6th.

However, PG certainly made a name for himself in the playoffs against the top seeded Chicago Bulls when he did an outstanding job of 'shutting down' Derrick Rose.  In that 5-game series, PG averaged just 6 points in just under 27 minutes per game but also averaged 5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, including a few monster rejections that have been immortalized on YouTube.



So how does PG's numbers stack up against the rest of this year's rookies?  Pretty well.  He was 9th amongst rookies in scoring but all players ahead of him played more minutes per game.  That said, per 48 minutes, PG was 18th amongst all rookies in points per game (18.1).  In terms of steals, PG was 6th amongst rookies, and out of those ahead of him, only Golden State's Jeremy Lin averaged less minutes.

While it was by no means a great year, PG showed in his first year flashes of brilliance and a tremendous amount of potential.  It's too early to proclaim him the next Pacers star, but if PG continues to work on his game, he could very well be that guy.  At a long 6'9" with excellent athleticism, orangutan-like arms (6'11" reach) and fairly good mobility, PG has the potential to be the lockdown defender that the Pacers hoped Danny Granger would be (but looks like never will).  Further, PG was erratic from the outside this season but has shown a streaky ability to knock down the long-ball, and with practice, he will become a legitimate threat from the outside.  But his most impressive attribute has been an ability to drive and complete plays with silky finishes at the rim -- something the Pacers desperately lacked.  Going forward, George could continue to play shooting guard with Granger on the floor, though it is obvious that his optimal position will be small forward.

ESPN's stat guru John Hollinger had this to say about PG:

If there is one reason to watch the Pacers this year, it’s this guy. While the Griffin-Wall-Cousins rookie trio still hogs all the attention, it’s become increasingly clear that George was flat-out stolen at No. 10 by Indiana. A long, silky finisher who looks as if he could easily ramp up to the go-to scorer role, George is shooting 56.7 percent on 2-pointers.

His main shortcoming has been that he has taken a ton of 3-pointers and struggles to make them. That talent should develop in time, as his shooting stroke looks solid, and if it does the 20-year-old will be nigh unguardable.

To get better, George must get stronger, fitter and improve his shooting while gathering more experience on defense.  With the work ethic he has demonstrated thus far, it seems likely that he will improve and improve significantly.  PG was a 90% free throw shooter in college and should get back to something resembling that level in the next few seasons.

To finish off, let's compare PG's rookie season to that of Danny Granger, the NBA's 17th top scorer this past season with 20.5 points per game.  As you will see, the numbers are eerily similar.

Player	Games	Minutes	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Granger	78	22.6	7.5	0.462	0.323	0.777	4.9	1.2	0.7	0.8
George	61	20.7	7.8	0.453	0.297	0.762	3.7	1.0	1.0	0.4

Admittedly, Granger was a slightly better shooter during his rookie year and would go on to become one of the best volume shooters in the league, but PG clearly has more potential at both ends of the floor.  A key point to remember is that PG has only just turned 21, whereas Granger was already 23 at the end of his first year.

Overall, this was a solid rookie year for PG, one that he must build on to help the Pacers advance deeper in the playoffs next season.

Grade: B+


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I wrote this post on my blog.  Check it out by clicking here. no comments

Congratulations to former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle!

This is what Indiana Pacers fans have to celebrate these days: Lebron not winning and former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and former Pacers player (one season) Peja Stojakovic winning the NBA Championship with the Dallas Mavericks!!

Rick Carlisle has always been one of my favorite coaches in the NBA.  He was Larry Bird's assistant when they led the Pacers to their only finals appearance in 2000.  They should have given him the head job when Larry Legend departed but instead they handed it over to Isiah Thomas, and of course, we all know what happened to the franchise after that.  Rick was re-hired as head coach in 2003-2004 after Isiah was fired, but the damage to the culture had already been done.  After the brawl and a horrible resulting record, Rich was unfairly shown the door (though it was never clear whether he quit or was fired).

Now with the Mavericks, Carlisle has finally proved that he is a top notch coach, outperforming Heat coach Spolestra with his defensive schemes and rotations.  The Heat could never figure it out and that's a big reason why they lost despite being heavy favorites.

Peja, on the other hand, never wanted to be a Pacer, but ended up being traded from Sacramento for Ron Artest after all those debacles Pacers fans would prefer to not remember.  He filled in admirably for 40 games in the 2005-2006 season, averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting over 46% from the field, over 40% from three-point range and over 90% from the free throw line.

The Peja of now is obviously a different player, but he still had a few big games for the Mavs in the playoffs to get them through to the finals, where he did nothing except look sad on the bench.  Nonetheless, a ring is a ring.

The huge positive that comes out of the Mavs winning the title instead of the Heat is that Lebron's head won't explode from getting too big and it will delay this supposed Heat dynasty (not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4....etc) for at least another year.  Seriously though, what it does show is that a TEAM can still win if they play the right way with the right personnel.  Okay, the Mavs have one of the highest payrolls in the league, but they only one have true star.  It is at least something the Pacers, who will never attract the big stars like Miami, can aspire to. no comments

Apologies as it has been a little quiet around here.  In about a week I will start a series of posts on how the Indiana Pacers fared this season.  Well, last season for them, and everyone else, except the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.  Watching teams like those two make it depressing to be a Pacers fan.

Nevertheless, a quick update.  Frank Vogel is still not confirmed as the new full time head coach, but one thing is for certain: the new coach won't be former Pacer Mark Jackson (who led the Pacers to their only finals appearance in 2000 along with Reggie and Rik Smits).  Jackson, who has no previous coaching experience, was hired to be the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

And no, the Pacers never reached out to him. 

On the draft front, not much happening.  Many believe the Pacers will trade the pick or trade down in the draft, given how weak it is, or go for a knockout punch/potential bust like BYU's Jimmer Fredette, if he is still available.

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Maybe he was just trying to create some drama.

After a week of speculation, Larry Bird has announced that he will return as president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers on a year-to-year basis.  Oh, and GM David Morway will also return in one of the biggest offseasons for the franchise in years, possibly ever.  Were they really big surprises?  Not really.  Are fans going to be over the moon?  Unlikely too, but people can't be too disappointed.  After all, he is Larry Legend, and the Pacers have a bright future ahead of them.

“The past few months have been the most enjoyable since I took over as president of basketball operations,” Bird said. “To see our young players develop, to see us make the playoffs and then to see us compete in a hard-fought series with Chicago are indications we are headed in the right direction and it has made me even more determined to help this team improve further and go to the next level.”

According to the front office, the first task for the Pacers is to decide whether or not to keep interim coach Frank Vogel as the new official head coach, and if not, who will replace him.

No matter who coaches the Pacers next season, things are looking up.  Danny Granger is only 28.  The rest of the core, featuring Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George, are all under 25.  A couple of good trades here and some decent signings there, and the Pacers should be regulars in the postseason for years to come.  But can they be contenders?

When the smoke clears from the current bargaining dispute, the Pacers will have to decide how to spend their money after having approximately $33.6m come off the books over the summer (10.5m Dunleavy, 8.5m Ford, 6.7m Foster, 5.5m Tinsley, 1.5m S. Jones, 0.9m McRoberts) AND with the above core in tact.  Not a bad position to be in.  It will be difficult considering the Pacers are a small market and not the ideal destination for free agents, so the only way they can convince players to come is to overpay them or craft an intelligent trade.

Here's a video of Larry at his best.

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Given that the Pacers' season is now over, there's plenty of time to explore what will happen this offseason. 

That said, it's hard not to keep an eye on this marvellous postseason, where there have been plenty of pleasant surprises.  In the first round, Memphis knocked of the top seed San Antonio and Atlanta stunned the Magic.  The Celtics went beyond expectations and swept and the Knicks, the Hornets exceeded expectations and took two games from the Lakers, and the Pacers, I would like to think, surprised people by taking it to the Bulls in four out of their five games. 

In the second round, Memphis stunned everyone by winning game one against the Thunder, as did the Hawks against the Bulls, but the biggest shock of all is that the Mavs are on the verge of sweeping the Lakers (up 3-0 with game four in Dallas).  Amazing stuff.

Anyway, apart from the impending lockout over the inability of teams and players to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the two biggest questions surrounding the Pacers right now are whether Larry Bird will come back as team president and whether Frank Vogel will have the interim prefix removed from his coach tag.  Let's take a look at what's been going on with that.  There's been a lot said already elsewhere on the Internet, so I'll just stick to the essentials and throw in my 2 cents worth.

Will Bird be back?

Owner Herb Simon is due to meet with Larry Legend this week and an announcement will probably be made shortly.  Bird caused a bit of a stir when he was quoted as saying:

“The big question of mine to him is, ‘Now that we have the money, will we be able to spend it?'  We waited three years to get to this point, and now what can we do?”

Simon responded and said that he was 'disappointed' that Bird would question his willingness to spend over the summer, provided that it was under the luxury tax threshold.

Whatever.  I think it's a situation of the media making things out to be more than they really are.  But it does seem that Simon wants Bird back, and it's really Bird that's holding all the cards and acting more like the boss than the employee.

Let's put that aside for a moment and consider whether Bird actually deserves to be back, given the decisions he has made.

Personally, I think he's done enough to warrant another chance, and not just because he represents basketball in Indiana.  He's cleared up the cap space and built a nice young nucleus.  That's the overall picture, and I think the Pacers can't dislike where they are now considering where they were after the brawl and after Reggie retired.

Sure, Bird made some knucklehead decisions.  Shawne Williams, Brandon Rush (sorry, but he's had his chances), and now Lance Stephenson.  But on the plus side, Granger and the Collison trade.  AJ Price was a nice pick up for a second round guy.  The jury might still be out on guys like Hibbert, Hansbrough and Paul George, but you can't say they were horrible picks given their draft positions (17th, 13th and 10th).  Actually, Paul George is a downright stud and probably the steal of the entire draft.

I say give him another shot.

Frank Vogel

Not sure when this decision is being made, but Vogel has reportedly not been waiting around, interviewing for the Rockets' head coach position.

I'm a bit uncertain about Vogel's return actually.  On the one hand, he coached the Pacers to a 20-18 record after taking over from Jim O'Brien, then got the Pacers to play hard against the Bulls in the playoffs, even taking a game.  His biggest contributions are I think getting the Pacers to the playoffs, instilling confidence in Hibbert and Hansbrough, and giving the young guys a chance to play -- and win.

But the truth is, the 20-18 record is not as impressive as it looks -- most teams always go on a temporary upward spike after a coaching change (which they did) and the Pacers had one of the softest schedules during that period.  Plus, Vogel is the youngest and most inexperienced head coach in the NBA.  He was criticized for being a little lax with the players at times.  He was also a disciple of Jim O'Brien, the man he replaced.  How long can his energy rub off on the players?  Because we don't really know how good he is with the Xs and Os, and we've seen how this team has crumbled under pressure in the playoffs, though that's as much the players' fault as his.

Would the Pacers be better off with a new coach, a veteran who can bring some discipline and experience, get the guys to play defense, and be a fundamentally sound team?  I'd say probably.  It'll be a gamble either way, depending on who they can get.

I like Vogel and wouldn't be disappointed if he returns.  After all, he has kind of earned the job with his performance.  But can the Pacers be a better team than the one Vogel has shown us?  I think so.
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The season is finally over for the Indiana Pacers after their first round loss to the Chicago Bulls, but these 5 games have revealed a lot about the team.  For one, they aren't the Memphis Grizzlies, who knocked off the top seeded Western Conference team San Antonio Spurs today.  But then again, they weren't the same Indiana Pacers that only won 37 games during the regular season and were expected to be spanked in 4 quick games by the Bulls.

Statistically speaking...

The Pacers averaged 90.2 points and gave up 97.6 points per game to the Bulls, though if you discount game 5 where the Pacers were blown out 116-89, there was only a 2.5 point difference between the two teams on average.  Not bad against a team that won 62 games during the regular season.

In the 5 games, the Pacers kept the Bulls to shooting 43.9%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 37.8% and 48.2%.  Again, apart from the final game, and especially during the middle 3-game stretch, the Pacers did an exceptional job defensively on the Bulls, a team that averaged 46.2% during the regular season.

For the series, Danny Granger did unexpectedly well, averaging 21.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists, shooting 47.8% from the field -- all improvements from his regular season numbers.  Unfortunately, no one else could put numbers up on a regular basis.  Tyler Hansbrough was the second top scorer with an 11.2 point average, and he only played one good game (game 1).  Hibbert struggled most of the series and averaged 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. 

Darren Collison played a pretty decent series even with the sprained ankle after game 3, but the performance didn't really show in the stat sheet.  He had 9.4 points and 4 assists per game.  The same thing could be said for rookie Paul George, who did the best possible one-on-one defensive job on Derrick Rose anyone could have expected.  George struggled offensively (6 points, 4 rebounds on 30.3% shooting, but he did have 1.4 steals and 2 blocks per game), but showed that he has the potential to be something special at both ends in the future.

What the series showed

First and foremost, the Pacers showed that they aren't good enough to win in the playoffs.  Yes, they played the Bulls close in 4 games.  Yes, they probably outplayed the Bulls in more quarters than the Bulls outplayed them.  But they still lost 3 of the 4 games and got blown out in the last one.  They exceeded expectations and played harder than we've ever seen them play, but they're still not good enough, not talented enough.  Not by a long shot.  But they are on the right track.

Secondly, the series demonstrated that the Pacers can play solid defense if they put their mind to it.  The Bulls aren't the best offensive team in the league and they struggled to find their rhythm at times, but I like to think that the Pacers had something to do with that.  But hopefully this series has proved to the Pacers themselves that they can and they should play defense every night, and if they do, they'll win a lot more games.

Thirdly, the series showed that Danny Granger would make an exellent second option, or at least an A1 option, but not the main option.  He's not a guy that can create shots for himself, which means he will always struggle in crunch time.  He's a brilliant shooter, streaky at times, but undoubtedly the Pacers best scorer and player.  The problem is, the Pacers probably won't be able to land a better offensive player than Granger, so they'll need to be creative this offseason.  If they could say bring in someone like OJ Mayo (whom they nearly got) and/or Josh Smith, that could be enough.

Fourthly, what the Pacers lack most is a closer.  Players like Derrick Rose don't grow on trees, and no one on the Pacers at the moment appear to have what it takes.  Granger has already shown he can't do it.  Hibbert's too inconsistent and his mind isn't in the right place most of the time.  Collison has the heart and the will but not the needed size.  Hansbrough has the same heart and will but not the skills or ability.  AJ Price is the same but lacks what Collison and Hansbrough both lack.  Paul George?  Far too early to tell.  But without that go-to guy, the Pacers will continue to throw away close games like they have done all season.

Lastly, Frank Vogel has shown that he can coach in this league.  He got these players ready and believing in themselves, something Jim O'Brien couldn't do in several years.  Vogel did allow the Pacers to choke away leads in the dying minutes of the first 3 games, but that's not entirely his fault.  I say sign him, remove the interim tag and let him grow with this team -- unless, of course, they can get a can't miss coach.

That's I've got time for for now.  Coming up next, more on Larry Bird's future and a player-by-player analysis.,
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