Indiana Pacers Team Preview 2010-2011 Season
By Anonymous
Wed, 10/13/2010 - 5:43pm
By Mike Misek
The Pacers closed out 2010 winning ten of their final fourteen games by simply playing harder than the other bad teams of the league. Sure, they took out Cleveland sans LeBron, Mo Williams, Shaq, and Jamison but that was one of three wins out of the six games over playoff teams during that stretch. They got out and ran, put up a ton of threes, and rediscovered some of the style that made them semi-competitive in 2009. After averaging 99 points per game for the first 68 games, the team put up a whopping 107 for the final 14. Considering that the drum beat for defense that has emanated from Indianapolis since the end of that year, the end of the season development cannot help but be frustrating. Not only did they drop several spots in the lottery, but it highlighted how incredibly mismatched the team was and still is.
Danny Granger
If the Pacers want to be mediocre and compete with the rest of the mediocre teams in the East for the right to get the final two spots in the East, they need to accept that they are a bad defensive team and simply try to run, shoot teams out of the gym at home, and steal enough road games to come away with a decent record. Such a strategy would mean playing their veterans and expiring contracts more than is in the best interest of the franchise. It would seem as though Indiana could find its most success going with a pseudo-small lineup of Collison, Dunleavy, Posey, Granger, and Foster with [player: Dahntay Jones], Hibbert, Hansbrough, McRoberts, Rush, and Stephenson filling in off the bench and trying to be the Cornfield Suns with Granger, Posey, Collison, Dunelavy, and Rush launching close to 30 three pointers per game.
This does not appear to be the path Indiana wants to take. Team president Larry Bird hopes to play with "a little more of a power game.” The team appears to be looking at [player: Josh McRoberts], [player: Tyler Hansbrough], or [player: Jeff Foster] as their possible starting power forward, despite the fact that [player: Danny Granger] is best when playing that position. McRoberts appears to have the edge on getting the starting nod, and has reportedly been the best player on the team in training camp.
Head Coach Jim O’Brien has spoken about his desire to run the offense through [player: Roy Hibbert]. It is noteworthy that Hibbert has trimmed his body fat to below 10 percent over the summer, but getting himself in the kind of shape an NBA player should be in does not make him Hakeem Olajuwon. While the reports of the improvements can be a sign of hope, it also raises the important question of how good a team can be with Roy Hibbert being the center of an offense and Josh McRoberts joining him in the front court. The team not only wished to make use of their young big men, but also wants to incorporate their recent draft acquisitions into the mix.
Darren Collison
[player: Darren Collison] is undoubtedly going to be their starting point guard. When filling in for an injured Chris Paul last season, two things were readily apparent. Collison was capable of putting up a Chris Paul-like stat line as his 19 points and 9 assists when starting showed, but he could not help the team win games as the team went 12-23 in games Paul missed. The team Collison is now heading is not much more talented than that Hornets team without Paul, though he will have a year under his belt.
[player: Paul George] is a talented prospect because of his length and athleticism, but was horribly inefficient when playing against high end competition at Fresno State. He also shot a poor percentage and turned the ball over frequently in the summer league and early in the preseason. There was a time over the summer where Lance Stephenson appeared to be in the mix for playing time. He showed promise in the summer league operating at the point guard spot, and drew comparisons to Tyreke Evans. Expectations were quickly tempered, however, when he was arrested for third degree assault after allegedly pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs in August. While the arrest has nothing to do with his on the court production, the Pacers did tell him to stop working out at Conseco Fieldhouse following the incident and quickly found residence in the doghouse for his defense since the start of camp.
If the Pacers hold true to their preseason talking points of being a bigger, stronger, and more defensive team this season, they are going to have a hard time winning many games. If they decide to go bigger with Hibbert and McRoberts, they cannot be better defensively or on the glass. The team would, however, be able to evaluate the players that they have in their mix for the foreseeable future. Hibbert and McRoberts would certainly fall into that category. With the contracts of [player: Mike Dunleavy], [player: TJ Ford], and [player: Jeff Foster] expiring and the remnants of [player: Jamaal Tinsley] being off their cap, the Pacers will have payroll flexibility after this season. Regardless as to how the new collective bargaining agreement will be shaped, Indiana has to feel comfortable being in a position where they will have upwards of eight players on the rookie level contracts, and only three players – Granger, Posey, and Dahntay Jones – signed on post-rookie contracts. It is certainly a healthy position for a rebuilding team in a small market. It just might make for a long season.
Predicted Record: 28 – 54
Pacers 2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER, POS, HT, WT, FROM
2 Darren Collison, PG, 6-0, 160 lbs, UCLA
1 Dahntay Jones, SG/SF. 6-6, 210 lbs, Duke
33 Danny Granger, SF/PF, 6-8, 228 lbs, New Mexico
32 Josh McRoberts, PF, 6-10, 240 lbs, Duke
55 Roy Hibbert, C, 7-2, 278 lbs, Georgetown
17 Mike Dunleavy, SG/SF, 6-9, 230 lbs, Duke
10 Jeff Foster, PF/C, 6-11, 250 lbs, Texas State
41 James Posey, SF/PF, 6-8, 217 lbs, Xavier (Ohio)
50 Tyler Hansbrough, PF, 6-9, 250 lbs, North Carolina
22 A.J. Price, PG, 6-2, 181 lbs, Connecticut
25 Brandon Rush, SG, 6-6, 210 lbs, Kansas
24 Paul George, SG/SF, 6-8, 210 lbs, Fresno State
44 Solomon Jones, PF/C, 6-10, 245 lbs, South Florida
15 Magnum Rolle, PF, 6-11, 225 lbs, Louisiana Tech
6 Lance Stephenson, PG/SG, 6-5, 210 lbs, Cincinnati
5 T.J. Ford, PG, 6-0, 165 lbs, Texas
The Pacers closed out 2010 winning ten of their final fourteen games by simply playing harder than the other bad teams of the league. Sure, they took out Cleveland sans LeBron, Mo Williams, Shaq, and Jamison but that was one of three wins out of the six games over playoff teams during that stretch. They got out and ran, put up a ton of threes, and rediscovered some of the style that made them semi-competitive in 2009. After averaging 99 points per game for the first 68 games, the team put up a whopping 107 for the final 14. Considering that the drum beat for defense that has emanated from Indianapolis since the end of that year, the end of the season development cannot help but be frustrating. Not only did they drop several spots in the lottery, but it highlighted how incredibly mismatched the team was and still is.
Danny GrangerIf the Pacers want to be mediocre and compete with the rest of the mediocre teams in the East for the right to get the final two spots in the East, they need to accept that they are a bad defensive team and simply try to run, shoot teams out of the gym at home, and steal enough road games to come away with a decent record. Such a strategy would mean playing their veterans and expiring contracts more than is in the best interest of the franchise. It would seem as though Indiana could find its most success going with a pseudo-small lineup of Collison, Dunleavy, Posey, Granger, and Foster with [player: Dahntay Jones], Hibbert, Hansbrough, McRoberts, Rush, and Stephenson filling in off the bench and trying to be the Cornfield Suns with Granger, Posey, Collison, Dunelavy, and Rush launching close to 30 three pointers per game.
This does not appear to be the path Indiana wants to take. Team president Larry Bird hopes to play with "a little more of a power game.” The team appears to be looking at [player: Josh McRoberts], [player: Tyler Hansbrough], or [player: Jeff Foster] as their possible starting power forward, despite the fact that [player: Danny Granger] is best when playing that position. McRoberts appears to have the edge on getting the starting nod, and has reportedly been the best player on the team in training camp.
Head Coach Jim O’Brien has spoken about his desire to run the offense through [player: Roy Hibbert]. It is noteworthy that Hibbert has trimmed his body fat to below 10 percent over the summer, but getting himself in the kind of shape an NBA player should be in does not make him Hakeem Olajuwon. While the reports of the improvements can be a sign of hope, it also raises the important question of how good a team can be with Roy Hibbert being the center of an offense and Josh McRoberts joining him in the front court. The team not only wished to make use of their young big men, but also wants to incorporate their recent draft acquisitions into the mix.
Darren Collison[player: Darren Collison] is undoubtedly going to be their starting point guard. When filling in for an injured Chris Paul last season, two things were readily apparent. Collison was capable of putting up a Chris Paul-like stat line as his 19 points and 9 assists when starting showed, but he could not help the team win games as the team went 12-23 in games Paul missed. The team Collison is now heading is not much more talented than that Hornets team without Paul, though he will have a year under his belt.
[player: Paul George] is a talented prospect because of his length and athleticism, but was horribly inefficient when playing against high end competition at Fresno State. He also shot a poor percentage and turned the ball over frequently in the summer league and early in the preseason. There was a time over the summer where Lance Stephenson appeared to be in the mix for playing time. He showed promise in the summer league operating at the point guard spot, and drew comparisons to Tyreke Evans. Expectations were quickly tempered, however, when he was arrested for third degree assault after allegedly pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs in August. While the arrest has nothing to do with his on the court production, the Pacers did tell him to stop working out at Conseco Fieldhouse following the incident and quickly found residence in the doghouse for his defense since the start of camp.
If the Pacers hold true to their preseason talking points of being a bigger, stronger, and more defensive team this season, they are going to have a hard time winning many games. If they decide to go bigger with Hibbert and McRoberts, they cannot be better defensively or on the glass. The team would, however, be able to evaluate the players that they have in their mix for the foreseeable future. Hibbert and McRoberts would certainly fall into that category. With the contracts of [player: Mike Dunleavy], [player: TJ Ford], and [player: Jeff Foster] expiring and the remnants of [player: Jamaal Tinsley] being off their cap, the Pacers will have payroll flexibility after this season. Regardless as to how the new collective bargaining agreement will be shaped, Indiana has to feel comfortable being in a position where they will have upwards of eight players on the rookie level contracts, and only three players – Granger, Posey, and Dahntay Jones – signed on post-rookie contracts. It is certainly a healthy position for a rebuilding team in a small market. It just might make for a long season.
Predicted Record: 28 – 54
Pacers 2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER, POS, HT, WT, FROM
2 Darren Collison, PG, 6-0, 160 lbs, UCLA
1 Dahntay Jones, SG/SF. 6-6, 210 lbs, Duke
33 Danny Granger, SF/PF, 6-8, 228 lbs, New Mexico
32 Josh McRoberts, PF, 6-10, 240 lbs, Duke
55 Roy Hibbert, C, 7-2, 278 lbs, Georgetown
17 Mike Dunleavy, SG/SF, 6-9, 230 lbs, Duke
10 Jeff Foster, PF/C, 6-11, 250 lbs, Texas State
41 James Posey, SF/PF, 6-8, 217 lbs, Xavier (Ohio)
50 Tyler Hansbrough, PF, 6-9, 250 lbs, North Carolina
22 A.J. Price, PG, 6-2, 181 lbs, Connecticut
25 Brandon Rush, SG, 6-6, 210 lbs, Kansas
24 Paul George, SG/SF, 6-8, 210 lbs, Fresno State
44 Solomon Jones, PF/C, 6-10, 245 lbs, South Florida
15 Magnum Rolle, PF, 6-11, 225 lbs, Louisiana Tech
6 Lance Stephenson, PG/SG, 6-5, 210 lbs, Cincinnati
5 T.J. Ford, PG, 6-0, 165 lbs, Texas
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