Here we are again, another glorious season of Indiana Pacer basketball is upon us. Obviously this post is a little late to the game as the season is already a couple weeks old and the we are absolutely cooking, so without further ado here is what to look for in the upcoming season knowing what we already know.
1. As far as the roster itself goes, the three major additions are those guys shown above: Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, and Darren Collison. Oladipo and Collison should be familiar since Victor was a dominant force on a couple Hoosier teams several years ago and Collison was someone who spent a couple years as a key role player on the team soon after entering the league.
So far, the early looks at all three of these guys have been about as good as you can ask for. Victor Oladipo has looked like one of the league's newest up and coming stars in the early going and a good part of his success is owed to Darren Collison and his ability to push the ball and find Oladipo in transition. Vic is an otherworldly athlete, and one thing about guys with his speed and explosiveness is that they all want to play fast. Collison has done a phenomenal job of initiating transition offense and finding not only Oladipo, but Myles Turner as well. He should be one of the more invaluable veteran presences this team has. Dare I say a real hard hat, lunch pale type.
Speaking of Myles Turner, his presence has had an incredible impact on Domantas Sabonis' game. Sabonis likes to play in the post, closer to the basket. There's a reason he likes it so much - he feasts down low. His post game is still developing but for such a young player, he already has a variety of moves down low and is a clear presence on the glass. In Oklahoma City, Steven Adams was also banging in the paint, eating up a lot of the space that Sabonis typically operates in. With Myles Turner opposite him - a player that can play down low but is also athletic and nimble enough to play a perimeter game - Sabonis got his sweet spot back and boy does it show. Since he is still so young and only in his second professional season, there's hope that he's just scratching the surface of his full potential. Plus his dad is a beast and you gotta love having Arvydas around. One of the GOAT big man passers.
Swag.
2. Development is the big goal here. We obviously want to win games, but for the most part this roster is going to have two full years to play together. What we're going to be looking for is both individual development as well an increased level of comfort with each other as the season progresses. Familiarity is huge, and operating as a unit is the only way to win in the playoffs. A couple superstars doesn't guarantee wins, the entire team needs to function. Having all of your most significant pieces together for as long as possible pays dividends, so the fact that we have a couple years to watch this group is a very good sign, especially given these early performances.
We aren't the youngest roster but we are very much on the younger side. Typically younger teams are a little more trigger happy and tend to be a little sloppy offensively. That is not currently the case with us. Currently we are ranked 5th in points per game, 4th in field goal percentage, and 6th in 3 point field goal percentage. The offense is humming right now and has been pretty damn consistent up to this point.
As for the defense, well, the defense is giving up 108 points per game so not ideal. For me, the most disappointing area is our rebounding. We should be ranked higher than 15th. Hopefully, after they have had a little while to develop, rookies TJ Leaf and Ike Anigbogu can contribute to that department off the bench a little more. Both are very raw, especially Anigbogu. Leaf already has a nice little jump shot, so he should be the one to break through with more minutes early on.
3. We have cap space to add players. We have one of the lowest payrolls in the league and a young core group of players. A lottery pick looks like it might be out of the question if we continue to play like this, but that doesn't mean we can't add any impact free agents. A lot of this year will be about identifying holes in our game and figuring out how to address them; whether it be through drafting/developing or free agency remains to be seen.
GM Chad Buchanan appears to have done very well with his first major transaction - moving Paul George to OKC for Sabonis and Oladipo. People were dogging our acquisitions but it's looking as if the gamble was worth it. Unfortunately for Buchanan he took over pretty much the shittiest situation possible, having a star player who already made it known he was leaving when he could, all the while hinting towards going specifically to Los Angeles. Once that was pretty much universally acknowledged as fact, bidders weren't as willing to give up the farm for a single year of a guy they wouldn't be able to re-sign. Thank you for that Paul, that was super helpful. Still, it will be interesting to see how Buchanan fills in the remaining pieces of the puzzle.
As for Nate McMillan, everything looks good early on with the exception of the defense. Oladipo and Turner are both defensive STUDS so for us to be giving up 108 points a game is unacceptable. But it's early and I expect them to improve. Until next time: blue collar, gold swagger bitcc.
PS - Bonus Arvydas Sabonis highlights. Lithuanian Legend.
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