The talk about who will win the eastern conference this year in the NBA seems to center on Philly and the Bucks. Some talk of Boston as well but there is not much hype over the Pacers. The thing is this is really good team, and the good people of Indiana have a lot to be excited about. They made the Playoffs last season despite a bad injury to a key player. But are the Pacers a true contender?
The Pacers Team
The Pacers have a team of up and coming stars. Of course we all know of Victor Oladipo The Pacers All Star but they have a good group of players around him as well. The Pacers finished in fifth place last season with a 48-34 record and they did that primarily without Oladipo. They added three key players in the off season to go with the group they had. Malcolm Brogdon, T.J Warren and Jeremy Lamb where all signed this off season with the most intriguing of those being Brogdon. The Pacers took Brogdon from conference contending Bucks. He was a key play maker and shooter for the Bucks. He brings that to a pacer team that needed some shooting.
The same goes for Jermey Lamb and Warren, both are shooters that can get hot and make an impact. Indiana was already loaded with players with a sixth man of the year candidate Domantas Sabonis . The big man has skills, he can shoot drive and has range. He would be a starter on most teams but the Pacers have Myles Turner who led the league in Blocked shots. He was not exactly a force on offense but he does have game and now that he has some shooters around him it could let him be the defensive force he can be. Throw in a pair of Holiday brothers , Aaron Holiday and Justin Holiday, and you have a team that is built for the future.
Where Do They Finish?
The Pacers have a nice team with a few really good pieces and an All Star. What they really need is for one of their young guys to be that second all star type guy if they want to contend. They have a few guys that can become all stars, Sabonis, Turner, or Brogdon could easily fill that role. The team may not be ready to go for a title yet but if they get that chemistry and they keep playing that hard nose defense that McMillan is known for, they will be fine.
They finished fifth a year ago and they should be at least a four or three seed this year. This of course all depends on if Oladipo can come back and be the player he was, or even better. And if he does and the others can up their game. Then reaching the second round this year is a realistic goal.
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