Indiana Pacers: 30 Team Previews in 30 Days

2009-'10 Statistics

Finished 32-50, fourth in Central Division, 10th in Eastern Conference

Post season

Missed Post season

Additions and Re-Signings

Paul George via draft, Lance Stephenson via draft, Darren Collison via trade, and James Posey via trade.

Losses

Troy Murphy via trade

At long last, Danny Granger and the Indiana Pacers finally can look towards someone else to put the ball in the basket. Not just a scorer, but the new acquisition can pass as well.

Two issues erased in the span of a day and the Pacers suddenly have a brighter future ahead of them with the addition of former New Orleans Hornet point guard Darren Collison.

Collison was originally recognized as Chris Paul's back up who would get less than significant playing time behind arguably the league's most talented point guard. When  Paul went down with an injury early in the season though, Collison's role on the team became a lot more significant. The Hornets relied on Paul nearly as much as the Heat relied on Dwyane Wade, which meant that Collison had some serious shoes to fill.

At 13 points and six assists per game, the rookie out of UCLA surprised everyone when he held his own as the Hornets replacement point guard. Collison's speed and jump shot, 40% from beyond the arc, allowed him to be considered one of the promising young point guards in this league. Now that he is with Indiana, not only will he see his stats rise, but he will also get his first opportunity to be recognized as the starting point guard from the beginning of the season.

It will also benefit Granger who has been looking for a second scorer to lighten the load, as well as a point guard who can ball-handle and pass. Earl Watson led the team in assists last season at only five per game and TJ Ford continued to disappoint as his constant injuries crept up on him again limiting him to only 47 games.

Granger averaged 10 more points than anyone else had on Indiana at 24 points per game making him the only legitimate scoring threat on this team once again. He averaged a career low 43% shooting from the field and a near career low for three-point shooting as well at 36%, despite leading the league in three-point shots made.

Their second leading scorer and their leading rebounder in Murphy was shipped off as part of the Collison trade, which means it's time for players like Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough to step up as the leading rebounder's and post presence. At 7'2", Hibbert has shown the ability to alter and block shots, as well as score. His 12 points and six rebounds per game is disappointing for someone his size, but it's his constant foul trouble that takes him out of games.

Hibbert's impact could be larger if he learns to control his body and shy away from body contact while already in foul trouble. Hibbert is the starting center for the Pacers and his back up in Jeff Foster doesn't command the attention that Roy does. Foster has garnered respect as a quality offensive rebounder, but aside from that, offers not much else.

Now entering his third season, if Hibbert can control his foul trouble then the Pacers can legitimately claim that they have one of the more dangerous seven footers in the league. The Pacers should also watch the progress of Hansbrough who has the potential to become a scorer and spread out offense's with his ability to shoot from outside of the paint.

In only 17 minutes per game off the bench, the former UNC star averaged eight points and five rebounds and showed off a resounding ability to get to the line at four per game in his short amount of playing time. He could start this year due to the departure of Murphy.

The Pacers first round draft pick in Paul George adds yet another three-point threat to an already dangerous shooting team. George hit two three-pointers per game last season at 35% in his time at Fresno State and at 6'9" it allows him to keep defending small forward's on their toes for the threat of either a drive or a three-pointer which he's shown he is capable of hitting.

George also has the resounding ability to play the two spot as well which would create offensive and defensive mismatches on both ends for opposing team's if the Pacers decide to utilize him as a shooting guard. He'll need to add weight, only 215 pounds at the moment, but George could surprise the NBA as a Rookie of the Year favorite if he gets significant playing time.

Considering Granger has the small forward spot locked, he could find himself as the starting shooting guard ahead of inept offensive players in Brandon Rush and Dahntay Jones. While they are defensive specialists, George would add another shooting threat to a team full of shooters with range to spare.

Newly acquired James Posey not only adds another three-point threat to the team, but another defensive specialist at the small forward spot. Posey's playing time has significantly decreased over the past few seasons, yet still contains the ability to shoot and hit from deep. He has averaged at least one per contest since the 2003-'04 season.

The Pacers have the potential to become a very dangerous team considering their post threats in Hibbert and Hansbrough and their plethora of shooters in Granger, Mike Dunleavy, Collison, and now George, but they'll need to tighten down on offense and allow their point guard to run the floor and set up plays if they want to become a postseason threat again.

Now that they have their point guard of the future coupled with some of the premiere shooters of the league, they just might get their wish of a postseason in due time.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG-Darren Collison

SG-Paul George

SF-Danny Granger

PF-Tyler Hansbrough

C-Roy Hibbert

Prediction

35-47

This is Part eleven of a 30-day series of 2010-11 season previews of each NBA team. My profile will contain every other team that has been previewed before.