Indiana Pacers: 5 Players Who Will Show the Biggest Improvements

Lockouts in sports are particularly hard on the younger players. Not only do they lose invaluable offseason coaching and practices, but the onus for improving also falls squarely on their shoulders.

For many, it is the first time they are forced to work on their games strictly outside of a team environment. While teams can throw informal player's only practices, the structure of offseason routines is often critical to the development of less experienced players' games.

For the Pacers, the lockout will be especially difficult. When—or if—the season does resume, Indiana's core young players will not only be expected to be ready to go from day one, they will also have to learn a still relatively new offense and mesh quickly with recently brought on assistant coach Brian Shaw. 

Here are the five Pacers who are more than up to the challenge and will show remarkable improvements from last year's first-round playoff exit. 

5. Lance Stephenson

One of the players the Pacers' staff was apparently most concerned about entering the lockout was 20-year-old Lance Stephenson.

Nicknamed "Born Ready" after holding his own against much older players during a summer league game in New York's famed Rucker Park, Stephenson proved to be anything but that during his first season.

Limited by his own immaturity, Stephenson lost playing time and slipped to fourth on the depth chart behind point guards Collison, Price and T.J. Ford. 

With the lockout in effect, many feared Stephenson would continue to mess around and waste his incredible talents.

Instead, so far it seems the opposite has been true. Stephenson has been seen playing in an Indy Pro Am and is said to be working hard on his game.

Given his natural talents, if Stephenson stays out of trouble and continues to improve then you can expect the troubled talent to soar up the depth chart. 

The Pacers committed to the University of Cincinnati product early by signing him to a rare guaranteed contract for a second-round pick. Clearly the potential is there.

Once he harnesses his talent and gets his head right, Stephenson's 3.1 ppg and 9.6 minutes per should rise dramatically. 

4. Darren Collison

Another point guard makes the list. Last year Darren Collison was forced to undergo a major transformation. Drafted in 2009 by New Orleans, Collison's role with the Hornets was as Chris Paul's understudy and a facilitator in an explosive offense. 

After a summer trade landed him in Indiana, Collison suddenly found himself thrust into the role of a scoring point guard and leader of a young team.

Collison proved up to the task, shoring up what had previously been an anemic position for the Pacers by providing steady leadership and 13.2 ppg. 

At 24 years of age, Collison enters a make-or-break year. This season will define whether Collison can vault himself into the discussion of a Top 10—possibly even Top 5—point guard or whether he remains stuck as a middling talent who can run an offense, but cannot provide consistent scoring or a needed spark when the team desperate needs one. 

After improving in several key offensive categories—including MPG, PPG, RPG and steals—and having a full season under his belt in Indiana, look for Collison to take on a greater role in the offense and prove to doubters that he belongs among the NBA's elite point guards. 

3. Danny Granger

It's hard to imagine that the Pacers leading scorer and 2009 Most Improved Player of the Year could end up as the Pacer's third most improved player in the offseason, but it's true. Granger keeps finding ways to get better every season.

Whether it's his leadership, his rebounding or getting more people involved in the offense, Granger has found ways to help his young teammates improve and get Indiana back to the Pacers. Even though his scoring has dropped from 24.1 to 20.5, Granger's worth to the team continues to soar.

With George in the wings, some fans and analysts think the Pacers should trade for a power forward. After seeing how far Granger has come as a player and how much more he can still progress, the Pacers would be unwise to pull the trigger on a trade involving their All Star forward.

2. Paul George

Originally Danny Granger's eventual replacement, Coach Vogel switched George to the 2-guard spot in order to get last year's first-round pick on the court as much as possible. The move paid dividends for Indiana who went 20-18 after replacing Jim O'brien to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed. 

Much of the Pacers new found energy and attitude improvement can be attributed to Paul George, who not only contributed on the offense end, but who was also charged with shutting down opponent's top players night in and night out.

A lock-down defender, George provides the Pacers with length and athleticism that they have been sorely missing and allows the Pacers to much more forceful in attacking the rim. 

Bill Simmons rated George as one of the best young prospects in the league and at only 21 years of age George has yet to scratch the surface of his abilities.

Brimming with potential, look for George to take the league by storm and possibly even overtake Granger as the Pacer's primary offensive weapon.

1. Roy Hibbert

After improving each year in almost every statistical category as a Hoya at Georgetown, Hibbert's first three season stats were:

08/09: Played in 70 games, averaged 3.4 RPG, .7 APG, 1.1 BPG and 7.1 PPG

09/10: Played in 81 games, averaged 5.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.6 BPG and 11.7 PPG

09/10: Played in 81 games, averaged 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.8 BPG and 12.7 PPG

Notice an upward trend?

Few players work as hard as Hibbert to improve every aspect of their game. After three years the work is certainly paying off and Hibbert should be ready to shoulder the Pacer's playoff aspirations and lead them on a deep run.

Given Hibbert's constant and steady advancements and his comfort level in Coach Vogel's offense, it would not be out of the question for Hibbert to average 18 PPG and 12 RPG this year.

Such numbers would easily make Hibbert the most improved player on the team and possibly the most improved player of the entire league.