INDIANA PACERS (36-46)
It’s a new era for the Indiana Pacers. Jermaine O’Neal is now on the Toronto Raptors and TJ Ford has come to Indiana to run the show. Unfortunately, I don’t know how much of a difference it will make. The Pacers don’t really have any exciting players and that has turned into some uninspired play. Ford will try to help rejuvenate the franchise with his elite quickness and playmaking capabilities and get them to build upon the success they had at the end of last season.
Indeed a superstar in the making.
Face of the Franchise: Danny Granger. An extremely hyped player coming out of the draft, Granger has made quantum leaps in terms of improvement since his rookie year. With O’Neal out of the picture, he is now without question the go-to player and team leader. How he responds to this new role will be a huge factor in how many games the Pacers win this year.
Send Him Away: Jamaal Tinsley. An obvious answere here. The Pacers have been shopping him for a while now and by bringing in two new point guards this offseason, are making a clear statement they will not be playing him this year. It will be tough to get someone to take him however with three years still left on his deal.
The Pacers need a lot of this.
Impact Newcomer: TJ Ford. By trading one injury-prone player for another, the Pacers took a calculated risk in making this deal. Ford must stay healthy so he can be the point guard Indiana has been longing for. Otherwise Jarrett Jack will be at the point and that can’t be a good thing.
X-Factor: Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy absolutely beasted out the last two months of the season and the Pacers responded by going 13-10 in March and April . He’s been criticized his whole career for not living up to his potential but it looks like he’s finally turning into the player everyone expected him to be. Bottom line, if he plays well, the Pacers will win.
Forecast: Mid Lottery. Despite the success at the end of last season, the playoffs are not in the cards for this year’s Pacers. They do have talent and added depth, especially with draftees Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert joining the squad, but I just can’t trust TJ Ford. He will get hurt again and they will end up just like last year’s team. The roster just needs a complete makeover.
Posted by david im 
