I Agree With Granger, The Pacers Are Headed Towards The Right Direction
By Josh Dhani
The Pacers finished this NBA season with a record of 32-50.
Though they did not make the playoffs for the fourth straight season, the Pacers had a good run at the end of the season; winning more than 90 percent of their last twelve games.
Indiana retained Jim O’Brien, who hasn’t brought a single winning season to the franchise. But Larry Bird is giving him last chance.
If O’Brien fails to reach the postseason, the Pacers will indeed fire him.
So O’Brien is looking to come up with new plans and schemes, fixing up the lineup, and just changing a lot to do everything to make Indiana succeed.
I think he can accomplish this task. And after seeing that wonderful run for the end of the season, I just thought Indy is heading in the right future.
And like Danny Granger said just a week ago, the Pacers are heading towards the right direction. They have to be. There was a possible chance at the starting of this 2009-10 NBA season that the Pacers were one of the favorites for the eighth seed.
It never happened. A lot of things hurt them, mostly the injuries.
That is what brought the disappointment for this year. But these last few months have to be exciting if you’re a Pacers fans, you gotta admit.
After watching Indy dismantle the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 21, I knew there was going to be excitement throughout the season. And everything was exciting, to the Kings game and to the last 10-12 games of the year.
Just seeing that seems like there will be a winning-streak starting right off the bat for the 2010-11 season.
The Pacers had a great free agent class for 2009. They had great additions like Dahntay Jones and Earl Watson, who brought strong contributions to the team. T.J. Ford improved and Granger was himself, still being the best.
Hansbrough was a huge disappointment in my opinion, but I think he can put up a great showing for next year. I also liked how Brandon Rush improved a bit. Along with that, I saw how Dunleavy improved and how important Troy Murphy was to the team.
Roy Hibbert was amazing, playing like an All-Star throughout the season. He put up points and grabbed as many as boards as possible. He was a hard worker.
And now the Pacers should be looking towards a great offseason. Bird said he won’t be looking at players like usually does now. He will be looking to sign players with talent and everything.
The Pacers have some shots at some great guards in free agency: Tony Allen, Chris Duhon, J.R. Giddens, Luke Ridinour, etc.
Indy is also looking towards trade. I never knew that Jeff Foster could bring so much trade value. Crazy if you think of it, though, because he hasn’t done much for that past few seasons.
Indy is looking to trade Foster, anyways. He had so much trade value that they could’ve landed Ty Lawson from the Nuggets. It’s true.
Another place where the Pacers can improve is at the draft. Wherever the Pacers land, they’ll be in the Top Ten. Most people are projecting them to land with the tenth spot.
I see a lot of good players landing here. I wouldn’t mind seeing Eric Bledsoe land there or a guy like Patrick Patterson. There was also rumors of Gordon Hayward but I don’t think so.
I do think he is a good player, but putting him in Indy just seems really stupid. He won’t be able to do anything because of Murphy. And if Murphy gets traded, since there is rumors of it, Hansbrough will most likely be the starter.
Back to free agency now. The Pacers have shots at really nice players here. Raymond Felton is also another player that can land here.
But whatever Indy does, they’re going to do it right. Not like they usually do. This is going to be different.
I know it.
I am seeing a golden future coming up for Indiana.
There are heading in the right direction, no doubt.