Superstardom: It Is Now The Time For Danny Granger To Be an Elite Player

Most Improved Player award. 36.2 minutes per game. 25.8 PPG and 5.1 RPG. All-Star.

All those stats above were just one of the few great notables small forward Danny Granger put up during the 2008-09 NBA season.

Granger started to emerge after the 2007-08 season, though, but the ’08 year was when he really emerged and made himself the leader of this Pacers’ young squad. When the 2009-10 season hit, we were expecting something big from No. 33.

With another No. 33 as the owner of the team, Granger look to satisfy him and the rest of the Pacers’ staff and crew, and of course, NBA fans and teammates.

But, it didn’t turn out as we all expected. Granger missed a month, which cost the team the playoffs, to a foot injury. He returned and put up nice numbers like 24.1 PPG and over 5 RPG along with over 37 MPG.

But yet, Granger only played 62 games and it wasn’t enough for Indy to qualify, who finished off the year with a 32-50 record. For Granger’s hustle at the ending of the season, I’d give him a grade of a B for the year.

He played hard and did all that he can to help this team succeed. But still, it wasn’t enough.

Indiana is looking towards a good offseason. And unlike some of the bad decisions Larry Bird has made for the past few offseasons, he said this one is going to be different. It just has to be.

Pacers have assets in them with the draft and free agency coming up. Indiana looks to hire some new coaches and trainers to help out the players and build skill. Granger looks to practice hard and give it all he’s got and show up strong and ready for next season.

At least, that’s what I’m expecting.

He’s had three pretty decent years, averaging about over 20 PPG and 5.5 RPG on average. It’ll be his sixth season and he’s only 27. He has good size at 6’8″ and 230 pounds.

He could be the next big SF. LeBron James is already No. 1 on that list. Next would probably be Kevin Durant. Can Granger top it at No. 3? Probably not. His goal is to be in the Top 5-6.

And this may be the year.

He’s improving slightly every year. Nobody really knows it, but he is. After a decent 2007 season, that’s when it all began.

Emerging as a star. Making a name for yourself. Granger did just that. And now, he can reach the stage of fantastic. Fabulous. Glorious. Unstoppable. Double-doubles, triple-doubles, 20 PPG, 20-10’s, everything you can dream of.

It’s going to happen here, next season for Granger. The 2010-11 season is awaiting. Stardom is coming.

Granger is improving every year and is on his way to 27 PPG if he keeps it up next season. Heck, he could get more. As a leader of this team, he can make things happen. His young supporting cast is also improving, surrounded by Fountain-of-Youth talent in Roy Hibbert, Brandon Rush, A.J. Price, and Tyler Hansbrough.

He has a defensive specialist in Dahntay Jones. A helpful veteran in Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Earl Watson is a good fit at PG, and don’t forget T.J. Ford, who can still make a difference (even though he does tend to be a ballhog sometimes).

Indy is in a good direction. The player they start with has to be Granger.

Playoffs can be at hand in 1-3 years. Granger is improving statistically. He can produce easily there.

His only challenge is this:

Can he produce wins?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

But, like I said before, let’s enjoy the playoffs!