A lot To Looks Forward To

I am getting very interested in the tenth overall pick in Paul George. Despite the Indiana Pacers’ 77-73 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Summer League game, George helped the Pacers rally back from a big deficit. George scored 22 points in the making and is continuing to show signs of a hopeful NBA future. If he keeps this up, I think he is closer and closer to earning a starting spot at the shooting guard position. He has a great height advantage at 6’8″ and can make big plays, like he showed in the Thunder game.

I am looking forward to the rest of the off-season. With the decision of LeBron James done, the Pacers can now focus on their free agent opportunities. But before we go into that, I’d like to discuss the free agent acquisitions.

I like the Amare Stoudemire pick. The New York Knicks have a lot more build on but Stoudemire will be the key to success. With that, the Knicks brought in Anthony Randolph to help out at center possibly. The Knicks also got a good deal out of it, getting three power forwards/centers by giving up David Lee. The Golden State Warriors could use Lee, but I think they gave up too much. The Bulls signed Carlos Boozer and they have more keys to build on. I think to fill the starting line-up, they can pick up Tracy McGrady. With this, the Bulls have Derrick Rose, T-Mac, Luol Deng, Boozer, and Noah as the starting five. The Celtics have brought in Jermaine O’Neal, who will easily start at center to fill in for Kendrick Perkins before he comes back. The Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks did a great job bringing back Rudy Gay and Joe Johnson, but however, the Hawks put way too much money on the table for a guy who is not even fully a superstar yet. As for the Miami Heat, they are the winners of free agency, no matter what happens. LeBron James will be the guy averaging 20-22 PPG, 7-11 APG, and 6-8 RPG. D-Wade is the guy getting 28-32 PPG and Chris Bosh is the guy getting 16-18 PPG and 9-15 RPG. Big ups to Pat Riley. The Heat are easily my second favorite team (Pacers will always be my first). It made me start my own Heat blog at heatwavehoops.blogspot.com. Looks to be a fun project with the team. I see the Heat winning three championships in the next five years.

Now let’s get back talking to the Pacers. Thank God the Pacers broke 20. You are probably asking what I mean there. Well, the Pacers are ranked 19 in a couple power rankings I saw and they have a 65-to-1 odds of winning an NBA title. I’ll take that anyday. As long as they broke the 20’s, I’m fine. I don’t expect the Pacers to become a sixth seed but I have them being a seventh seed at best. I really hope they get the eighth seed. The East is going to get tough and the Pacers can actually make the playoffs by only winning 38-41 games. It’s true. It can happen.

I am hoping a lot for free agency. If they bring in Jordan Farmar, I’ll take it. If they bring in Raymond Felton, I’d be really excited for the season. Because with that, all the slots are pretty well-filled with Felton at point, Geroge at SG, Granger obviously at SF, Murphy at PF, and Hibbert at C. I am looking forward to Hibbert emerging for the 2010-11 season. I think this is the year he gets more touches and averages possibly 16 PPG and 11 RPG. Something along those lines. Murphy will drop down a little but I see him getting 11-13 PPG and 8-12 RPG. Granger is going to emerge as well with 22-27 PPG. George? I see 12-15 PPG. And Felton? Gotta expect 15-18 PPG and 6-9 APG. I am very confident in the Pacers landing Felton.

I am hoping for a lot of good things to happen right now. As a Pacers fan, all you can hope for is the best.

But I got some more things. If the Pacers make the playoffs, I’m down with that. But I hope they can do something coming in the 2011 Draft and Free Agency. There, they have a wonderful chance of landing Carmelo Anthony. Indy has a ton of cap room in for them that year. If they get a good draft pick, I’m good with that. But landing Melo? Oh yeah. Just give him all the cash and we’re good. Get rid of Murphy, we’re good. Melo will start at shooting guard and George will drop down, but it’s okay. He can be a helpful backup. Rush may be out and so may Ford. The draft pick should be a power forward then. Here’s some guys Indy should look at for 2011:

Al Horford
Jamal Crawford
Glen Davis
Kendrick Perkins
Tyson Chandler
Caron Butler
Carmelo Anthony
J.R. Smith
Nene Hilario
Kenyon Martin
Tayshaun Prince
Aaron Brooks
Shane Battier
Mike Conley
Marc Gasol
Zach Randolph
Mario Chalmers
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Luc Ricard Mbah a Moute
Michael Redd
Kris Humphries
Jeff Green
Mickael Pietrus
Grant Hill
Leandro Barbosa
Jason Richardson
Greg Oden
Tim Duncan
Tony Parker
Sundiata Gaines
Andrei Kirelinko

After looking at those free agents, the Pacers gotta land some of them! Right now, all I can say is that there is a lot to look forward to for the Indiana Pacers, no doubt.

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