Indiana Pacers: What’s Your Role?

I keep talking about each player’s role for this Indiana Pacers team, but have we actually defined what everyone’s role will be?  I am here to help in that area as I’ve put it upon eight of the guys on this team that I believe will be the biggest contributors, and I’ve assigned them their own role to the team.  Sure, all members of this team are important, but let’s face it some are more important that’s why I’ve settled on eight players.  The starters, plus Lance Stephenson, Chris Copeland, and Luis Scola.  If you want to assign roles to the rest of the team, do that right in the comments section, I’m interested to hear what you can come up with.  Even leave a comment with your own role for the guys I’ve put in this article.

George Hill- The Aggressive Facilitator

This is sort of a dual purpose role. I’ve said before, how George Hill is this team’s right point guard, and I believe that he can be a strength when looking for guys or himself.  This is the season I would love to see him look for himself a little bit more as I do believe he’s a much better player for the team when that happens. It’s just a happy medium.  You want Hill looking for his shot at the same time looking for players. I would say it’s a game to game even play to play idea.  If there’s the right match up out there for Hill to be aggressive, then Coach Vogel needs to tell him that.  I think Hill is more concerned about the team, so it doesn’t hurt to have someone else speak in his ear to say hey look for your shot tonight.  But the role of being aggressive and looking for guys is something I see for Hill this season.

Paul George- THE  SuperStar

While Paul George made some great leaps last season, this season is where he bounds tall buildings.  I’m saying that he needs to be that superstar for this year’s team.  He’s that guy you want taking the last shot. Or making a play on the defensive end.  Or setting up a guy for a winning basket. But the ball in his hands at the end of a game is the biggest role I see for Paul George.  That means he has to improve those handling skills and make sure his passing game is right where it should be.  But I do look for Paul George to continue this ascension, and this is the season that fans can say we have that “superstar” on our team.

Danny Granger- Mr. Comeback

I know some fans are ready to run Danny Granger out of town, and me, I just can’t seem to bring myself to that idea.  I’ve always been a fan of Granger and I think he was here for the team in those tough tough times, so I want to keep him around to see the success that’s being built right now.  At the same time, I understand, he’s probably gone after this season, but I hope that he can at least be something of the player he was.  That’s why I’m giving him the Mr. Comeback moniker. I would love to see him get double figures most of the time because I’m not sure if consistency will be in the cards.  But if he can be that consistent player we have seen before, this team gets that much better. I’m hoping he makes that comeback and is able to enjoy what many are expecting to be a fantastic ride for the Pacers this season.

David West- The Glue

This is the best way I can describe what I feel Mr. West brings to this Pacers team.  He really keeps them together and grounded.  We can still recall a couple of seasons ago, West being that guy to call the team off the floor after winning in Miami as it was just one victory.  He’s a guy that plays with so much passion out there, that fans around here take him in as our own.  He’s a guy that you can count on to be a scorer, defender, rebounder, hustler, just anything you ask. Once again, the glue that sticks this team together.  I’m so glad he gets to spend a couple more years with the team as I know he’s that important.

Roy Hibbert- Mr. Postman

Another dual threat for a player as I am going to call upon Roy Hibbert to be strong on the offensive end in the post, and again on the defensive end in the post.  Offensively, Roy Hibbert has to be as strong and as aggressive as he can be.  Plus, he just needs to make baskets down there.  He doesn’t step away from that area too often, so when he gets the ball in that best position to score, he needs to make it happen. I would like for him to be more aggressive about driving to the basket instead of settling for those soft bunnies.  But then again, maybe that’s just the way Hibbert will play the game.  Defensively, just ask Carmelo Anthony about his defensive presence.  That block on Anthony is something that we’ll remember for years to come.  I expect more of the same these season.  Going straight up with his hands to make sure guys aren’t getting easy baskets.  If that happens, expect some more votes for his defensive play this season.

Lance Stephenson- The Controlled Frenzy

This role speaks for itself as Stephenson really was let loose last season, so at times we saw Good Lance and Bad Lance.  I think the Good Lance showed up a little bit more than Bad Lance, but there’s still Bad Lance.  So if Stephenson can focus his energy on the right times to be aggressive, he’ll be a much better player because of it.  I think last season spoke to what Larry Bird was saying all along.  There’s plenty of potential in Stephenson to be quite the player.  Now’s the time to settle on Good Lance and let that energy play out as it should.

Luis Scola- Mr. Seventh Starter

For most of his time in Phoenix, Scola was a starter, so now he’ll be coming off the bench, but I hope he doesn’t lose that starter mentality.  Playing strong no matter what minutes he’ll be getting this season. I could actually see plenty of minutes coming Scola’s way if Coach Vogel makes sure that guys get all the minutes they can.  I hope Scola can be a double figures guy off the bench, and a consistent one at that.  That could be the biggest thing this bench needs, consistency.  If Scola provides that, this bench already looks better than years’ past.

Chris Copeland- Mr. Maker Of Threes

Chris Copeland was brought here to score, something that once again the Pacers’ bench will need.  Last season, they struggled a bit to find that bit of scoring punch.  I don’t think Copeland will be content to sit out in three land and drain them from there, but if he can do that for the most part, this team will be better because of it.  I think there might be more to his game, and this could be that season to see that.