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5 Pacers Training Camp Battles to Watch Out For

By Jordan Yant

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Myles Turner (Texas) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eleven overall pick to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Myles Turner (Texas) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number eleven overall pick to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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C.J. Miles vs. Chase Budinger

Jan 21, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger (10) drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at Target Center. The Mavericks win 98-75. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger (10) drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at Target Center. The Mavericks win 98-75. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

Larry Bird has wanted Chase Budinger for some time now. For what reason we don’t really know. Sure, he has shown flashes of what he can do. When healthy he has shown a great capability to play a pivotal role off the bench.

Therein lies the key though: when he is healthy.

He has had the appearance of being a little fragile over the course of his career. Last year he did make strides in his durability for sure by playing in 67 games. The three prior years, however, he only played 41, 23, and 58 games. That is a concern.

Also, the question also shouldn’t be was the Damjan Rudez for Chase Budinger a good trade? In the long-run it was inconsequential. Yes, Rudez was a fan favorite — but he was also a relatively one-dimensional third-string wing on the roster.

Per Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, the Pacers brought in Budinger to provide competition to CJ Miles.

Now whether that means Paul George is the starting power forward or not remains to be seen. It does offer a little bit of intrigue though.

C.J. Miles performed well above expectations in his first year with Indiana. He posted a career highs in minutes per game, rebounds per game, and points per game. He also made an astounding 154 3-pointers last season, almost double that of any other Pacer.

After that success, it would be an interesting play by Bird to try to have a competition between the often-injured Budinger and the productive C.J. Miles.

Right now, the edge has to go to Miles and with the starting lineup still a question mark and one of those two may end up being the starting small forward come the beginning of the season.

The idea of George starting at power forward is also something that doesn’t appear to a concrete fact. That will determine greatly how much time both of these players see this year.

Next: LaVoy Allen vs. Jordan Hill

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