ESPN #NBARank kinder to the Indiana Pacers

The ESPN NBA Rank list is out, and a few Indiana Pacers are in the bottom 50 of their top 100. Compared to Sports Illustrated, ESPN’s list is kinder to the Pacers.

How good is the Indiana Pacers roster? If you asked the Crossover, there are only four players on the roster in the top 100 in the NBA. However, if you look at the first 50 of ESPN’s NBA Rank, there’s already four and that leaves off Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo, who are in the top 50.

It helps that ESPN’s is more of a pure ranking that the Crossover’s more projection-based one, but none the less, it is reassuring to find so many Pacers already popping up on the list.

Darren Collison’s ranking at No. 94 reflects the fact he became a different, and more importantly, better player in Indiana than we’d seen elsewhere. His 46.8 percent mark was best in the league and a bit of a surprise for Pacers and NBA fans alike.

Collison has a ceiling, and may already have reached it, but his fit is perfect as he serves as what is likely a transitional role until Aaron Holliday is ready to take over point guard duties for the Pacers.

Sabonis, like Collison, wasn’t ranked last year, but now he sits at No. 89. The double-double machine (as a starter) showed the potential the Pacers tapped into last year once he was in a role better suited for his style.

His basketball IQ is higher than his ranking, but also one of the main reasons ESPN put him in the top 100. His pick-and-roll work with Oladipo helped catapult him into the rankings, but he just needed the right situation to show what he was capable of.

Next up is Tyreke Evans at No. 87, and like the other Pacers so far, he was unranked a season ago.

In Memphis, the former rookie of the year put much of the offense on his shoulders and carried the Grizzlies as far as their dysfunctional team could go. He may not average the same 19.4 points he did last season coming off the bench, but he is in a role where he can do considerable damage.

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Thaddeus Young drops in at No. 86 and just like the rest, he wasn’t ranked by ESPN a year ago. As Vincent Johnson’s blurb in the rankings sums it up, Young’s contributions are more subtle than most in the top 100.

"The individual numbers aren’t gaudy for Young, but his on-court impact is certainly impressive. The Pacers outscored opponents by 4.4 points per 100 possessions last season when he was on the floor. They were outscored by 3.7 when he was off. His versatility as a defender was key: He allowed 0.78 points per chance defending isos last season, third best in the NBA, according to Second Spectrum research (minimum 150 plays)."

Myles Turner is the first player in the top 50, landing at No. 48, but that’s a drop from No. 36 a season ago. While his numbers remain fine, the slide in the rankings is due to the potential he wasn’t seized on yet.

Indiana’s best chance, as Austin Tedesco notes, to add a star comes in the form of Turner making a leap. The Pacers are waiting for this to happen, as are the fans. Turner plays well enough as is, but a jump in his play from above average to someone who stands out on offense is needed for the Pacers to become serious contenders in the Eastern Conference.

We’re still waiting to see where they land Victor Oladipo — he is in the top 20 — but compared to the Crossover’s rankings, the Pacers have more top 100 players according to ESPN.

The Pacers surprised everyone last season, but this year they’re coming in with a healthy respect for Oladipo and the rest of the roster.