What we’ve learned through the first week of Indiana Pacers training camp

We’re still a few days away from the Indiana Pacers first preseason game, but we’re already learning a thing or two about the team.

Is Victor Oladipo ready to take the leap to an MVP caliber of player? His Indiana Pacers teammates certainly think so.

We head at the beginning of summer that Oladipo was transforming into a ‘mini-LeBron.’ We kept hearing about how he was improving despite the giant leap he took last season. And now that training camp is underway, the rest of the organization is seeing the same.

Kevin Bowen of 1070 the Fan had these quotes from last week.

"“Oh my God, he’s hungry,” team president Kevin Pritchard says of the 26-year-old guard. “He’s as hungry as any player I’ve ever been around.“I will be shocked if he doesn’t make a huge move. Not sure if that means more points. I think you will see a guy that goes from being a good player that makes himself better, to being a great player, who makes his teammates better.”"

New Indiana Pacers teammate and former Thunder teammate Doug McDermott can see the difference in Oladipo as well, especially from their time in Oklahoma City.

Making a leap to truly elite status seems both so easy and so hard for Oladipo to achieve. If he starts finishing a little better at the rim or making his free throws he could get his scoring average closer to MVP level, but he’d need a few more assists and rebounds to seal the deal, too.

Even if he maintains the same level of play from last season, that would be impressive enough, but it’s clear he and the Pacers expect much more from him this season.

2nd round picks showing promise for the Indiana Pacers

In the NBA, 2nd round picks are hopes and prayers. You hope that you found a diamond in the rough, but chances are they’ll rarely, if ever, make a meaningful impact the deeper in the draft you go.

However, Nate McMillan is seeing positive signs from some of Indiana’s recent late round picks. While that’s likely a good bit of coach speak, it’s worth remembering why Indiana’s prospects fell to them late in the draft.

Both Edmond Sumner and Ike Anigbogu had late first-round potential before injuries hurt their draft stock. In Alize Johnson’s case, he played for a smaller school against less-than-elite competition, causing some teams to hesitate on taking a flier on him.

Their games were still raw the last time we saw them play, including Sumner and Johnson in Summer League, but there’s hope for them yet. After training camp, however, expect to find them in the G-League if they get playing time.

Good to see you back, Slick

Bojan taking it easy, Thad recovering from a bone bruise

The Indiana Pacers let Bojan Bogdanovic recover from the grind of playing in FIBA qualifiers by giving him a few days off. Thaddeus Young is recovering from a bone bruise and is not practicing as a result.

Rebounding a priority this season

Last year, Indiana was in the bottom third of the league in rebounding. That’s something they aren’t looking to repeat this season.

J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star quoted McMillan as saying they want to flip that around and be in the top-10 of the NBA this season.

"“When we had a team meeting, we had all these goals set out for us for the season,” said Domantas Sabonis, who led the Pacers in rebounding off the bench. “Top 10 rebounding in the league was one of them. We really made it a key focus in training camp.”"

Myles Turner will play a large role in that improvement, but it can’t just be him. Too often last season the ball would bounce off the rim and the whole team would be guilty of watching it. A more physical state of mind is needed.

That physicality also is needed if the Pacers want to run a more effective pick and roll. None of Indiana’s regular rotation players were more than average at setting screens, at least going off of NBA.com data on them as the roll men.

One hopes they can learn a thing or two from newcomer Kyle O’Quinn. It’s one of the reasons he was sought after in free agency by Indiana. Pritchard told Pacers.com’s Mark Montieth that a more physical approach would be required.

"“A lot of guys don’t want to give up their bodies,” said Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who has seen a few picks and rolls in his 12 seasons as an NBA player and 14 as an NBA head coach. “That’s a physical part of the game, giving up your body and saying, ‘Run into me.'”Kyle O’Quinn says that, in so many words at least, without flinching. Said it in fact to president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard when they met for dinner back in June, before O’Quinn signed a one-year contract with the Pacers.“He said,” Pritchard recalled, “‘What I really like to do is go set a screen.’ He goes, ‘If you think Victor (Oladipo) and Tyreke (Evans) got open before, I’m going to get them open.”"

If the Indiana Pacers get more physical, it’s easy to see how better screens more rebounds can lead to more points for their offense and fewer second-chance points for their opponents. Indiana ranked 17th in that stat last season, but getting nasty on the boards could put them inside the top 10. This will be worth monitoring throughout the rest of training camp and into the season.