How do the Indiana Pacers stack up in the new East?
With Kawhi Leonard now gone not only from the defending champion Raptors but from the entire East too, the dust is beginning to settle from a riveting offseason. How do the Indiana Pacers stack up in this new Eastern Conference?
The Indiana Pacers were active in the first week of free agency. In: Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, Jeremy Lamb, Goga Bitadze and T.J. McConnell. Out: Bojan Bogdanovic (to Utah), Thaddeus Young (Chicago), Cory Joseph (Sacramento), Wes Matthews (Milwaukee), Kyle O’Quinn (Philadelphia), Darren Collison (retirement), and Tyreke Evans (banned).
After all the moves, Myles Turner is now the longest tenured Pacer. No one remains from the team’s 2015 edition. This revamped Pacers roster is younger (24.5) than last year’s version (26.1). There are still a couple roster spots open, although one is all but etched in stone for two-way rookie, Brian Bowen II. And the Pacers now lead the league in T.J.s (3)…so many T.J.s.
With those open roster spots, it wouldn’t hurt the Pacers to improve their depth on the wing (again, probably Bowen) and in the post. Unless Indiana is expecting Alize Johnson to fill that spot, Cheick Diallo (late of New Orleans) or Ekpe Udoh (Utah) would both fill in admirably well.
But let’s turn our attention to what is actually on the roster for a moment.
Just two years ago, the Pacers’ offense was restricted to the creative whims of its only weapon that could create his own shot: Victor Oladipo. Last season, Indiana added a couple more: the surprising Bogdanovic (although he’s now a Jazz), and the infrequently used Aaron Holiday. Next year will be a whole new story for Indiana. Brogdon, Lamb, and Warren will add to the growing quiver of Pacers who can initiate for themselves. In theory, those painful 8 point quarters should be a thing of the past.
The Pacers also have increased their positional flexibility. Oladipo and Brogdon are combo guards, with Brogdon also possessing the ability to guard anyone on the wing. Lamb can play the two and the three. Edmond Sumner can, in theory, play three positions. Warren can play both forward spots, Turner both the four and the five, and Domantas Sabonis is working on playing both as well.
Add it up, and the new Pacers are more switchable and more individually dangerous than last year. The summit for this team will be determined by several major factors: can Sabonis and Turner make their pairing work? If Brogdon can stay healthy, can he, Warren, or Sabonis take on more reliable scoring loads? If either of those happen, then there might not be upper-limit for this team and Indiana’s very much in the mix like a dozen other teams in the championship picture.
So let’s take a peak that the competition in the East, and where Indiana fits.