Three goals for the Indiana Pacers’ three preseason games
By George Moser
Score at least 100 points per game
Ironically, the Pacers in previous seasons have struggled with the pace of modern NBA games. Last season, the Pacers ranked 20th in pace at 98.9 points per game. This stat was a consistent red flag for the team throughout last season. Whenever the Pacers failed to break 100 points, the outcome was almost certainly a loss.
It is easy to break this point down to “score more points than the other team.” However, the Achilles heel for last year’s Pacers was an inability to play an uptempo form of basketball. In the games where the Pacers found themselves in a shootout, the team struggled to slow the game down and stick to their game plan.
Instead, Coach Bjorkgren needs to get this team to play at a faster pace than under Coach Nate McMillan. If the Pacers can establish a goal of scoring over 100 points per game, the team will avoid the same embarrassing losses the team faced last year.