NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Pacers fail to land “generational” talent
By Joe Lyon
Earlier this season we did our first mock draft and the picture was a bit rosier then given that the Pacers positioning in the conference is changing. However, an updated look at the eastern conference standings begin to give a clearer picture of the picks that the Pacers might have access to in this years NBA draft.
Eastern conference standings:
- Milwaukee Bucks 51-20
- Philadelphia 76ers 48-22
- Boston Celtics 49-23
- Cleveland Cavaliers 45-28
- New York Knicks 42-30
- Brooklyn Nets 39-32
- Miami Heat 39-34
- Atlanta Hawks 35-36
- Toronto Raptors 35-37
- Chicago Bulls 33-37
- Indiana Pacers 32-37
- Washington Wizards 32-39
- Orlando Magic 29-43
- Charlotte Hornets 22-50
- Detroit Pistons 16-56
Clearly the Pacers aren’t going to be getting anything close to the number one pick, but at one point this season there was optimism that we may be able to draft high in the lottery. Unfortunately, that dream is starting to look less and less likely as the Pacers start to fall into no-mans-land in the middle of the eastern conference.
Because of this the Pacers start to find themselves at risk of not begin able to draft a generational type player as they begin to move towards the back-half of the lottery. Unfortunately, this drastically alters the draft prospects of the Pacers this summer and paints a less desireable picture than our first mock draft.