Pacers Searching For Answers To Many Questions

by Tom Lewis on Aug 26, 2009 6:32 AM EDT in Indiana Pacers News

The Indiana Pacers begin their preseason work on September 25th with Media Day which is suddenly just one month away. Check that, not suddenly, this quiet month of August has been dragging on like Shaq trying to fill the lane on a fastbreak. Regardless, the Pacers head into the season with five new faces and varying expectations.

If all goes well, they should compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If not, they'll be considered an afterthought.

You can analyze the players and team as a whole from every possible angle and you'll still be left with a host of questions which can only be answered on the court and in some cases over a several-month period of time. So my questions to you are: What questions surrounding the 2009-10 Pacers do you want answered? Which answers are most critical to the Pacers short-term and/or long-term success?

Here are a few off the top of my head to get started:

How many starting lineup variations will we see? Will Jim O'Brien let Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush play through struggles more this year or keep them on a short leash?
How many players will be in the normal playing rotation? Who will those players be? When Mike Dunleavy returns, if you consider Dun, Jeff Foster and Earl Watson as givens off the bench, then a nine player rotation has Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, Solomon Jones and Josh McRoberts fighting for extra minutes.
Will player health make the various battles for minutes moot? Danny Granger's knee, Mike Dunleavy's knee and hip, Jeff Foster's back, Tyler Hansbrough's shin and T.J. Ford's everything seem to put these guys in a perpetual day-to-day status. Will they all play more than 70 games? 75? That would be huge.
How will the front court playing rotation work out? Will Foster's minutes give way to youth or as happens every year, will Foster end up starting?
Can Danny Granger once again raise his level of play? Can he make an impact at the defensive end of the floor?
Will T.J. Ford silence his critics or make them more boisterous?
If a slow start has the team chasing .500 again, will any bridge players be moved? Will Jim O'Brien make it to the end of the season?
What else?

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Comments

I’d really like for Granger to step up his game while player a few less minutes. Over the course of the season that could be a great help if they are in a playoff hunt and keep him more fresh. Plus its less wear and tear on his knees. I want this guy to be productive for years…not become another Jermaine O’neal.

by Sparhawk on Aug 26, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

What is the final roster going to be? If the Pacers dress 14 will Price be in the D-League? These two questions have been bothering me since they arose!

I’m excited about a healthy team this year. I would expect them to be similar to the Pacers last year, always in games. I enjoy watching full games, not games you turn off with 8 mins remaining in the 4th quarter. Barring any injuries this team should be in every game this year. They have the offense and hopefully now, the defense to stick around.

by jantz101 on Aug 26, 2009 12:40 PM EDT reply actions

Jeff Foster

I’m still interested to see what type of role Foster will play this season with the Pacers, or if he will sent to a contender who needs his attributes. I would think some contender would make a play for him. That will be interesting to see if he’s still in Indiana next summer.

Also agree with jantz about the roster. I’m curious as to why the team is waiting to sign A.J. Price and what their intentions are with the final roster spots. I’ll be glad when that situation gets resolved.

by spstevenson on Aug 26, 2009 5:04 PM EDT reply actions

I think we need to do something with Foster

I just think the writing is on the wall for him to be out before the trade deadline. McBeard and S.Jones make more sense without Jeff. I love Jeff dearly, but I didn’t think he looked very good at all last year. He really seemed off his game. But he may still have enough left to be valuable on a contender and we might be able to pry away a decent player from a contender’s team for him, which I think we should do. I will miss Jeff when he leaves, either by trade this year or down the road to retirement.

by Nathan S. on Aug 26, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

foster...

O’Brien loves Jeff. I was listening to Jim on the radio a few months ago before the end of the season and the question was asked on Kevin Lee’s show by a caller about why Jeff plays so many minutes. O’Brien brought up a few stats that they figure on a daily basis. It was something like, even without him physically scoring, what the differential between points he scores, assists he has, blocks he gets, rebounds against how many points he allows, or something to that effect, and how they compared to the other players on the team. Foster was actually the best player on the team in that category. The stat pretty much gauges the effect a player has on the score of the game on both sides. It’s a great stat to figure how important a player is to a team.
Jeff just flat out hustles, he’s the kind of guy that makes other guys on the floor better just by being on the floor. He’s a great leader and a very capable passer for a 4-5 spot guy. He just seems to always make a play when we need him too.
I honestly don’t think Jeff wants to be anywhere else. I don’t think he plays because he wants to win a championship necessarily, of course every player does. He just plays because he loves to play. He just got his degree, so his future after the NBA is lined up. I also like the idea of him staying with the team in an executive role after he is done playing.

~SHaFF!~
The Little Sports Blog That Could:
http://www.thelittlesportsblog.blogspot.com/

by SHaFF87 on Aug 27, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions

leadership

i would love to see this pacer team start the year with a little swagger and expectations for themselves. It seems the last couple years the team was merely hoping they could make a playoff run but didnt really expect to. I would love to see granger step up and take a bigger leadership role for the rest of the pacers to follow. I would like to see us finally step up to the challenge and play like we have something to prove. Hopefully we can start training camp with this winning attitude as an expectation as more than a hope.

If Youre not First, Youre Last

by drsuessrunner07 on Aug 26, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions

+1

From what it sounds like, Bird wants some intense practices. I would love to see that carry over to the court on game night also. Granger seems like he has some fire in him, I think he will be pushing the team this year. Intensity and confidence will be key!

by jantz101 on Aug 26, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions