Roy Hibbert

#55 / Center / Indiana Pacers

Little was publicized more this past summer for the Pacers than the work load Roy Hibbert took on to improve his game and look to become a quality center in the NBA. Working with Bill Walton, training in MMA, pushing his rookie protégé, slimming down, becoming limber and quick, it was a summer of transformation for Hibbert, a player coming out of the draft was seen as slow and lumbering.

And the work paid immediate dividends on opening night, dropping 28 and 9 on the Spurs. Through November, Hibbert was a 16/10 player with 2 blocks per for an above .500 ball club, showing himself as a clear front runner for the league’s Most Improved Player award. His post game was refined and patient to go alongside a potent midrange jumper, his play on defense active and anticipatory. It seemed Indiana would be in for a great season with Hibbert at the center spot.

Unfortunately, Hibbert’s effectiveness proved to be unsustainable as teams around the league began game planning for the big fella. Once that happened, it went south pretty quickly. Suddenly, shots wouldn’t fall, movements were awkward, and his post game fell apart. Nothing Roy was doing had any kind of confidence and it was easily visible in his play.

Over the next two months, Hibbert went from a potential award winner to possible benching, averaging just 9.7/6.7 on an unfathomably dreadful .399 shooting. But while Roy’s ego was shaken, he wasn’t receiving much help from his coach, who did everything to belittle Hibbert’s play except whisper in his ear at night how much he hated him, going so far as to say the only reason Hibbert was still the starter was because there was no one behind him.

Hibbert’s psyche definitely took a hit this past year, even as his own Area 55 cheered him on, and it simply didn’t improve under Jim O’Brien. It seemed that once teams figured out an effective way to remove Hibbert, O’Brien didn’t allow Roy the patience to overcome the hurdle, rather opting to issue him some tough love, even though it proved to be ineffective.

Then, as O’Brien tinkered with the lineups, slowly moving Josh McRoberts out of the post and inserting Tyler Hansbrough in addition to the PF play of James Posey, it didn’t leave Hibbert any help in the paint to showcase his passing skills to his forward should he get caught in the post. Not only was O’Brien throwing Roy under the bus at any given opportunity, but he was also abandoning him down low.

Roy’s play started showing signs of improvement around the time of O’Brien’s dismissal, however, and a heavier focus and more support allowed him to slowly work out of his slump, reaching 24 points and 11 boards in Frank Vogel’s first win as head coach. The second half of Hibbert’s season saw its ups and downs, but was able to settle into a steady 13/7 average on a much healthier .490 shooting.

While Hibbert’s play wasn’t routinely as great as it was the beginning, he was working through a lot of his issues. Heading into the playoffs, the Pacers were focused on getting Hibbert big play as an advantage against Chicago. His play at times was large, but only in stretches, play that was easily capped once it got a bit too effective for the Bulls’ liking.

So how did Roy impress?

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Darren Collison

#2 / Guard / Indiana Pacers

The centerpiece to a four-team trade this past August that had Indiana sending Troy Murphy to New Jersey was rookie point guard Darren Collison, one of the most sought after young players in the league that summer. The UCLA product became the starter in New Orleans (that would lend him All-Rookie First Team honors) following an extended injury to Chris Paul in February 2010 that DC would use to record a 19 and 9 average.

In the first start, he put up 17 points and 18 assists and even recorded his first triple double against the Pacers. However, for a player that had proved he was too good to simply be a backup, much less a backup to the best player at his position, it made little sense for New Orleans to not get the best offer they could for him.

The Pacers, meanwhile, had been heavily maligned at the point guard position for the better part of three seasons, a number that's pretty generous to Jamaal Tinsley's perception and overall play, running Travis Diener, Flip Murray, and Earl Watson as extended starters, losing Jarrett Jack to free agency, and struggling to get T.J. Ford to stick under Jim O'Brien.

Indiana had found themselves linked to various young point guards over the summer, from Jonny Flynn to Ty Lawson, but Bird's patience landed him one of the crown jewels of a historically deep PG class of 2009. With one move, Indiana had cemented their PG issues in a player they hoped would anchor the spot for years.

Early in the season, Collison showcased his wares offensively, limiting his turnovers far better than his rookie play suggested. Unfortunately, with the positives came the negatives, mostly in his defensive abilities, or lack thereof, which were heavily scrutinized by not only O'Brien, but fans of the organization. Also down were Collison's assist numbers, though fans were quick to overlook it because of the perception regarding O'Brien's motion offense not fitting the play of a point guard and his numbers.

His defensive problems seemed stemmed at his shorter height, leading many fans to doubt his abilities as a starter. Coupled with a stretch of inconsistency that saw some poor shooting and occasionally questionable decision making, souring some outlooks on the young player, but despite overall play through the winter, Collison came on well late in the year to

Once in the playoffs Collison had a tremendous Game 1, scoring 17 points, while also adding 9 assists and 6 rebounds. As Game 2 progressed, it was becoming clear Derrick Rose was unable defensively to keep up with Collison's speed. As Collison exploited it towards the end of the first half in the second game, he suffered an unfortunate ankle injury, sidelining the rest of Game 2, and throwing him for the rest of the series, ending an unnecessarily turbulent season where preseason hype helped shortchange a lot of good things Collison accomplished.

So how did Collison impress?

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Paul George

#24 / Guard-Forward / Indiana Pacers (Rookie)

Not everyone was terribly excited when Paul George’s name was called on Draft Night. A swingman who was being compared mostly to Danny Granger? An upside project on a team that needed immediate help to erase the franchise’s worst season in 21 years? But it wasn’t even a year later that George had impressed fence-leaners and been hailed as the future of the franchise. That’s quite a jump for a 20-year old player coming into the league on a losing mid-major program.

So how do you go from "B- grade pick" to steal of the draft? To be fair, George’s potential was, and is still, largely a mystery. But instead of "will he pan out?" it’s starting to turn into, "just how good will he be?" When you are labeled by "might be the best player in the draft," it’s hard not to get swept up into it. But despite all the hype and praise, George’s rookie season was still an incredible success.

The Legend of George actually began in Summer League when George shook off his inability to even dribble the ball and bad play by capping an impressive comeback against the Celtic summer leaguers. After putting in obscene amounts of work alongside Roy Hibbert, the leaps and bounds George showcased from summer league to preseason was remarkable.

He began the season within the Indiana rotation in place of the suspended Brandon Rush, but once Rush returned, and played well, George was left fighting for scrap minutes that quickly disappeared all together. Over a six week stretch leading up to the New Year, George played just 9 minutes of basketball, far from ideal for a first rounder on a losing team.

He finally started seeing minutes, albeit, far from consistent around the New Year, with a tremendous and highlight reel effort against the Wizards, scoring 13 points, grabbing 7 boards, and knocking out 5 steals in the much needed win. This game really helped showcase George’s defensive chops. Despite being raw at times, the kid was learning and already had the best defensive tools on the team.

Despite empty defensive preaching from Jim O’Brien, George would see big minutes one night, nearly none the next. The inconsistency really held him from exploding for that breakout game Pacers fans were dying to see. Everything was a learning experience for the 20-year-old, who despite 17 points on 10 shots in a loss against Denver, was lit up by a hot Carmelo Anthony. It was a great learning experience, especially when you consider the game and its coaching into context.

Following O’Brien’s firing, George was given steady minutes in the Pacres’ Goon Squad and had his best stretch of the season, playing a big role in the second unit with highlight plays and big defensive showcases, reaching double figures in 12 of 19 games. George was promoted into the starting lineup for the season’s final stretch, and while it helped the team’s effort in clinching their playoff berth, it seemed to relegate George too much on offense. It took him out of plays for long stretches and didn’t do a particularly good job involving him or setting him up in ways that he could help the team.

It wasn’t a major issue except when nothing seemed to work, and a "well, let’s see what George can do" play seemed like the perfect diagnosis, but yet continued to shy away from him. His midrange game proved to be incredibly sublime, but it felt severely underutilized late in the season. When he was hot though, he was tough to stop, finally getting his much maligned three point shot to fall in the playoff clincher against the Wizards, scoring 23 points on five three pointers.

But while his offensive game seemed a little shortchanged, it was his defensive game that was drawing the most attention. As the postseason began, George was given the seemingly impossible task of stopping the season’s future MVP Derrick Rose, who attempted a ridiculous 21 free throw attempts in Game 1. But as the series wore on, it was George’s defense on Rose, defined by big steals, big stops, and three merciless blocks that helped become the blueprint on how to stop the most unstoppable player in the league.

So how did Paul impress?

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Tyler Hansbrough

#50 / Forward / Indiana Pacers

After sitting out most of his rookie season with a frustrating ear infection turned vertigo that continued to quietly leak into the summer, it almost seemed like Tyler Hansbrough would never take the floor. In fact, as the season began, and he was getting healthy and rounding back into game shape, it seemed he would never take the floor.

But of course, that was another issue entirely.

Hansbrough played early, but didn’t play often. When he did, he would often play well. In fact, through the first two months, when Hansbrough played 20 minutes, the team was 4-1. However, such limited minutes created its own problems; the inconsistent role frustrated not only Hansbrough, but everyone involved with and a fan of the organization.

So it only made sense that pressure from the higher up would push Jim O’Brien to shift Hansbrough from out of the rotation into the starting lineup, where he immediately hit a (then) career high 23 points on 10-19 shooting against the Spurs. Following O’Brien’s dismissal, a sigh of relief could be heard around the Fieldhouse, none more than from Tyler Hansbrough, who could finally be Tyler Hansbrough.

Tyler shows tremendous respect for the game, so it was certainly a surprise to hear him all but discount O’Brien. Hansbrough would move back to the bench, but revel in the opportunity to coin the newly minted Goon Squad, which helped push Indiana back into the playoff picture. He came on with his strongest stretch when the team fell on the verge of collapsing early in March, seeming to be the only player who cared enough to put forth an effort, averaging 25.2 PPG on 61.5% shooting across five games to singlehandedly pull Indiana back into their final stretch run.

This was highlighted when he served up back-to-back career highs (29 & 30 respectively) against the New York Knicks, stuffing Amar’e Stoudemire in the two wins. Hansbrough jumped back into the starting lineup, providing the slow starting starters with a boost of energy, playing a big part in eliminating the slow starts and getting into back into the playoffs. Once there, Hansbrough made a fantastic debut.

In Game 1, as he torched the Bulls time and time again during the second half, you could just tell Larry Bird was feeling his questioned pick justified. Even following a hard foul (dirty? thuggish?) from Kurt Thomas late in the third that seemed to knock Hansbrough out of the game, he returned only to deliver the exclamation point jam that nearly daggered the Bulls in Game 1.

Unfortunately, the rest of the series wasn’t so kind as Hansbrough’s jumper was just slightly off the next four games, as he shot a woeful 10-41 to close out the series. Whether feeling the ill effects of the hit or just bad luck, it was a frustrating close to a productive season for the second-year forward Vogel summed up best by saying, "No one wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough." A little more consistency and that could be cold hard fact for not only opposing teams, but opposing fans as well.

So how did Tyler impress?

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Jeff Foster

#10 / Forward-Center / Indiana Pacers

It was fitting that the Pacers’ return to the postseason would coincide with the return of Jeff Foster as a relevant part of the Indiana rotation. Foster, who pulled alongside Rik Smits as the second longest tenured Pacer in franchise history this season also reached numerous milestones by playing 15,000 minutes across 700 games, all while grabbing his 2,000^th offensive rebound and 3,000^th defensive, all of which led up to 5,000 total rebounds.

It was a rather refreshing step following a gloomy couple of seasons where bad back issues and various injuries either kept Foster out of the lineup, or completely ineffective when he was in the game. The Jeff Foster prior to 2010-11 was not the Jeff Foster Pacers fans had come to find endearing, and it became more frustrating as numerous contenders seemed to coyly take interest in the big man’s services, each injury seeming to make his value fall that much further.

After short work in the 2009-10 season which led to season ending back surgery, Foster was in high spirits to start the season, even though it didn’t start until over halfway through November due to various lineup decisions and played just sparingly over the next month before finally gaining consistent playing time in the stead of Josh McRoberts, looking for some positives against the backdrop of Roy Hibbert’s frustrating winter play.

Unfortunately, Foster’s play in extended minutes appeared to cause Indiana some issues, considering his lack of offensive force in the second unit that couldn’t score, Indiana went a woeful 4-16 in games Foster played in under O’Brien, leading some fans to wonder what kind of value Foster held for the team. But his individual play was far more in line with the Foster of old, not the old Foster, imposing his will on the offensive glass, helping of course, that he saw a lot of misses.

Following O’Brien’s dismissal, Foster was one of the key components in the Indiana Pacers new "smash mouth" identity. After all, the lone stalwart from Indiana’s Eastern Conference Championship in 2000 knew what physicality meant, and as he played the enforcer to a second unit that routinely saved a sinking ship, not doing so without gaining some dismay from opposing fans.

The veteran was visibly frustrated following the flogging Indiana took at the hands of the 65-loss Timberwolves, making very clear he was none too pleased with the sudden turn The Fighting Vogels had taken. But as has always been the case with Foster, complaints were left off the court and he simply did what needed to be done to get Indiana back into the postseason.

When there, he did everything he was known for, grabbing 7 offensive boards in the team’s Game 4 victory. Many Bulls fans were left upset at the physical Foster, feeling compelled enough to shower the big man in lavish boos following a hit on the future MVP Derrick Rose. Foster responded by simply continuing to give the young Bulls all they could handle, making Rose and co. earn everything when they entered the paint, playing the heel, a thug, and dirty player.

But Pacers fans know all too well, you only hate Jeff Foster because he’s not on your team.

So how did Jeff impress?

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Dahntay Jones

#1 / Guard / Indiana Pacers

Of the many things that made fans question why Larry Bird picked up the final year of Jim O’Brien’s contract for this season was that Bird was not giving O’Brien the personnel he needed to succeed in his style. Bird signed Dahntay Jones to help improve the team’s defense, but his offensive style wasn’t suited to O’Brien’s shooting philosophy. As such, Jones went 4-32 from three point range, and the lack of shooting buried an otherwise useful player towards the end of the 2009-10 season.

While his defensive reputation didn’t exactly live up to the billing, he did provide the Pacers with enough of a look that made him a grossly misused product of the Jim O’Brien system. With the early season play of Brandon Rush and the return of a competent Mike Dunleavy; not to mention rookie Paul George, plus some failed T.J. Ford/Darren Collison backcourt experiments, Jones was pretty far out of the team’s playing rotation for the first half of the 2010-11 season.

Despite not being a truly gifted offensive player, Jones had shown tenacity on the offensive end, and a willingness to get things done, a trait that may have been helpful in the dark recesses of December and January when no one in the team’s second unit could find the basket. His defense could’ve been useful on nights when all they needed was a stop. Even still, Jones had played in just 10 of the team’s first 44 games; 74 minutes, 2.7 points, getting extended play in just one game where the team was short Danny Granger.

Despite some possible frustrations with the lack of time, Jones remained on call, and following the coaching change, saw his role change considerably. It clearly helped as Jones became one of the key pieces in the short lived Goon Squad which helped Indiana jumped out to an 8-1 start under Frank Vogel. Jones was paramount in the team’s win against Minnesota, salvaging a maligned effort with a huge fourth quarter.

The second unit of the Pacers would be an important key to the team’s success down the stretch, the abilities of Jones being a huge part in that growth and success. Spotted with deficits from the starters? It was Jones who helped erase that. Needing a final push down the stretch? Dahntay was going to make his effort. If he had it, you could ride him to the end, but unfortunately, he didn’t have always it.

That would be Jones’s biggest detriment to the team on nights he would search for his shot and not quite be on top of it. He would often take too many, leaving the team a possession short. But there’s no discounting his value down the stretch on both ends. He played well in the postseason and was one of the team’s designated stoppers on Derrick Rose for the second half of the series, as Indiana clamped down and created the blueprint for slowing down the league’s MVP, getting eleven points in a Game 3 effort and winning Game 4 in part thanks to his play down the stretch on Rose.

So how did Dahntay impress?

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Brandon Rush

#25 / Guard / Indiana Pacers

It was all hands on deck regarding the future of many members of the Indiana Pacers when the team selected Paul George in the 2010 Draft. George was drafted on his tremendous upside; a three with the abilities to play the two? Who exactly was he brought in to replace? The easiest scapegoat fell on Brandon Rush.

Rush, due to injuries and lack of better options, had essentially held down the starting two spot in his first two seasons with the Pacers, but had been disappointing to fans for a lack of consistency, especially on the offensive end, often cited as floating through games and looking disinterested. Towards the end of the summer, Rush did nothing to help his own case perception by being issued a five-game suspension from the NBA for failing a marijuana test as part of the league’s Anti-Drug Program.

The suspension sparked considerable backlash for an already underachieving player, with many local writers calling for him to be immediately moved for any offer on the table despite market value and on the court value. The team took note of Rush’s apathetic play and responded in kind; essentially sweeping the incident under the rug and opting to stick with Rush in a deep wing rotation to ride out his five game suspension with no real guarantee for playing time.

However, Brandon, for all of his inconsistencies, has responded well when his job has been on the line. With his criticism at all time highs in his first two seasons, he exploded in the spring on both ends to give expectations to Pacers fans, so when he stormed out of the gate playing some of his best basketball, including 16 points on 6-11 shooting in his first game of the season in Indiana’s blowout win against Denver, it should have been no real surprise.

Rush was attentive and successful at inserting himself and taking charge within the team’s offense. Through his first 20 games, Rush was averaging 13 points while shooting 46% from the field and 42% from three point range. He scored in double figures in 14 of those 20 games, in 13 of 16 and appeared to really find himself successful in an offense that really benefited from Rush’s offense, even reaching the starting lineup in games as a defensive switch over Mike Dunleavy against some of the league’s more lethal offensive threats.

His play well into December was a catalyst to the team; one that despite struggling since the calendar turned had them at 10-10 when he played. But then the Brandon of old returned, passive offensively, a spot up shooter, making very little effort on the offensive end to create shots for himself. Indiana struggled in December and January, and went 4-13 until Brandon was pulled late in January for an ankle sprain.

The sprain was being gingerly nursed, rather confusing for an injury Danny Granger had recovered from quickly and seemingly effectively at the beginning of the season, leading much speculation as to Brandon’s future with the organization as they had appeared to be done with his on and off play, even though the benching and seemingly unnecessary coddling of Rush’s ankle was one of many decisions late in Jim O’Brien’s tenure that seemed to lack any real logic.

Rush returned just before the All-Star break, and his name was brought up in a trade deadline deal that fell through for the third consecutive year. He had a mini renaissance in March, but aside from good defense and spot up shooting, he continued to bring very little. Rush’s minutes in the postseason were limited, but he played well, managing to go 3-4 from three point range. When the year wrapped up, Brandon Rush had another Brandon Rush year. No significant improvements, no considerable steps back, just another Brandon Rush season. He did bring positives offensively more consistently this year, but he remains far from being consistent.

So how did Brandon impress?

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T.J. Ford

#5 / Guard / Indiana Pacers

At the end of the 2009-10 season, T.J. Ford pulled himself out of the team’s lineup to gingerly recover from a minor injury. It didn’t register much, but doing so forced Jim O’Brien to play the team’s second round pick A.J. Price in an attempt to assess his skills at the NBA level. It more or less served as a definition of Ford’s entire tenure with the Indiana Pacers, one that saw the star-crossed point guard never truly able to find his place with the team.

Indiana was unable to move his expiring contract the following summer, and along with the trade for Darren Collison, Ford’s fate was all but sealed just in case any doubt lingered. He was given the team’s backup minutes heading into training camp as Price himself was recovering from injury. While Price was well ahead of schedule on his return, it was Ford that earned the playing time in the backup role as the season got underway.

Despite a solid scoring touch in past years, Ford focused his game more defensively and as more of a playmaker for his teammates, a role he achieved to solid success, including big plays in Indiana’s surprising win against the Heat. Unfortunately, as the season progressed, so did Ford’s willingness to make plays. It wasn’t always pretty; overdribbling on penetrating drives and getting trapped with no logical option was something of a norm, but defensively, he provided a more stout option to Collison’s early season struggles.

Ford’s play sparked Indiana on occasion early in the season, but as it grinded on, so to did Ford’s overall play. It became more and more obvious that Ford was not the option Indiana needed for a second unit that had considerable trouble scoring the basketball given his inefficiency scoring the ball. That was a job for Price, who had built himself into an efficient bench scorer the previous season, but like most of Indiana’s concerns, weren’t so easily fixed by a stubborn O’Brien.

When Frank Vogel took over the coaching job, it spelled the end of Ford’s season, as the team not only promoted Price, but also worked to get Lance Stephenson minutes. Ford took the demotion with grace as the Pacers allowed him to travel back home to Houston when the two parties decided a buyout was not going to be possible. While his basketball days in Indiana may have been over, he remained active. He took part in Betty Crocker’s Betty Bracket with his Tex-Mex Enchilada recipe and even took care of invading snakes. However, continuing off the court saga from Stephenson forced Ford back to Indianapolis as the team’s third point guard.

While it was hard to tell what kind of play he would get, his chance came in Game 2 of Indiana’s playoff series against Chicago. With Collison exiting at halftime with an ankle injury, a visibly shaken and overwhelmed Price struggled to make smart plays, turning the ball over time and time again. When Ford came in, the Pacers were given a shot of life that they ran with. Ford’s smart play was nothing if not complete redemption for all the struggles he had been through as a Pacer that peaked on a 65-foot buzzer beater to keep Indiana tenacity alive in their hard fought postseason run.

So how did Ford impress?

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