I’m excited. Pacers fans, you should be too.
The 2015-2016 NBA season for the new look Indiana Pacers is set to kick off on Oct. 28 in Toronto against the Raptors. For the first time in years, we don’t really know what to expect from this new squad. I like that. There’s optimism but also reasonable expectations — we know they’re not coming close to a title — so it’s also hard to be disappointed if the team stinks it up.
PS: Preseason means nothing, but a 5-2 record is better than I anticipated.
Here’s some info to get you ready:
Roster set
The Pacers have waived Tony Douglas and Terran Petteway to bring their roster down to 15, the maximum allowed by the league for opening day. The team now roughly looks like this:
PG: George Hill / Joe Young
SG: Monta Ellis / Rodney Stuckey
SF: CJ Miles / Chase Budinger / Glenn Robinson III / Solomon Hill
PF: Paul George /Lavoy Allen / Shayne Whittington / Rakeem Christmas
C: Ian Mahinmi / Jordan Hill / Myles Turner
The depth chart looks a little thin in the back court, but of course CJ Miles, Paul George and Chase Budinger can all play the two if required. My guess is Rakeem Christmas will head to the Development League some time this season, if not most of it.
ESPN Player Rankings
Pacers players did not get a lot of love from the ESPN Player Rankings this year.
26. Paul George
86. Monta Ellis
101. George Hill
203. Jordan Hill
205. C.J. Miles
220. Rodney Stuckey
238. Myles Turner
284. Chase Budinger
288. Ian Mahinmi
293. Solomon Hill
337. Lavoy Allen
348. Rakeem Christmas
385. Glenn Robinson III
Paul George’s ranking feels a little low, but that’s understandable because he’s coming back from a catastrophic injury and no one knows what we’re going to get. But if the preseason is anything to go buy, PG is going to tear up the league this season.
As for everyone else, I guess we’ll see. Monta despite his flaws, feels better than 86, while George Hill is definitely better than 101 — the stud was playing at an All-Star level last season when healthy.
Still it’s never good when the team only has three players in the top 150. Just think of it this way: there are 150 starters in the NBA.
ESPN Power Rankings
Marc Stein of ESPN appears to like this new Pacers squad a lot more, placing them at 16 (up three spots) in his first Power Rankings before the start of the season. Here is what he said:
After all the initial (and vocal) resistance from Paul George about his move to the 4 spot, PG-13 ended up assembling a pretty convincing preseason. If he’s as back as he’s looked lately — and if Monta Ellis can find a niche as quickly as he did in Dallas — Indy should prove to be a pesky out despite its newfound smallness.
Coincidentally, the Pacers are also the 8th ranked Eastern Conference team in the rankings, which means they would make the playoffs if things hold true till the end of the season. The teams above them are pretty obvious: Cleveland, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Milwaukee.
Zach Lowe thinks Pacers will make playoffs too
One of my favorite NBA analysts, Zach Lowe, wrote in his “35 Crazy Predictions” column that he believes the Pacers will make the playoffs this season. I like what he said here:
There has been too much fretting about Paul George moving to power forward. Also, George is freaking awesome — a borderline top-10 player if he’s at peak health. On a lot of nights, the Pacers will have the best player on the floor. That’s a nice place to start.
Week One
After the Oct. 28 debut against the Raptors in Toronto, the Pacers go home the next night for their first home against the Memphis Grizzlies. The final game of the week is on Saturday against the Utah Jazz, also at home. Is it possible they go 3-0? Yes. Is it also possible they go 0-3? Unfortunately, also yes.
Time will tell.
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