How come Indy gets no love as a Dark Horse?

[TheKiteDesigner]

Indy doesn't get respect as a dark horse cause they are not a good road team. The past couple of seasons it's been that way and it hasn't got better. You can't win on the road in the playoffs you're always bound to get roasted in 5, 6 games the most. That's my opinion about Indy and its not going to change.

[Ronito]

Their bench is also horrendous. It's a shame Gerald Green flamed out.

Looks like you have no idea what you're talking about. Mahinmi has played great, Augustin has really started pulling his weight around here recently, Hansbrough still has his spazzmatic play, and Stephenson is only in the starting lineup due to Granger's injury. I'll give you that Gerald Green has been bad, but other than that, you're wrong.

You got me. But that doesn't change the fact all those players you named are below average offensively.

Sure, some of them play defense, like Mahinmi, but Indiana is already #1 defensively.

[Jakay]

They don't have a best player for one. Is it Granger, West, Hibbert?

Who knows. They're like Atlanta only people go to the games sometimes.

[Nuntius]

Indy doesn't get respect as a dark horse cause they are not a good road team. The past couple of seasons it's been that way and it hasn't got better. You can't win on the road in the playoffs you're always bound to get roasted in 5, 6 games the most. That's my opinion about Indy and its not going to change.

They were 19 - 14 on the road last season. They were a good road team.

And they'll become a good road team once again when Granger returns. Also, in last year's playoffs they won both games that they played in Orlando and they also beat Miami on the road.

[kingkirk]

For me, if they're ever going to be a contender with this group, Hibbert needs to go to the next level.

George is developing and is the future face of that franchise, but they need more out of Roy offensively.

He really should be a 17-19 ppg player with elite defense.

[Nuntius]

For me, if they're ever going to be a contender with this group, Hibbert needs to go to the next level.

George is developing and is the future face of that franchise, but they need more out of Roy offensively.

He really should be a 17-19 ppg player with elite defense.

Dunno if Hibbert has it in him to be a 17-19 PPG player. I see him as a player more on the 14-15 PPG range like Marc Gasol.

[kingkirk]

For me, if they're ever going to be a contender with this group, Hibbert needs to go to the next level.

George is developing and is the future face of that franchise, but they need more out of Roy offensively.

He really should be a 17-19 ppg player with elite defense.

Dunno if Hibbert has it in him to be a 17-19 PPG player. I see him as a player more on the 14-15 PPG range like Marc Gasol.

You're probably right, but in order to be a contender or a dark horse, they really need Brook Lopez type numbers offensively whilst maintaining his very nice defense.

Either that, or find an upgrade at the point guard spot.

Hill is nice and has had a good year, but for me, he is a 6th man and not the type of point guard you want setting up your starting unit.

[Nuntius]

You're probably right, but in order to be a contender or a dark horse, they really need Brook Lopez type numbers offensively whilst maintaining his very nice defense.

Either that, or find an upgrade at the point guard spot.

Hill is nice and has had a good year, but for me, he is a 6th man and not the type of point guard you want setting up your starting unit.

We have David West, Paul George and Danny Granger for the scoring load. Then we also have Hill who is capable of putting up 14 points nightly. We don't really need 18 PPG from our Center.

As far as the PG position is concerned. Hill was good as a 6th man last year but he really elevated the starting unit as a starting PG.

Plus, I don't know if we could find an upgrade in his mold. Indiana needs a scoring PG that is also a good defender and shooter. Not a distributor. How many upgrades there are in this mold besides the obvious elite PGs?

[kingkirk]

We have David West, Paul George and Danny Granger for the scoring load. Then we also have Hill who is capable of putting up 14 points nightly. We don't really need 18 PPG from our Center.

As far as the PG position is concerned. Hill was good as a 6th man last year but he really elevated the starting unit as a starting PG.

Plus, I don't know if we could find an upgrade in his mold. Indiana needs a scoring PG that is also a good defender and shooter. Not a distributor. How many upgrades there are in this mold besides the obvious elite PGs?

To me, all those guys are perfect 3rd options.

Its a similar issue that we face in Chicago, in not having that second guy.

George may grow into that number 1 player, but at this stage, the kid is still 22.

They can score ok in the regular season, but it will be questioned come playoff time.

I really like Indy the team (think they're chumps, im looking and you Tyler ), but im not sold on them as a dark horse until they find a true 'man'.

At the moment, its very nicely balanced, but can anyone take over when needed?

[Nuntius]

We have David West, Paul George and Danny Granger for the scoring load. Then we also have Hill who is capable of putting up 14 points nightly. We don't really need 18 PPG from our Center.

As far as the PG position is concerned. Hill was good as a 6th man last year but he really elevated the starting unit as a starting PG.

Plus, I don't know if we could find an upgrade in his mold. Indiana needs a scoring PG that is also a good defender and shooter. Not a distributor. How many upgrades there are in this mold besides the obvious elite PGs?

To me, all those guys are perfect 3rd options.

Its a similar issue that we face in Chicago, in not having that second guy.

George may grow into that number 1 player, but at this stage, the kid is still 22.

They can score ok in the regular season, but it will be questioned come playoff time.

I really like Indy the team (think they're chumps, im looking and you Tyler ), but im not sold on them as a dark horse until they find a true 'man'.

At the moment, its very nicely balanced, but can anyone take over when needed?

David West has taken over a lot of times when needed. And he was a solid 2nd option in those Hornets teams.

Danny Granger was also a 1st option in those earlier Indiana teams and is more than suited to be a 2nd option. So, between West and Granger we do have that second guy.

Hill and Hibbert are perfectly capable of being the 4th and 5th guy, respectively.

Of course, Paul George will need to grow into the 1st option. He needs to be Batman in a team of Robins

[Trader_Joe]

liek i said, im biased because i dont see them alot... but when we played Indy we did whatever we wanted offensively, got a ton of easy open shots, and really had no issue scoring at gaurd, wing, or down low.

as far as defensively, i think they just force teams to execute more then they dominate or impose their will on anyone. i think they are super disciplined, and that goes a long way, especially in the east. but i think they are a pretty overrated defensive team... but agian, admittedly my view is probably skewed because of the few game si watched them their defense looks average

We did?
Lopez and Blatche were a combined 1-15 in the game at one point finished 6-22. If it wasn't for Lopez getting Hibbert in foul trouble we wouldn't have been able to pull away in the fourth.
Their defense is excellent.

I think they are for real, especially once Granger comes back, or if they can make some sort of move with him. I agree though that I think they could use another look at PG and move Hill back to a 6th man role. They are such a poor transition team on offense, and I think that's a place a PG would help... especially with athletes like George and Green to run with.

I really think that come playoff time the East is going to be a dog fight with Rose back for the Bulls, Granger back for the Pacers, Miami being Miami, NYK hopefully at full strength and Brooklyn coming into their own.

In fact.. if anyone takes down Miami, I think Indy has the size to exploit them and development from George to defend LBJ and make him work on defense. If they upgrade PG, get Gerald Green to play the way he is capable of get Granger back they are the 2nd best team in the East and perhaps top 5/6 or so overall.

[panthermark]

The problem for Indy is no "go to scorer" in a play-off context.

They are a great "team" in every sense of the word....but no one on that team gets to the line.

FTA's per game.

Hill - 2.8
Stephenson - 0.9
George - 2.8
West - 3.9
Hibbert - 2.3

Granger will help some (last year he was at 4.7), but you know that in the offs, it is those players (OK, stars) that can create their own shot and get to the line that prevail.

It is really going to come down to Paul George.

[TheKiteDesigner]

Indy doesn't get respect as a dark horse cause they are not a good road team. The past couple of seasons it's been that way and it hasn't got better. You can't win on the road in the playoffs you're always bound to get roasted in 5, 6 games the most. That's my opinion about Indy and its not going to change.

They were 19 - 14 on the road last season. They were a good road team.

And they'll become a good road team once again when Granger returns. Also, in last year's playoffs they won both games that they played in Orlando and they also beat Miami on the road.

I like how you posted their road record from last season, which in my opinion 19-14 is not being a good road team, but you left out the year before that 13-28 and this year 10-14. Granger doesn't instantly make them a good road team. They' have trouble winning on the road and that's not going to change.

[Nuntius]

The problem for Indy is no "go to scorer" in a play-off context.

They are a great "team" in every sense of the word....but no one on that team gets to the line.

FTA's per game.

Hill - 2.8
Stephenson - 0.9
George - 2.8
West - 3.9
Hibbert - 2.3

Granger will help some (last year he was at 4.7), but you know that in the offs, it is those players (OK, stars) that can create their own shot and get to the line that prevail.

It is really going to come down to Paul George.

Last year, Indiana was #3 in FTA per game, #2 in FTM (made FT), #3 in FTA per FGA, #2 in FTM per 100 Possessions, #2 in FTA per Offensive Play and #1 in Percet of Points from FT.

The only team that was better at getting to the line was OKC. In other words, Indy with Granger was elite in getting to the line. That's how we got over 20% of our total points and that's how we had the #10 offense in efficiency despite not shooting great.

Without Granger, we're average in that regard. But Granger will return soon

Edit: I forgot to include the link -> http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/fr ... d-per-game

[durden_tyler]

The playoffs is where they'll have to prove it. Against teams with better superstars like LeBron and Melo, they'll fold to pressure again.

[Nuntius]

They were 19 - 14 on the road last season. They were a good road team.

And they'll become a good road team once again when Granger returns. Also, in last year's playoffs they won both games that they played in Orlando and they also beat Miami on the road.

I like how you posted their road record from last season, which in my opinion 19-14 is not being a good road team, but you left out the year before that 13-28 and this year 10-14. Granger doesn't instantly make them a good road team. They' have trouble winning on the road and that's not going to change.

The 10-11 team has nothing to do with this year's team. George Hill and David West weren't part of the team and our starting Power Forward was Tyler Hansbrough. Taking into account that team would be like me saying "the Nets were 13-20 on the road last year and thus they are not a good road team" in a season that their starting Center was Sheldon Williams.

Yes, we are 10 - 14 currently. But Granger is going to make us a better road team. There is one slight in Paul George's game so far. He doesn't shoot well outside of Indiana. He's shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.7% from 3 on the road. At home? 42.4% from the field and 49.6% from 3. It perfectly explains why we're great at home and below par on the road.

Granger does not have this problem. He shoots equally good at home and away from it. That's why Granger is going to make us a better road team.

[bullsnewdynasty]

Actually, both teams are 9 games over .500. The Bulls just have a better winning percentage because they have played 2 games less. That's not exactly a better record

A lot of things are going to depend on the outcome of the upcoming meetings of the two teams. The Pacers beat the Bulls in Chicago in the first meeting. Let's see what happens in Indy

Over the last 2 seasons the Bulls went 94-26 with Rose in the lineup, good for a 78% winning percentage. It may be close now but by the end of the season I don't see the Pacers ending on top.

[Nuntius]

2 more things I have to say.

1) To the guy that said that Indy has no All-Star. Paul George is one

2) Of course, Indy will need to prove its worth in the playoffs. Every team needs to do that. But there's something I don't understand. Memphis is often credited as a championship contender. Indiana isn't.

Why is that?

Both teams are extremely similar. They are the two best defensive teams in the NBA and they both run their offenses through the post. Moreover, Indiana is 2 - 0 against Memphis.

Is it probable that Memphis get this extra credit because they are in the Western Conference and people like to trash the Eastern Conference as "garbage"?

[twinthunder3]

Cause they don't have a star or anybody marketable. If they do win though, they'll be like the 2004 pistons.

[Nuntius]

Over the last 2 seasons the Bulls went 94-26 with Rose in the lineup, good for a 78% winning percentage. It may be close now but by the end of the season I don't see the Pacers ending on top.

True but will he be the same Derrick Rose? That's the key question

In any case, we will have to wait and see. The fight will be interesting