CBS Sports: You think there's any truth to the idea that the Pacers can't surprise teams like last year, so you have to start off knowing everyone's going to be ready for you guys now?
Tyreke Evans: We talked about it in the meeting the first time we met. We all feel like we can be No. 1. We feel like the East's open. A lot of people know Boston is good, but we feel like we can beat any team and compete with any team. Our mindset every night is to go out there and just play with heart, knowing that we can win the game. We don't look as nobody, no team, as better than us. That's what I like about this team. We go with the mindset that we can compete with anybody we're playing and we can win any game if we play hard.
CBS: Domantas Sabonis is such a smart player, what's it like running pick-and-rolls with him now?
TE: Oh man, we talked about it last night. He's like, "Man, I missed you out there." [Evans missed Thursday's game with a sprained ankle.] In practice, we have a good connection. Man, he knows the game. He's been around the game for a long time -- you know his dad being in the league, he's a student of the game. He's been taught well. You can just tell. My basketball IQ is pretty high and I think his is, too. Just from him being around the game for a long time and having the proper coaching and somebody to teach him, he plays the right way.
CBS: You've become a better, more prolific 3-point shooter -- when you started consistently hitting 3s off the dribble, could you tell pretty quickly the scouting report has changed? How did that change your life as a playmaker and attacker?
TE: Man, it's crazy. It changed a lot, man. It means so much, I wish I could have did it earlier in my career. But hey, it takes time. I never gave up on it. Just knowing that if teams go under I can knock that shot down, it helps my game out a whole lot. Hitting two 3s a game -- I'm going to be aggressive getting to the rack and fast break points and whatever comes along with it -- but just hitting those extra shots helps a lot. It takes a lot of load off my body. I'm confident with it. That's the most important thing. I think -- always, I could shoot, but just being confident, knowing that it's going in and trusting my work in the offseason, that's the biggest thing for me. In the game, it's natural.
James Herbert
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/tyreke-evans-loves-the-pacers-mindset-we-all-feel-like-we-can-be-no-1-in-wide-open-east/
