I'm looking for a little info on your team

[jazzfan1971]

I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

[SmashMouthRod]

Indy will be no lower than 3rd in the East; but are still capable of winning the East. I would place them in the top 7-8 teams in projected record. The expected growth of PG13 will keep the team relevant. They will win no less than 50 games and will contend. Hibbert and Hill will likely take on bigger roles on offense. The continuity of Watson and Scola will likely aid in providing better bench production and as good as Stephenson is; Indiana's team success is mostly predicated on their ability to defend. I expect not much dropoff from last season. I personally believe they will still better than Chicago. Indy plays their best under the radar so in some ways the Cavs and Bulls sudden expectations may be just what the doctor ordered.

[8305]

I agree with pretty much everything Rod said.

One additional comment. I think Rodney Stuckey will step into a near perfect situation. He's shown himself to be an ideal 3rd guard and Indiana offers a nice opportunity for that skill set. I also think he will thrive in a stable situation (which Indiana is despite the struggles of last year). Look for him to be in the 6th Man of the Year conversation.

[pacers33granger]

I agree with everything that's been said so far. Just wanted to add that a major storyline (at least among Indy fans) will likely be Scola's performance this season. Bird gave a lot to get him and didn't trade or waive him this season despite him being terrible by almost all accounts last season. If he keeps playing the way he did last season (somewhat selfishly and never going down low) it either has to be on him for not adapting his game as he got older or the coaching staff for drawing up crap plays or both. It's probably a bit of both, but his lack of effort everywhere outside of trying to get the ball on offense was dreadful.

[boomershadow]

Stuckey will play the one or two only; He doesnt play the 3. Rudez is the 3/4.

Expected Rotation
Hill/Watson
Miles/Stuckey
George/Solo/Rudez
West/ Scola/Copeland/Allen
Hibbert/ Mahinmi/Allen

This is pretty likely.

[8305]

I agree with everything that's been said so far. Just wanted to add that a major storyline (at least among Indy fans) will likely be Scola's performance this season. Bird gave a lot to get him and didn't trade or waive him this season despite him being terrible by almost all accounts last season. If he keeps playing the way he did last season (somewhat selfishly and never going down low) it either has to be on him for not adapting his game as he got older or the coaching staff for drawing up crap plays or both. It's probably a bit of both, but his lack of effort everywhere outside of trying to get the ball on offense was dreadful.

I agree that Scola was a disappointment however, I thought he was pretty solid the first couple months of the season. Then he quit hitting his shot ultimately losing confidence in it. We knew he was a bad defender and he delivered on that. He defends bigger centers better than mobile power forwards. The encouraging thing I saw from Scola was that he still looks ok physically and that makes me think that if he can rediscover his shot we could still get something.p from him.

[Boneman2]

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?

Larry made a statement insinuating that we need a better playmaker running the point. And for that reason, as things stand, I think Stuckey gets the nod at the 1 and runs with it.

PG- Stuckey (30mpg)- Watson (14 mpg)- Hill (4mpg)
SG- Hill (28mpg/ 32 total mpg) - Miles (20 mpg)
SF- George (36mpg) - Solo (12mpg)
PF- West (28mpg) - Scola (20mpg)
C - Hibbert (32mpg)- Mahimi (16mpg)

What are the major story lines to your team this year?

Fun fact... The Pacers were a top-10 offense the year before Lance was inserted into the starting lineup. I don't think the Pacers will miss Lance as much as people think, however, I do believe Lance will help make Charlotte a legit threat in the East.... Ultimately, I think the Pacers will challenge for the top seed throughout. In terms of EC teams the Pacers have great continuity compared to Cleveland, and now Chicago.

How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)

ECF = top 4 with a chance of top 2. Record wise top 4.

Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Vogel is an excellent motivator and glue guy, but this has to be the year our offense shows drastic improvent, and honestly I think it will. Primarily because Bird has added the right mix of players, a mix that will allow the core to re-establish their value. I think as long as they make it to the ECF Vogel's job is safe, a second round exit would depend on the competitiveness of the series, but anything less than that Bird might look elsewhere for a coach. Vogel only needs to maintain the status quo to remain safe.

[Wizop]

Stuckey will play the one or two only; He doesnt play the 3. Rudez is the 3/4.

Expected Rotation
Hill/Watson
Miles/Stuckey
George/Solo/Rudez
West/ Scola/Copeland/Allen
Hibbert/ Mahinmi/Allen

This is pretty likely.

although Copeland and Rudez may reverse. Rudez could be a 4 and Copeland is said to have lost weight which may allow him to be in the rotation at 3. it is also possible that PG will get a lot of time at the 2 if the 3's step up.

I see we have a post saying Hill may move from 1 to 2. whether that happens would be a major training camp story line. my best guess is that it will not happen and Hill will show up more aggressive after a lot of summer work.

[pacers33granger]

I agree with everything that's been said so far. Just wanted to add that a major storyline (at least among Indy fans) will likely be Scola's performance this season. Bird gave a lot to get him and didn't trade or waive him this season despite him being terrible by almost all accounts last season. If he keeps playing the way he did last season (somewhat selfishly and never going down low) it either has to be on him for not adapting his game as he got older or the coaching staff for drawing up crap plays or both. It's probably a bit of both, but his lack of effort everywhere outside of trying to get the ball on offense was dreadful.

I agree that Scola was a disappointment however, I thought he was pretty solid the first couple months of the season. Then he quit hitting his shot ultimately losing confidence in it. We knew he was a bad defender and he delivered on that. He defends bigger centers better than mobile power forwards. The encouraging thing I saw from Scola was that he still looks ok physically and that makes me think that if he can rediscover his shot we could still get something.p from him.

Yeah you're right, he did look like a good pickup early on and some of his issues could have to do with the whole team's issues. He's not nearly as horrible as I tend to make him out to be, it's just for what we gave up it was wildly disappointing.

I think my main concern is that I don't like him being a jump shooting 4. West does that for us and is way better at it. I'd like to see Scola in the post more. I'm not confident in his jumpshot at all at this point and hate that we relied on it so much. In my mind, if he's going to be a minus on D and take long jumpers, we might as well just play Cope and let him shoot threes instead especially considering Cope seems to actually try on D.

[8305]

The trade that acquired Scola is a disaster any way you cut it. That said, I'm not quite ready to give up on him. Put him out there with West and the ball movement we're able to achieve might be very good and in theory he brings many of the same attributes West brings, so he's a nice sub for David.

In my mind he's got to hit that mid range shot. If he can't there are just too many negatives to his game (struggles in the post against length and the many deficiencies he brings defensively). And yeah, might as well go with Copeland or one of the other guys who can play pf.

[Boneman2]

Stuckey will play the one or two only; He doesnt play the 3. Rudez is the 3/4.

Expected Rotation
Hill/Watson
Miles/Stuckey
George/Solo/Rudez
West/ Scola/Copeland/Allen
Hibbert/ Mahinmi/Allen

This is pretty likely.

although Copeland and Rudez may reverse. Rudez could be a 4 and Copeland is said to have lost weight which may allow him to be in the rotation at 3. it is also possible that PG will get a lot of time at the 2 if the 3's step up.

I see we have a post saying Hill may move from 1 to 2. whether that happens would be a major training camp story line. my best guess is that it will not happen and Hill will show up more aggressive after a lot of summer work.

Unless Hill got bumped on the head I don't see how he developed the necessary handles, vision, and overall playmaking ability to be counted on to get our offense going. For hill's sake I hope Vogel primarily uses him off the ball running through and around screens to get open.

Birds statement about wanting to upgrade our point guard is the reason I suspect Hill will play more 2. I just can't see Bird admitting it as a weakness and then repeating the process.

[pacers33granger]

The trade that acquired Scola is a disaster any way you cut it. That said, I'm not quite ready to give up on him. Put him out there with West and the ball movement we're able to achieve might be very good and in theory he brings many of the same attributes West brings, so he's a nice sub for David.

In my mind he's got to hit that mid range shot. If he can't there are just too many negatives to his game (struggles in the post against length and the many deficiencies he brings defensively). And yeah, might as well go with Copeland or one of the other guys who can play pf.

I'm not ready to give up on him either. He's got a lot of good qualities and I think can still be a good player for us, plus what else are we really going to do with him since we don't need the savings anymore really. I just think that if he continues to struggle, we shouldn't just keep playing him like we did all last season. It was kind of annoying that Ian got his minutes cut briefly for Bynum and several guys lost minutes for Turner, but Allen and Copeland never got much of a chance when Scola was struggling.

That's why I think it's going to be a bit of a storyline this year. We gave up a ton for Scola, he underperformed, and we have decent options at the 4 if he struggles, but we don't know if Vogel will make the change.

[8305]

[quote="
Unless Hill got bumped on the head I don't see how he developed the necessary handles, vision, and overall playmaking ability to be counted on to get our offense going. For hill's sake I hope Vogel primarily uses him off the ball running through and around screens to get open.

Birds statement about wanting to upgrade our point guard is the reason I suspect Hill will play more 2. I just can't see Bird admitting it as a weakness and then repeating the process.[/quote]

I think everyone would like an upgrade at pg to allow Hill to play off the ball more but, I see no viable replacement on the roster. There's areason Stuckey was moved to the sg position in Detroit and Watson is just a lesser version of George Hill. Hill handled the position reasonably well in 2012 when he took over Collison. He's better than he showed at the end of last year. Not having to figure out how to play to compliment Lance will help his production.

[Boneman2]

Actually the season Hill took over for Collison he did set a career high in assists at 2.9 per game. Then after Lance was inserted into the starting lineup Hill set a new career high @ 4.7. This past season he regressed to 3.5 per, but it was still his second best season to date.

Just because Lance was/is a ball-hog, it had nothing to do with Hill mishandling the ball. People on the general board are calling him the absolute worst starting point guard in the league. We need to put Hill as far away from initiating the offense as humanly possible.

[pacers33granger]

People on the general board are calling him the absolute worst starting point guard in the league. We need to put Hill as far away from initiating the offense as humanly possible.

He's in the bottom of starting PGs but people seem to knock him more than others because he's not really a PG. I'd take him over at least Jennings, Knight, Chalmers (or whoever starts for the Heat now), Harris (or whoever starts for Dallas), Beverly, Burke (for now, probably not long term), and Collison and probably over Lin and Calderon. So thats at least 7 and maybe 9.

[Boneman2]

Don't get me wrong, just because I say he is not a PG. does not mean that I think he is not useful or that he couldn't be a weapon. I just hope they utilize his strengths as a versatile scorer more so than a playmaker.

[SmashMouthRod]

Actually the season Hill took over for Collison he did set a career high in assists at 2.9 per game. Then after Lance was inserted into the starting lineup Hill set a new career high @ 4.7. This past season he regressed to 3.5 per, but it was still his second best season to date.

Just because Lance was/is a ball-hog, it had nothing to do with Hill mishandling the ball. People on the general board are calling him the absolute worst starting point guard in the league. We need to put Hill as far away from initiating the offense as humanly possible.

Agreed. I often wondered if anyone else was paying attention to that when they talked about Lance handling the ball (ball-hogging). ALL players make turnovers. And Lance def made some mistakes while showboating. But still a lot less than Hill as the primary handler. And to be honest I would rather someone handle the ball aggressively with confidence any day over someone who sometimes seems like a deer in head lights.

[SmashMouthRod]

People on the general board are calling him the absolute worst starting point guard in the league. We need to put Hill as far away from initiating the offense as humanly possible.

He's in the bottom of starting PGs but people seem to knock him more than others because he's not really a PG. I'd take him over at least Jennings, Knight, Chalmers (or whoever starts for the Heat now), Harris (or whoever starts for Dallas), Beverly, Burke (for now, probably not long term), and Collison and probably over Lin and Calderon. So thats at least 7 and maybe 9.

I agree with most of this list but Dallas will probably start Jameer Nelson who is without a doubt better than Hill. Jennings is better as well. The guy averaged 15 and 7 assists to only 2 turnovers a game. I watched a game where he had 18 assists last season. Hill just isnt capable of that. His attitude is why he is undervalued. The problem is that he hasnt had a great mentor/coach. I bet if he played for the right coach (one that actually can lead men) He probably would become elite.

[pacers33granger]

I agree with most of this list but Dallas will probably start Jameer Nelson who is without a doubt better than Hill. Jennings is better as well. The guy averaged 15 and 7 assists to only 2 turnovers a game. I watched a game where he had 18 assists last season. Hill just isnt capable of that. His attitude is why he is undervalued. The problem is that he hasnt had a great mentor/coach. I bet if he played for the right coach (one that actually can lead men) He probably would become elite.

Jameer isn't far from being done and while still a good player, is a total liability on defense. Orlando felt better paying him 2 mil to go away rather than pay him 8 mil to stay and be a vet leader (which he is great at). Part of that is them wanting to develop young guys, but it's also pretty telling that the only team he's ever been on didn't think he was worth it and instead signed Ridnour. Jameer was better in his prime than Hill has ever been, but that was a few years ago.

Jennings has the talent to be much better than Hill. He does have near elite court vision and passing when he's on, but he's a dreadful shooter and even worse defender. He's very inconsistent too. He could work on the right team and be a better player, but at least for us he would be worse. For as bad as Hill was last year he still averaged 10 points on 56 TS% while Jennings put up 15.5 on 48 TS%. And the year before Hill was at 14 points still on 56 TS%. This last year Hill had a 115 ORtg and 102 Drtg where Jennings had 106 and 113.

[Moooose]

Scanned through the posts above and I agree on most points. But I'll give my thoughts anyway to clear my mind from the confusion if this is indeed a better team now than last year's.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?

PG = G. Hill / Watson / Sloan
SG = Stuckey / Miles / S. Hill
SF = George / S. Hill / Rudez / Copeland
PF = West / Scola / Copeland / Rudez
C = Hibbert / Mahinmi / Whittington

What are the major story lines to your team this year?

Obviously, the biggest story of our offseason thus far is losing Lance. Secondarily, it is how the replacements will fit into the hole caused by Lance's departure.

A little elaboration if I may. I honestly think Lance's departure will "reset" the other players to where they should be. Meaning George Hill will be back as the primary ball handler and playmaker of the team, most likely bumping his averages up to desirable figures. So is Hibbert, who will get set plays instead of waiting for second chance points and surprise passes. West, will also get post-up plays which is his strength. And ultimately, Paul George will now get the chance to go iso and assume the sole leadership of this team. And I expect him to play another notch higher next season.

The Pacers did good in finding replacements. Stuckey somehow plays like Lance, though less creative but more stable. He's a downgrade, yes, but signing him to a one-year contract may inspire him to prove his worth on a winning team. I can see him starting over Miles as he is "closer" to Lance's style of play. And he's not a bad player at all, his good, humble personality is a major plus too as the world have seen that emotional chemistry is one of our weaknesses.

Lance leaving to me, is both good and bad. Good in the sense that we now got rid of "unpredictablility" and a possible time bomb, and we did not had to break the core to keep him. Bad in the sense that he's so talented that low-balling him could be one of the biggest regrets in this franchise's history.

How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)

I honestly think about 2nd in the east next to Cleveland.
Probably 4th in the league next to Oklahoma City, Cleveland, and San Antonio

Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Vogel is a young coach and is still on the verge of proving his principles via trial and error. Larry lets him do his thing with the rotation and all, and he was mediocre on most games. The winning did not come from his mind decisions, it was a result of the guys' familiarity with one another. It is a good thing though that whenever we get stuck in a play, familiarity comes in to get us by. Vogel needs to be more flexible and less stubborn.