Surprise Pacers contributer

[Grang33r]

Who do you guys think, from the current roster will be a better player then most expect? Outside of the key players (George, Ellis, Teague, Turner).

Which player do you think that most people don't expect a whole lot but you think will play a bigger role then other fans/media expect?

If you can, post projections for the player you select as a surprise player to give us an idea what kind of year you are thinking he may have.

Ready, set, go..


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[Miller4ever]

Stuckey, but that's mostly because of how low our expectations are of him. All he has to do is not be terrible and he'll be a surprise, and he's fully capable of not being terrible.

[Jake0890]

Stuckey is a good answer, it's hard to go down from where he was last year. Or at least I think so.

My answer is Al Jefferson. I think by the All-Star break we'll be seeing him in the starting lineup more often than not, whether that's next to Thad or Turner. I totally think he has enough in the tank to hit a 16/9 average when starting.

[Boneman2]

GRIII will quickly make us forget about SHill. 12-15 mpg - 7/4/2 and solid all around.

I like Stuckey to bounce back as well. He could see upwards of 24 mpg - 11/4/4

[Cresy06]

GRIII could be a surprise contributor of the bench...at least I hope he will be

[basketballwacko2]

I have a feeling that GR3 will be starting at 2 guard at some point and play very well.

[pacers33granger]

Agree on GRIII.

Another name (who would be a real surprise) is Christmas. I think he may earn some minutes as a scrappy hustle guy. It's something we could use from our bigs and he's the only one who could realistically bring that. Would also expect him to see some time simply because of Jefferson resting or being injured. That said, he could totally be with the Mad Ants all season again.

[jowglenn]

Jeff Teague is going to have a career year - 19/8/3 on 45/40/86 shooting.

[Grang33r]

Great stuff, guys. A lot of GRIII love. I'm surprised no Joe Young mentions. But i guess he is now buried down the depth chart.

My pick is Georges Niang. While i don't think his peak is very high, i do think he's ready to play now. The guy is multi-talented forward that can stretch it out with solid three point shooting. He's a mature 23yo and has a high motor. I think we'll be seeing him much more then outsiders think.

Another name (who would be a real surprise) is Christmas. I think he may earn some minutes as a scrappy hustle guy. It's something we could use from our bigs and he's the only one who could realistically bring that. Would also expect him to see some time simply because of Jefferson resting or being injured. That said, he could totally be with the Mad Ants all season again.

Interesting. He was a dominant force with the Mad Ants last season, and with Syracuse the season before.

[pacers33granger]

Another name (who would be a real surprise) is Christmas. I think he may earn some minutes as a scrappy hustle guy. It's something we could use from our bigs and he's the only one who could realistically bring that. Would also expect him to see some time simply because of Jefferson resting or being injured. That said, he could totally be with the Mad Ants all season again.

Interesting. He was a dominant force with the Mad Ants last season, and with Syracuse the season before.

The way I see it, we lost our one athletic big in Mahinmi and replaced him with Jefferson. There's going to be times where we need someone quicker out there, even for a short time. I suppose it could be Evans and that may be why he was brought in (though making 1.5 mil is more likely the biggest reason).

I could totally see Christmas getting spot minutes against guys like Tristan Thompson. None of Myles, Jefferson, Thad, or Lavoy can cover that type of player. And I'd expect Christmas to get the chances first over Evans given that he's our developmental guy and Evans is, if anything, a place filler.

[HoosierBaller]

Shocked only one person has mentioned Niang. Definitely see him cracking the rotation by midseason if not earlier. Not season average but after getting solid minutes I could see 8ppg 4reb 2ast and a steal. Nothing crazy but it seems alot people don't expect him to play but he's really the only stretch 4 on the team.

[Pacersike]

Not sure if he counts, but I think we might see the hot CJ Miles a lot more than the cold CJ next season.
He might even be in the running to take the starting SG position IMO.
The Pacers have added a true point guard in Teague, an inside pounding big like Jefferson, better stretch fours in Niang and Young.
In general more pieces to create offense and IMO pieces that should help CJ Miles get better looks and less minutes at the 4

I like Niang a lot, but I feel like the proven guys will get the job done at the power forward position: Young as smallball 4 with some stretch and Allen when we need defense and size at the 4. I see few small forwards Niang can guard.
But he is smart enough and has enough skills to be a Pacer for a longtime. I think his future does look bright.

Larry Bird just made the door for Young to come through and shine on the court a lot smaller with the addition of Brooks and he might be right about that. Summer league to me showed he still has some long strides to make.

III seems to possess all the tools but where Niang gets praise for his high BBIQ, I feel like 3s is on the low side

Christmas doesn't seem like the player that is going to surprise. When injuries happen, he is likely going to play some minutes and I think he will get the job done without many non-Pacer fans noticing him. He has limited upside but perhaps he can become our Nick Collison. Valuable but unimpressive.

If 1 of our second round picked players will become a contributor, I would be pleasantly surprised, but it is really a long shot IMO
There is more "wrong" with them than right. Just ask Lance Stephenson his agent.

[Moooose]

I am high on GR III too. Considering that the Pacers MIGHT opt for a bigger SG to play with Teague, I think GR III would fit better than CJ Miles, as he can run better than Miles.

But to me, the surprise could be Jefferson. Though he doesn't fit the small ball we are trying to play, he's an asset on the post. Not too many big men can defend him well. He just gives the Pacers a legit threat in the post and would likely create matchup problems for any teams playing small ball against the Pacers.

I like Niang too, as he is a late first round talent in my personal list.

[SmashMouthRod]

My bold prediction is Joe Young will beat out Brooks for the back up one minutes. He will come off the bench; playing a Nick Van Exel type role causing mayhem with his ability to score.

[Wizop]

Can I vote for McMillan? I think he can out perform expectations.

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[Scoot McGroot]

. I suppose it could be Evans and that may be why he was brought in (though making 1.5 mil is more likely the biggest reason).

Well, we didn't bring in Evans so much as Utah approached us and convinced us to eat his contract and gave us $3.2m in cash to do so (remember, he only makes $1.2m, so we got an extra $2m to deal with him). Add in that his shoulder won't be healthy until after the season starts (he's going to miss all of training camp, and I highly doubt we keep him around. I think he only has a chance to make the roster if we waive Whittington and his non-guaranteed salary before 8/1, AND if we don't bring any other vets or tryout guys to camp.

[pacers33granger]

. I suppose it could be Evans and that may be why he was brought in (though making 1.5 mil is more likely the biggest reason).

Well, we didn't bring in Evans so much as Utah approached us and convinced us to eat his contract and gave us $3.2m in cash to do so (remember, he only makes $1.2m, so we got an extra $2m to deal with him). Add in that his shoulder won't be healthy until after the season starts (he's going to miss all of training camp, and I highly doubt we keep him around. I think he only has a chance to make the roster if we waive Whittington and his non-guaranteed salary before 8/1, AND if we don't bring any other vets or tryout guys to camp.

By making 1.5 mil I meant that the team made the money (though I misstated and forgot he only makes 1.2 mil) because Dallas needed to pay Dirk. I was more speaking to the fact that we don't have an athletic big at all outside of him and Christmas, so I could see him being brought in to possibly provide that as well.

I wouldn't be shocked if we bring in another vet and he gets cut or someone in camp impresses, but I'll be shocked if Shayne gets picked over him. 2 years of pedestrian stats that never improve in minor leagues means it's time to cut the cord imo. At the least Evans has shown he's maybe a 15th man.

[Cresy06]

Can I vote for McMillan? I think he can out perform expectations.

I really hope he can surprise everybody with good coaching, but somehow I really doubt it

[Scoot McGroot]

. I suppose it could be Evans and that may be why he was brought in (though making 1.5 mil is more likely the biggest reason).

Well, we didn't bring in Evans so much as Utah approached us and convinced us to eat his contract and gave us $3.2m in cash to do so (remember, he only makes $1.2m, so we got an extra $2m to deal with him). Add in that his shoulder won't be healthy until after the season starts (he's going to miss all of training camp, and I highly doubt we keep him around. I think he only has a chance to make the roster if we waive Whittington and his non-guaranteed salary before 8/1, AND if we don't bring any other vets or tryout guys to camp.

By making 1.5 mil I meant that the team made the money (though I misstated and forgot he only makes 1.2 mil) because Dallas needed to pay Dirk. I was more speaking to the fact that we don't have an athletic big at all outside of him and Christmas, so I could see him being brought in to possibly provide that as well.
.

I'd say both Thad and Turner are very athletic as big men. Really, I'd say that Jefferson and Whittington are the only two big men that aren't really athletic at all, and Lavoy is more of a strong than an athletic, though he can handle a few minutes of either. If you mean just undersized and a guy that will run all day to make up for talent and size, then yeah, Evans and Christmas are it, but teams don't really need two of those, and usually not even one.

[pacers33granger]

Well, we didn't bring in Evans so much as Utah approached us and convinced us to eat his contract and gave us $3.2m in cash to do so (remember, he only makes $1.2m, so we got an extra $2m to deal with him). Add in that his shoulder won't be healthy until after the season starts (he's going to miss all of training camp, and I highly doubt we keep him around. I think he only has a chance to make the roster if we waive Whittington and his non-guaranteed salary before 8/1, AND if we don't bring any other vets or tryout guys to camp.

By making 1.5 mil I meant that the team made the money (though I misstated and forgot he only makes 1.2 mil) because Dallas needed to pay Dirk. I was more speaking to the fact that we don't have an athletic big at all outside of him and Christmas, so I could see him being brought in to possibly provide that as well.
.

I'd say both Thad and Turner are very athletic as big men. Really, I'd say that Jefferson and Whittington are the only two big men that aren't really athletic at all, and Lavoy is more of a strong than an athletic, though he can handle a few minutes of either. If you mean just undersized and a guy that will run all day to make up for talent and size, then yeah, Evans and Christmas are it, but teams don't really need two of those, and usually not even one.

Different kind of athletic. Neither Thad nor Turner have a chance at defending quicker bigs. I guess the best way to put it is a "hustle big," though that kind of applies to Lavoy as well, so maybe not the best way.

Like I said in my previous post, guys who can have a better chance at handling the Tristan Thompson's of the world. Do I expect Evans or Christmas to be able to handle them? Absolutely not. But they match up with those types of bigs better than our other bigs for spot minutes.

I consider both in the Lou Amundson, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphies, etc. mold (not as good as some of those guys, but same idea) and that's the type of big I feel our roster is lacking with the main rotation guys.