2009-2010 Indiana Pacers Preview

2008 Record: 36-46, 4th in Eastern Conf. Central Division
Head Coach: Jim O’Brien, 3rd season
Key Additions: G-F Dahntay Jones, F Solomon Jones, G Earl Watson
Key Losses: G Jarrett Jack, C Rasho Nesterovic
1st Round Draft Picks: F Tyler Hansbrough
2nd Round Draft Picks: G A.J. Price

2008-'09 Pacers Review:

Not enough defense, not enough toughness in the fourth quarter--that's the lament of almost every non-playoff team in the National Basketball Association, and the Indiana Pacers were singing the blues along with their other lottery-bound counterparts. The memories of the Reggie Miller/Dale Davis/Jermaine O'Neal years are becoming increasingly distant in Indianapolis, as the Pacers are sliding into mediocrity without a well-rounded stable of stars. The Pacers tumbled to a 10-21 record last season and never really recovered, all because coach Jim O'Brien's defense-first emphasis never really found fruition on the court.

In a devastating series of six late-December games, the Pacers allowed an average of 107 points to three really bad teams (the Clippers, New Jersey and Memphis) and three decent but hardly elite clubs (Philadelphia, New Orleans and Atlanta). As a result of their inability to get stops, the Pacers went 1-5 in that stretch, dropping four decisions by an average of three points and losing a fifth game by eight in overtime. That's how NBA teams play for ping pong balls and not trophies.

2009-'10 Pacers Preview:

When Earl Watson ranks as a newsmaking non-draft acquisition, one gets the sense that another 36-46 season might be coming 'round the bend at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers have been 36-46 the past two years--not horrible, but not good enough for the postseason. With first-round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough nursing a shin injury that apparently existed before the draft took place, it's a bit of wishful thinking to claim that the Pacers are set to take a great leap forward in 2010. Watson is a solid, intelligent player, one must hasten to say, but it's elementary that the Pacers need several (dear) Watsons in order to defend the way they need to; Danny Granger's a terrific scorer, but his value at the defensive end is minimal. What doesn't help in the bigger picture is that the Pacers, in a lower-tier market, aren't blessed with the resources needed to make splashy acquisitions. Like a handful of other clubs, the most the Pacers can expect is a great chance at 6, 7 or 8 seed in the East, and a respectable outing against the Big Three of Cleveland, Orlando and Boston in the first round of the postseason.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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