Frank Vogel thinks Indiana Pacers will have ‘another great season’

In the end, what did we expect Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel to say, that his team was going to challenge the Philadelphia 76ers in “Tankalicious 2.0: This time we’re going for 74 losses”?

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Vogel told NBA.com that despite the losses of Paul George to a broken leg and Lance Stephenson as a free agent to the Charlotte Hornets, he expects the Pacers to still be competitive in the Eastern Conference.

"“We’re going to be fine,” Vogel said. “We’ve got more than enough to compete with the best and we’re going to have another great season. Our approach is, we’re going to try to not skip a beat.”"

George sustained a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula during an intrasquad exhibition game while with USA Basketball this summer and will miss the entire season.

Stephenson—the Pacers’ leading rebounder and assist man last season as well as the team’s third-leading scorer—took his talents to North Carolina as an unrestricted free agent.

Indiana was the No. 1 seed in the East last season after a 56-26 regular season, but they were just 16-14 after the All-Star break—including an 8-10 March—and wound up losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.

Replacing George, the Pacers’ two-time All-Star, will also be complicated. George averaged 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 36.2 minutes per game despite a late-season shooting slump that took his shooting line down to .424/.364/.864 on the season.

The Pacers have only added veteran wing players Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles in the offseason.

"“Chris Copeland is going to get a chance to play more,” Vogel said. “Damjan Rudez, one of the best shooters in Europe, is coming over to play at the 3 or the 4. So we’ve got answers.”"

Whether those answers turn out to be the right ones remains to be seen, however.