It’d be tough to argue any team has had a wore few months than the Indiana Pacers. They fell apart late in the season and although they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, the were taken down by the Miami Heat. Then, guard Lance Stephenson left for the Charlotte Hornets in free agency. During Team USA’s training camp, they were dealt their biggest blow – their best player, swingman Paul George, suffered a fractured leg and will likely miss the entire 2013-2014 season.
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That’s why Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders thinks the Pacers are in for a tough year.
"It’s hard to know where the Pacers will end up this season, but we can at least say this with a fair amount of certainty: no team loses its two best players and gets better. Having lost Lance Stephenson to free agency and Paul George to a freak leg injury, Indiana will start the season without 40 percent of its starting lineup, and what remains doesn’t exactly elicit a ton of confidence for a return to the postseason. The mercurial Roy Hibbert is now the team’s best player, but his inconsistency is pretty well-documented. George Hill, David West and a cast of so-so bench players won’t be enough to survive what looks to be an absolutely barbaric Central Division this year. The Pacers have been a feel-good story for a few years now, an easy group of guys to like, but they probably won’t even make the playoffs this year."
The Pacers may better served trying to blow things up and playing for a lottery pick.
Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league as we get you ready for the start of the 2014-2015 season.
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