Fansided

NBA Season Preview 2018-19: 20 things to watch this NBA season

By Bryan Toporek

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: (L-R) Jimmy Butler #23, Karl-Anthony Towns #32, Taj Gibson #67 and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the bench for a timeout during overtime of the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: (L-R) Jimmy Butler #23, Karl-Anthony Towns #32, Taj Gibson #67 and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the bench for a timeout during overtime of the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 09: Victor Oladipo #4 and Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers look on during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 9, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 112-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 09: Victor Oladipo #4 and Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers look on during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 9, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 112-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

5. The Pacers’ next step

When the Indiana Pacers shipped Paul George to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis last June, it seemed as though they were waving the white flag on the 2017-18 season. Las Vegas oddsmakers pegged them as a lottery-bound squad, while Sports Illustrated‘s Ben Golliver wrote, “Unfortunately, Indiana is stuck being merely bad and boring rather than an utter travesty, making it hard to bank on a top-three draft pick.”

Welp.

Oladipo helped Indiana smash its low preseason expectations by turning in a career-best year, one which helped him earn his first All-Star nod. He set new high-water marks across the board, leading the NBA in steals (2.4 per game) while averaging 23.1 points on 47.7 percent shooting, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 triples in only 34.0 minutes per night.

Between Oladipo’s massive step forward and complementary contributions from Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Thaddeus Young and Sabonis, the Pacers reeled off 48 wins en route to the No. 5 seed in the East. Remarkably, they did so with third-year big man Myles Turner scuffling through a frustrating, inconsistent campaign.

Turner overhauled his diet this offseason and took to yoga to improve his pliability, which he hopes will “lead him to reach new heights in his fourth season,” according to ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk. If Turner gets his unicorn-esque upside back on track and the Pacers’ sneaky great free-agent haul of Tyreke Evans, Kyle O’Quinn and Doug McDermott rounds out their bench, they could be a threat to win 50-plus games and secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.