The Indiana Pacers had a strong pace in the past season, clinching the 4th spot in the eastern conference playoffs but fell short to a hard and fast Miami Heat team.
The Pacers have a good team but in my opinion, did lack their true superstar this season. Pacer fans were hoping Oladipo would be the rising star but his production has only gone down since his arrival to Indiana in 2017. In the 2019-2020 season, Victor Oladipo's production became the lowest since his rookie season in Orlando. But that also has to do with his injury this past season. If Oladipo hadn't been injured, he would've played out the remainder of the season and the playoffs which probably wouldn't have resulted in a sweep in the first round.
But the thing is, if this Pacer team was this good without Oladipo, how good would they be with him on the court ?
Let's have a look at the Pacer squad that has been picking up the slack for the team both on offense and defense. Now some of the bright spots for Indiana have been some players that have recently been added to the squad. T.J. Warren & Malcolm Brogdon both have been a tear on the offensive side of the floor.
Video : Indiana Pacers on a fast pace
T.J. Warren is a multi-level scorer who has a great shooting form. He can knock down corner threes even with a hand in his face and a defender all over him. Whereas Malcolm Brogdon has risen to the level of an all-star with how he has handled Indiana's offense this year. Brogdon is a fast paced player who is an excellent playmaker for his teammates and is a deadeye shooter from the mid-range while his basketball IQ makes up for the rest. Driving to the rim isn't a problem for Brogdon who plays point guard while being listed at 6'5.
Now the rest of the squad that Indiana had has also chimed in, keeping the team afloat. Domantas Sabonis has been a prolific scorer for the Pacers. At 6'11 playing power forward, Sabonis is one of those players who still plays post up offense in a small ball era. He can score inside and from the mid-range & is a great rebounder as well.
The other player is a bright light for Indiana. It's their center Myles Turner. Turner is an interior enforcer who helps the team stretch the floor with his 3point shooting. Turner is exceptionally well established in the post, both on offense & defense while producing big time plays in crunch time.
Some other players who have upped their game in the absence of their star Victor Oladipo are Aaron Holiday & T.J. McConnell. Both point guards serve their purpose off the bench. Aaron Holiday is a score first mentality point guard whereas T.J. McConnell likes to find an open teammate for an easy assist. While both players may have different playstyles, they surely bring a huge spark off the bench.
Indiana was once on top of the eastern conference when they had Paul George & Roy Hibbert. Paul George was just taking over from Danny Granger and was an amazing all around high-flying scorer while Hibbert was the 7'3 rim protector inside the paint. They did make a deep playoff run but fell to LeBron James & the Miami Heat in the playoffs.
For now, I feel Indiana is on the right pace. The front office has made some good additions this past season which had really paid off for the Pacers. All they have to do is wait for Victor Oladipo to come back completely healthy and let's see what the Pacer squad can do then.
Current Superstars - Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner.
Past Superstars - Paul George, Roy Hibbert, Jermaine O'Neal.
Past legends - Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Chuck Person.
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