View Full Version : Perceived weaknesses-summer edition

07-15-2008, 01:35 PM
Nothing fancy here, just what do you think the teams weaknesses are on paper, at this point with the huge overhaul so far.

Here is what I have:

-Go to player-even though JO wanted badly to be this he wasn't, but I don't Granger has shown this ability at all, yet. What has Granger added to his game this summer?

Low Post player-there just isn't one and Hibbert could be some day, but not this year I would guess.

Creator other than TJ- I know Jack is hardnosed and practices and plays hard, but is he a penetrating creator.

SuperStar Player- It seems much of the time you have to have a top 10 player or a couple of them to be a contender.

Who is the leader- both vocally and by example. This is a whole new team, I have no idea who takes the reins.

Who scores points- Potent up and down offense, but where do your points come from. I don't see points from the frontcourt other than Murphy.

Half court offense- this basically ties into low post weakness, but they always say that the playoffs are slowed down. Not that they'll be there, but you like to think in those terms when building.

I'm interested to hear what others think. I know it will all change 10 games in, but for now, what do you think?

07-15-2008, 01:50 PM
I think this team has a lot of weaknesses mostly what you have already pointed out.

One thing though is overall talent level. It is proven that the winning team has above average NBA talent.

We defiantly need a post presence. Not just another rotation player but we need close to an all star if not a all star.

This year will be a year to see what we have and sort things out. It will take more time to solve the problems we have.

07-15-2008, 02:12 PM
Go to player- I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Granger and ( more then likely ) Ford are going to be the Go-To guys on this team when we need someone to take the shot.

Low Post player - After evaluating how things will go under a full season with Murphy, Hibbert, Foster and Rasho ( to a lesser degree )...I would like to see how much of a weakness it is. I'm not saying they are ( by any stretch of the imagination ) answers to our Low-Post question. But since our offense is going to be coming primarily from the PG/SG/SF positions....I would like to see how well we do "offensively" without a true Low-Post scoring option. Although this is a weakness that I think that the team will have to address ( at some point ), I don't think that it is a glaring weakness that we have to fix this season....we can address this through trade opportunities this season ( as long as it does not break up our primary core and limits our Salarycap/Financial Flexiblility ), through the 2009-2010 draft or Free Agency next season.

Creator other than TJ- How good was Diener and Marquis as players that can create for other players? If either are sufficient, then I can see Jack sliding over to the SG spot or either of them be paired up with Brandon or Granger to shore up the perimeter defense. Admittedly...I am guessing that we will simply have to do with what we have...just like how we did it last season without Tinsley.

SuperStar Player- The closest that we have to one is Granger. It maybe a requirement that we may eventually need to fill...but I don't think that it's needed now. We need to take baby steps before we can make that leap to a Championship. For now, my goal is to simply get back to the Playoffs...build team chemistry, experience and go from there.

Who is the leader- As far as I am concerned....it's Granger, Foster and ( hopefully ) Ford.

Who scores points- I don't mind if most of our offense comes from our PG/SG/SF positions. One of the key problems that I think we have always had ( thanks to JONeal's 46% shooting ) is lack of efficient scoring from the PF/C rotation. We are shifting how our offense is run now...if this means that our PF/C rotation take less shots or only shots that Ford "creates" for them......as long as our Frontcourt Players are taking shots that they can make.....then I am fine with that.

Half court offense- I have no clue how we can address this.

Basically, I'm patient enough....given the huge changes that TPTB FINALLY made....to see how things go and then address whatever issues pop up next season.

07-15-2008, 02:23 PM
It is what it IS.

The Pacers do not have a superstar but let's hope Danny Granger can turn into one.

The Pacers do not have a low post player but RASHO is the most likely to contribute in that position immediately. Shawne Williams will need to step up in this category as well.

Go to GUY- T J & Danny but Rush is not afraid to take shots if/when opposing teams leave him open

I feel with TJ our quickness has improved.

I like the fact we have Shawne Williams and he will be getting his minutes at the 4 This Year. It is a make or break season for him.

07-15-2008, 06:45 PM
Forgive me bursting in here, being new to following this team, but I think CableKC has hit on a lot of truths. The Pacers, in my very uneducated opinion, are going to have some issues on the defensive end. JO really was never your answer on the offensive end and you'll probably find yourself a lot happier with the performances you get now than you did in the past, just because (as CableKC pointed out) JO shot horribly, but also was a minimal presence on the offensive glass, didn't get to the line nearly as much, etc. etc. etc.

However, Indiana was 17th in the league last year in defensive efficiency and even with JO missing so many games wasn't excruciatingly horrible. You'll find your offense will get better this year, I expect TJ playing in the open floor is going to make your wings a lot better.

Basically, on a philosophical level, if you can incorporate a sound system of secondary breaks to get the ball inside early you can make up for the lack of a perceived big-time post scorer with efficient, low-usage play from Rasho and probably Hibbert as well. I really think teams like Toronto will have a tough time playing against the Pacers this year and I wouldn't count them out of a playoff race at all.

In fact, as a Toronto fan this breaks my heart to say, I'd almost see Toronto looking up at Indiana in that 8th playoff seed this year. That's mostly due to Toronto's horrid coaching, but it's entirely possible.


Really, things aren't that bad. It's entirely possible for Indiana to have a lot of success playing a 4-out/1-in motion offense out of the secondary break, lifting and spacing the defense because of the shooters and ballhandlers you have, and leaving lots of space open underneath for guys to cut rim. If Indiana transitions smoothly, they can get a lot done by running diagonal down-screens, flare screens, etc for guys like Dunleavy and Granger, and with Murphy also setting flare screens for guys like TJ will create a lot of big-on-small mismatches. With a good offensive rebounder like Rasho, that would give a lot of advantages to Indiana.

Just some thoughts...I like Murphy setting screens on the perimeter for the wings and the points. Does he have an effective post game against smaller defenders?

07-15-2008, 07:28 PM
One thing that isn't really mentioned on where our offense is going to come from....unlike last year...when we essentially had Diener and Flip running the point....we will have more scoring coming from the PG spots with TJ and JJ. I can't underscore how much better our offense is going to look this season.