24. Indiana Pacers (56-26, 1st in the East)
You may be thinking: with success like that a year before, how could this Pacers team possibly be ranked this low? They went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and now they are right beside some of the worst teams in the league?
The most important factor in this slide is the loss of their wings: Paul George, their best player by a country mile, likely will not play this year after suffering a gruesome leg injury in a Team USA scrimmage this summer, and Lance Stephenson, the maligned but dynamic guard, left this summer in free agency. Also, this Pacers team underwent a major free fall late in the regular season last year, losing 13 of their final 25 games after starting 18-2. This is due in large part to the complete erosion of Roy Hibbert, who looked like he suddenly forgot how to play basketball during Indiana’s rough stretch.
The Pacers go into this season with many question marks. Can Hibbert return to top rim-protecting form defensively? Will David West, a noted moody competitor, lose interest if the team begins to struggle? Who is going to put the ball in the basket? Will new additions C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez make any sort of contribution?
You may be thinking: with success like that a year before, how could this Pacers team possibly be ranked this low? They went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and now they are right beside some of the worst teams in the league?
The most important factor in this slide is the loss of their wings: Paul George, their best player by a country mile, likely will not play this year after suffering a gruesome leg injury in a Team USA scrimmage this summer, and Lance Stephenson, the maligned but dynamic guard, left this summer in free agency. Also, this Pacers team underwent a major free fall late in the regular season last year, losing 13 of their final 25 games after starting 18-2. This is due in large part to the complete erosion of Roy Hibbert, who looked like he suddenly forgot how to play basketball during Indiana’s rough stretch.
The Pacers go into this season with many question marks. Can Hibbert return to top rim-protecting form defensively? Will David West, a noted moody competitor, lose interest if the team begins to struggle? Who is going to put the ball in the basket? Will new additions C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez make any sort of contribution?