There’s an interesting interview with Larry Bird on NBA.com today which gives his interpretation of the Pacers’ situation looking forward to this season and their future in the next few years ahead.
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NBA.com: What do you see as the No. 1 area of improvement for the Pacers this season?
Larry Bird: Obviously we have to get better on the defensive end. Last year we committed too many fouls and we didn’t defend the three-point shot. So overall our defense has to get better to win games. Offensively, we’ll score a lot of points. Defense was the problem last year. As far as the team goes, I think we did something in the draft to help us overall, and I think we solidified our point guard position with Travis [Diener],T.J., and Jarrett Jack so we’re very strong in that area right now.
NBA.com: How big of an impact will rookie Roy Hibbert have on the defensive end in the role of shot blocker, overall defensive presence?
Larry Bird: It’s always good to have a big guy in there. Without Jermaine last year we didn’t have that potential to block shots. With Roy in there he takes up a lot of space and even if we don’t block a lot of shots, you can get guys to shoot up over him and maybe distract them a little bit. I think it’s going to be a major plus for us. Obviously he’s a rookie and he’s got a lot of learning to do, but in the long run he’ll be fine.
NBA.com: Who is the team leader?
Larry Bird: I think it can be a couple guys. We’ve had some players around here just waiting for the opportunity to step in and I think now they’ll look at the training camp and go through and you’ll sort of see after a while who the players gravitate to.
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What’s of most interest to this corner is:
(1) The possible location of two former Raptors on Indiana’s current depth chart, i.e. TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic; and,
(2) The overall level of optimism Larry Legend has for the likes of Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, Roy Hibbert, et al., as a core group of players which the Pacers can build around over the next few seasons …
specifically, in comparison with the current roster of the Pacers’ trading partner in the deal they made this summer for Jermaine O’Neal.
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2008-2009
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A) Raptors’ Current Roster
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B) Pacers’ Current Roster
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1 PG – Jose Calderon *
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1 PG – Travis Diener *
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2 OG – Anthony Parker
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2 OG/SF – Mike Dunleavy
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3 SF – Jamarion Moon
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3 SF – Danny Granger
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4 PF – Chris Bosh *
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4 PF - Troy Murphy *
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5 C – Jermaine O’Neal **
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5 C – Rasho Nesterovic **
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6 PG – Will Solomon **
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6 PG – TJ Ford **
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7 OG – Jason Kapono
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7 OG – Brandon Rush **
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8 SF – Joey Graham
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8 SF – Marquis Daniels
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9 PF – Kris Humphries
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9 PF – Austin Croshere **
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10 C – Andrea Bargnani
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10 C – Jeff Foster
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11 PG/OG – Roko Ukic **
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11 PG/OG – Jarrett Jack **
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12 OG/SF – Hassan Adams **
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12 PG – Roy Hibbert **
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13 PF/C – Nathan Jawai **
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13 SF – Stephen Graham
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14 ? PF – Jamal Sampson **
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14 SF/PF – Shawne Williams
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15 ?
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15 PF – Josh McRoberts **
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LEGEND:
* New Role this season; ** New Player Added
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While most of the ’2008-2009 NBA Season Forecasts’ these eyes have read, thus far, see the Pacers finishing toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference; and, the Raptors with a solid chance to finish in the top third of the EC … looking strictly at the rosters of these two teams, paints a very different picture in the mind of this NBA connoisseur.
Is it possible that the Raptors manage to navigate the entire NBA season without a significant injury to one [or more] of their key players [i.e. Bosh, O'Neal or Calderon]?
Yes it is.
If so … then, it is certainly possible to see how the Raptors might finish this campaign higher in the EC standings than the Pacers.
However, on the flip side … even if Toronto goes injury-free this year …
Is it also possible to see how this Pacers’ roster … with the Quality Depth it has … might, in fact, be able to generate just as many W’s this season as the Toronto Raptors?
Yes it is … if Larry legend is correct and the players he’s mentioned are indeed capable of stepping up their games to assume Leadership Roles with their team this season.
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From the perspective of this corner, these are just two of many teams in the EC that could realistically finish anywhere from #6-14 this season should the breaks go their way or not.
