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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Pacers: Young and Reggie's restless
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 56-26, first in Central, first in conference
Coach/Pres.: Isiah Thomas/Donnie Walsh
Arena, first game: Conseco Fieldhouse (18,345); Nov. 6, 1999
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 923-1,013/0
Notable: Reggie Miller is now 25th all-time in scoring
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Jalen Rose
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18.2 ppg
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Can he play point? Isiah will find out
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SG
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Reggie Miller
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18.1 ppg
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Look around, Reg, it's a whole new team
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SF
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Austin Croshere
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10.3 ppg
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You watched the Finals, he's taking off
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PF
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Jermaine O'Neal
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12.4 mpg
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Time for the other O'Neal to prove himself
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C
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Sam Perkins
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3.6 rpg
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Yeah, he's old (39), but it's the East
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6th
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Travis Best
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8.9 ppg
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Good enough to start, so maybe...
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7th
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Jonathan Bender
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2.7 ppg
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Is 6-11 and can play point. He's 19
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8th
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Al Harrington
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6.6 ppg
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And he's 20 and can play power forward
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The Pacers' biggest obstacle will be overcoming the loss of veteran players Dale Davis, Mark Jackson and Rik Smits. Now the Pacers are relying on their young talent. Three players on their squad don't have any college experience -- Jermaine O'Neal, Jonathan Bender and Al Harrington. The Pacers are hopeful O'Neal will develop into a solid player. However, there are still some quality veterans left over, with Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose, who will be out the first month with a wrist injury. It's a big turnaround year for the defending Eastern Conference champions. With Rose hurt, the Pacers shouldn't get off to a good start. They have a new coach, Isiah Thomas, who's putting in a new system. It will take the Pacers a while to adjust.
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By Jeffrey Denberg
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
Well, the questions are different this year. No more wondering if they can hold together and make one more run at it. Now it's a matter of how long it will take the Pacers to start winning again. There is plenty of talent, albeit dangerously young. Austin Croshere showed in the playoffs that he is aggressive and capable. Jalen Rose can score and once he returns from injury the Pacers hope that he will show an ability to run the club without sacrificing his own game. It helps that Rose and new coach Isiah Thomas are close. And the clever Thomas has made marked a clear delineation with the past. The old guys didn't win and they weren't clambering to come back, he says. On with the new.
The Bad
The Pacers have lost their tough guy [Dale Davis] and their on-court leader [Mark Jackson] as well as their only bona fide center [Rik Smits]. Worse, their most dangerous player, Rose, not only switched positions, but broke his left wrist in the first exhibition game of the season. That means they will start the season without four of the starters who took the Lakers to six games in the NBA Finals. Travis Best, who could not beat out Jackson in two tries and was passed over in favor or Rose, will get another chance to win the job but don't bet on him once Rose comes back. Reliance on preppies Jonathan Bender and Al Harrington is not going to help Isiah's digestion, either. Not having a true center will keep him up nights scheming.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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O'Neal has never played starter minutes and youngsters Harrington and Bender have never been asked to take a significant role with the Pacers. Now, all three will be asked to step up and be productive. Is this too much to ask in the tough world of the NBA? The answer will determine Indiana's fate.
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Whose team is this?
Was it Larry Brown's team or Reggie Miller's? Was it Larry Bird's team or Miller's. No need to ask. Miller knows the torch is being passed. He wasn't the focal point most of last season until they really needed his Superman cape last year. When Rose is back and playing with Croshere, Jermaine O'Neal and the other kids, Reggie will be the old guy. Rose has the ball and he becomes the extension of his coach on the floor. No, this is Thomas' team now. It is young and impressionable and the sort of a team a hard-driving coach can control. Pacers' president Donnie Walsh has invested in his ego and toughness and the young guys will be in. Remember that when Thomas ran the Raptors he captivated young Damon Stoudamire. Isiah has Chuck Daly's endorsement. That's good enough.
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| O'Neal |
How they'll play
Not much choice in the matter here. The Pacers will have to play a quick game. They lack the power to go head-to-head with the bigger teams in the league and their young talent is suited for an up-and-down game. That's not terribly new. Recall that this was one of the better scoring teams in the league. Even with a bunch of oldsters, assistant coach Rick Carlisle geared a high-scoring game for Bird and the vets combined with Rose and Croshere to produce one of the most entertaining series of Finals games the league has known the past two decades. That success may well be compromised because Davis isn't there to get the ball back but Harrington, Bender and O'Neal could become the nucleus of a new flying circus once they learn how to play at this level.
Projection
It's never wise to discount any team with talent in a conference with broad-based mediocrity. Miller, Rose [when he's healthy] Croshere and Best range from solid to brilliant. The youngsters acquired by Walsh have huge upside potential. They want to play for Thomas and so long as he is straight forward with them this club should grow and become moderately successful by the All-Star break. If Croshere can perform at the level he showed in the playoffs, if Miller is focused and Rose can make a quick adjustment to his new role, a 45-victory season is not utterly out of the question. If they can advance a round in the playoffs it will be a job well-done.
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