Is Losing A Good Thing For The Indiana Pacers?
Just like the majority of the Indiana Pacers starting lineup…I’ve been out for a while. With the Pacers, that may be a good thing.
Indiana has started the season 3-7. Many knew this would be an interesting season for the Pacers, after star player Paul George was injured over the summer. Combine that with Lance Stephenson bolting for Charlotte, and the defending Central Division champs are suddenly a differently team.
The bad news didn’t end there, as injuries to David West, George Hill, and C.J. Watson followed. Free agent signings C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey have also missed time, leaving the Pacers with Roy Hibbert and a bunch of role players.
Though a lot of Pacers fans don’t want to hear this, losing could be a good thing for the Indiana Pacers. No, I’m not suggesting the team tank, and anyone who has watched the Pacers this year knows that this team is playing hard. However, this team doesn’t have a lot of talent right now….so they’re going to lose.
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Losing is actually a good thing for the Pacers. Paul George is out for the season, losing assures that he stays out for the season. No need for the Pacers star player to try to rush back if the Pacers happened to make the playoffs. We don’t need a Derrick Rose scenario in Indy.
Losing also gives you the luxury of seeing what you have on your roster. Roy Hibbert gets to be “the guy” on this roster. Guys like Solomon Hill, Donald Sloan, Chris Copeland, and Lavoy Allen get an opportunity to show they can play, and perhaps stick with this team as role players in the future.
The main asset the Pacers will accomplish in losing, is a lottery pick. There aren’t many things in the NBA more valuable than a lottery pick.
One thing that hurt the Pacers this off-season was a lack of money, and lack of assets. With no 1st round pick, due to the Luis Scola trade (sigh), the Pacers didn’t have much room to improve this off-season.
With a lottery pick, the Pacers could take a young talent entering the NBA, or more than likely trade that pick for proven NBA talent. Guys like Rajon Rondo and Goran Dragic become a lot easier to acquire when you have a lottery pick at your disposal (see Kevin Love to Cleveland).
I expect Roy Hibbert and David West to pick up their player options for next year, throw in a healthy Paul George, improved/confident bench, and George Hill at the PG or SG depending on what’s done in the off-season…..losing for one year may not be that bad.