Pacers open preseason play tonight against the Pelicans

The Indiana Pacers officially open the 2015 preseason by welcoming the New Orleans Pelicans to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.

Welcome to October – one of the greatest months in sports. The MLB playoffs begin, NFL and college football are in full swing, and most importantly for fans of hoops, it signals the return of the NBA.

It’s not the regular season – we know – but it is an opportunity to see this new Pacers style, if only briefly. It’s important to note that while Larry Bird and coach Frank Vogel will have told their team to run a new style, it is still preseason which means two things: 1) they won’t be giving everything away, and 2) they won’t be going full throttle, both of which are completely understandable.

It is, however, a great chance to see the speed that this Pacers team will have and of course, Paul George bodying up at the power forward spot. Preseason is a key time for this team because it’s a chance to test Paul at this spot and to feel out what game pace will be like playing this position. Again, it’s preseason so they won’t be grinding PG out completely, but it’s still a good chance to see what they’ve got.

The Pacers aren’t alone in revamping to an up-tempo offense, though. The Pelicans will come to town with very similar plans – to sport a new offense formed by head coach Alvin Gentry. Their team is operating under a minute limit, though, and it’s unlikely that their starters (mainly, Eric Gordon) see the floor for more than the entirety of a whole quarter, if that.

Feb 11, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) and center Alexis Ajinca (42) during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 106-93.Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Regardless of who plays where and for how long, basketball is back. More importantly, basketball is back in the state of Indiana, and that means something. After all, in 49 other states it’s just basketball – but this is Indiana.

The Pacers tip off against the Pelicans tonight at 7 pm ET at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and there will be no radio or TV coverage.

Next: Pacers Training Camp: Three Things to Watch

More from Ink on Indy

Home/Indiana Pacers