Missing the NBA playoffs last year was a tough blow to the Indiana Pacers, who had made five consecutive postseason appearances, but this was just the “icing on top of the cake” for a very lost season.
Between injuries and coaching mishaps, everything that could have gone wrong for the Pacers went wrong and Nate Bjorkgren’s reign as head coach ended after just over seven months.
Now, heading into a brand new year, the Pacers are definitely looking to prove once more that they are a formidable team in the Eastern Conference, especially after bringing back head coach Rick Carlise, who has spent the last 13 seasons in Dallas, coaching them to a championship in 2011, after spending 4 seasons in Indiana as a head coach early on in his coaching career.
Carlisle definitely has high expectations for this group the Pacers have assembled and they could definitely be much more than a play-in tournament type of team, but injuries are going to once again be a problem for this team to try and manage.
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Not only is T.J. Warren still looking to work his way back onto the court, something that may happen closer to Thanksgiving at this point, but now Caris LeVert is sidelined with a fracture in his back, and guard Edmond Sumner will miss the entire season with an Achilles injury.
With LeVert’s and Warren’s status for Opening Night in jeopardy, all the weight of this franchise could once again be thrown onto the shoulders of Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis early on in this season. Both guys had All-Star-caliber seasons last year, with Sabonis making his second straight All-Star appearance, but this team does seem to be missing something.
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Obviously having Warren and LeVert changes the early season outlook for this team and the Pacers could wind up being a tough team to play against in the Eastern Conference, but there are just no answers yet as to if this group can work together.
Malcolm Brogdon Brogdon, Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner make up one of the better starting fives in the league in terms of pure skill and talent, but we have yet to see all of these guys take the court together in a game!
