Indiana Pacers: Granger Optimistic Despite ‘Rusty’ Preseason Start

The beginning of the 2013 preseason for the Indiana Pacers was quite unusual.  Anticipation continued to build heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Chicago Bulls and most of it wasn’t due to Indiana’s big offseason.  The hype, which drew incredible amounts of national media attention to Bankers Life Fieldhouse Saturday, surrounded the return of Bulls’ point guard Derrick Rose.  There was a second story line, however, that hardly anyone outside of Indianapolis was focused on: the return of Pacers’ forward Danny Granger.

Danny Granger didn’t have a standout night in his first preseason game, but he looks ahead to the future. Photo Credit: Petaortos, Flickr.com

The Pacers fell short at home, dropping their first preseason game to Chicago, 82-76.  Indiana shot very poorly from the field, connecting on just 32.9 percent of their field goals and 29.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

Perhaps the former MVP, Derrick Rose, making his return after not having played a NBA game in 17 months was the main reason why Granger’s appearance didn’t get a lot of attention.  On the other hand, maybe it was his lack of production in the game after reportedly having an impressive training camp.

Granger came off the bench in Saturday’s game and played 29 minutes, the most of anyone on the roster including the starters.  During those minutes, he recorded six points, two assists and zero rebounds and shot 2-of-10 from the field, one of his field goals being a 3-pointer.  As noted in the commentary of the game, Granger looked rusty in his first game since March 3 (coincidentally against Chicago, as well).  He wasn’t getting great looks at the basket and point blank layups were missed in transition.

Unfortunately for Granger, rust cannot be a valid excuse in this game, as Rose looked aggressive and determined right from the start.  In his 20 minutes played, Rose scored 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting.  Surprisingly, there were instances where he attacked the rim in the same manner as he did during his breakout season in 2010-11 and didn’t look cautious of his knee at all.  Of course, having that significant amount of time to get mentally ready should help anyone overcome the fear.

Does this one specific game and performance provide bad signals for Granger’s recovery?

Absolutely not.  It’s important to remember two things.

First, Granger isn’t as far along in the recovery process of his game as Rose is.  Second, it’s preseason basketball, where sloppiness tends to occur.

April 4 was the date of Granger’s left knee surgery, just six months prior to Saturday’s game.  He’s been asked to train through the offseason to get his knee completely healthy again, undergo an intense training camp that coach Frank Vogel directed for Indiana and come into a preseason game and have a direct impact.  Heard often in the world of sports pertaining to injuries, everyone must be patient and give him the time to get re-entered into the offense at game speed and adjust to this Pacers team that is very different from the one that he played with two seasons ago.

Asked after the game about how he viewed his struggles, Granger had encouraging words on how this performance will help him move forward:

"“It was a good first step,” Granger stated.  “My second wind didn’t kick in during the first half like it usually does, but it was good to get that under my belt.”"

Vogel then had this to say about Granger’s progress:

"“He was a little rusty and I wouldn’t expect anything but that.  His game condition is in the final part of his recovery.”"

With preseason games in the NBA, not a lot can be taken away and used to foresee a team’s success in the regular season.  If that was the case, the Los Angeles Lakers (0-8 in the 2012 preseason) wouldn’t have finished last season with a winning record.

In the preseason, most teams usually do not play rotations that are likely to see the floor together during the regular season.  Better shot selection and stronger discipline are among the things the regular season provides for all teams across the league.

In Indiana’s case, there is no question that Granger will need to get comfortable with the new additions the Pacers have brought to the roster.  Luis Scola and Chris Copeland will have important roles off the bench for Vogel’s group and Granger could either see himself playing high amounts of minutes with them or sticking with his role in the starting lineup.

The Pacers will spend a lot of their time watching film to figure out a way to fit their talent together and organize rotations, all of which will affect Granger’s process of returning to the same form of which he his remembered by; the 18 to 20 points per night go-t0 guy.

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