Indiana Pacers: Schedule Indicates Difficult Stretches
By Shane Young
November 15 – 26: Same Faces, New Places & Championship Tested
Nov. 15 – at Chicago Bulls
Playing in a back-to-back the night after a home track meet with Denver, Vogel will take the Pacers on the road in the United Center for the first time of the season. Typically, Indiana always gets their crack at the Bulls early on during the schedule, being division rivals. Teams from your division have to match up with you four times per year, so the games have to be scrunched in.
Their first trip to the United Center is bound to be painful, considering they have no wing threats to match up against Derrick Rose‘s attack. During last November, when Lance Stephenson and Paul George were on board, Chicago gave the Pacers their first loss on the year after starting 9-0. It was led by Luol Deng, though, who picked Indiana apart on both ends. Initial meetings between two defensive leaders is always a must-see event. Being optimistic about Indiana keeping their top two Defensive Rating takes some guts, however, since they are left wondering who will be there to face up against the prominent small forwards and shooting guards they’ll battle.
Pau Gasol‘s first duel with Indiana in the Eastern Conference is also on the radar. Throughout his career, Gasol is 9-14 vs. Indiana, up against the aggressive frontcourts ranging from Jermaine O’Neal and Jeff Foster, to Roy Hibbert and David West. Against Hibbert, Gasol hasn’t disappointed, averaging 17 points and 10.8 rebounds in their 10 meetings, shooting 48.2 percent.
Nov. 19 — vs. Charlotte Hornets
Last season, the matchup with the Clippers (famously known for George’s 360 slam, which inspired the intro to the Hard Screens Podcast), was the loudest event I’ve ever covered. Bankers Life Fieldhouse may explode even louder once Lance Stephenson steps foot into the arena. For the first time since rejecting Larry Bird, Stephenson enters the town wearing a different jersey. Let it be noted that his new colors — purple and teal — are also more captivating, quite like his new roster.
Stephenson was arguably the sole reason Indiana was the most destructive home team in the league last season. Racking up 35 home wins (just six losses), the Pacers used Stephenson as their spark plug. Without a spark plug, a car’s ignition doesn’t have power. The car would’ve stopped short each night if it hadn’t been for Stephenson bringing the crowd to their feet each night and giving the team true homecourt noise.
The battle of the frontcourt will take a step back in this one, as Lance is out to prove his value was underrated during the summer. His mind is evidently crazier than his techniques. We live in a basketball society where one well-rounded season automatically warrants you an eight figure salary. But, with the league’s inflation taking a huge toll on owners, it’s only going to be worse.
Vogel and the Pacers could lose all 14 other games they have set for November. As long as Bird watches the team defeat Stephenson and he’s able to look back with a grin, the world isn’t over.
Nov. 22 — vs. Phoenix Suns
Out of the entire league, there were only two teams that swept the Pacers last season. Typically, multiple top-notch West teams would sweep Indiana, given that it’s much easier to complete a two-game sweep than a full three or four-game sweep (East competition). San Antonio and Oklahoma City would be your first suspects to complete it, since they’ve torn through the West for 239 wins in the past two seasons. Phoenix would look at you with giggles, as they’re one of the two. The other would be Mark Cuban’s Mavericks.
While the number of teams sweeping Indiana will rise next season, they’ll be out-matched by the Suns even more their two meeting last year. During their two wins over Indiana, the Suns used Gerald Green to rub the preseason trade in their faces. As you recall, Bird traded Green and Miles Plumlee in order to receive Luis Scola, because he thought they needed more scoring and proven talent. Green poured 39 points on Indiana in the two games, showing that he had more to offer in a better offensive system.
Goran Dragic had the Pacers’ number, shooting 19-of-31 from the field against Indiana altogether, single-handedly winning on the road on the league’s best home court. Now, adding Isaiah Thomas to the bench only equals tragedy for these Pacers when they take on Phoenix. When he started for the Kings, Thomas went toe-to-toe with Paul George in clutch moments, always nailing difficult shots and sending the game into overtime. Having enough offense to outlast the Suns could be an impossible task for Indiana in 2014-15.
Nov. 24 — at Dallas Mavericks
Rick Carlisle isn’t new to the Pacers, as it’s a franchise he was once a monumental piece of in the early 2000’s. Coaching Dallas (and doing a superb job of it), he’s now been blessed with a roster he’ll love leading. Dirk re-signed for a gorgeous penny, they have numerous point guard options to sort through, and defensive intensity picked up to 2011 levels if Tyson Chandler isn’t spending his time on the injury list again. They also used Mark Cuban’s friendly owner tactics to sway Chandler Parsons away from a chemistry-corrupt Houston squad.
Being the only other team that never tasted defeat against the Pacers last year, Dallas will be more powerful in the West, and give less mercy on the East next year. They need as many wins as possible. 50-52 barely gets you into the playoffs out West, and they’re aiming for a top four spot. Thus, 55-57 will be necessary. That’s right … can’t afford any losses to a team that watched their two scorers disappear.
Before the All-Star break last season, Indiana and Dallas played the worst, sloppiest game of the season, a 81-73 war. It was the most unbelievable offensive game from the Pacers as a whole, as the team shot 32.1 percent from the field. Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles can work their magic in their respective roles, but neither are guys that you’re comfortable handing the ball to when a play dies down, or if you need a score late in the game. It’s exactly why they’ll still have struggles against team’s (such as Dallas) that bring a strong punch offensively, and precisely why they’ll fail to close out fourth quarter battles.
Nov. 26 — at San Antonio Spurs
While the city of Indianapolis would’ve been ecstatic to host their first NBA Finals since Kobe Bryant had his afro hair style, getting ousted in the Eastern Conference Finals saved them from a whole new level of embarrassment.
Is there any numerical figure that could measure what San Antonio would have done to the Pacers in the 2014 Finals? Running through Miami like a baseball thrown at a bird, the Spurs would have taken down Indiana in three games — Vogel would forfeit the fourth to save the home crowd.
If you can remember, Indiana is responsible for giving the Spurs the most recent Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard. A 2011 deal sending point guard George Hill to the Pacers is how R.C. Buford was able to snag Indiana’s draft selection (Leonard), and now the deal looks to be one of the worst of the last decade. Yes, Paul George was still on the rise and he gives Indiana another top five small forward, but having two of the same is still better than having a bottom-tier point guard.
Last season was a bit odd in regards to the two regular season meetings between Popovich and Vogel. There was a 1-1 split, with both teams winning on the road instead of their home floor. On the road, where the Pacers were fairly average, all five Pacers starters scored in double figures and Paul George exploded from the field, scoring 28 points.
When the Spurs visited after the All-Star break, though, they were closing in on their 18th straight victory of the season, pounding their way to the West’s top seed. That resulted in a 26-point beatdown in Indiana, where the bench was completely non-existed, being outscored 45-17 by the Spurs’ second unit. This offseason, not much was added to the bench besides Damjan Rudez, a talented foreign shooter that still may never receive minutes. Hey, Chris Copeland never did, so don’t say it’s probable.
Two members of the Stuckey, Miles, Rudez, Copeland, C.J. Watson, and Solomon Hill group have to be in the starting lineup. The bench isn’t going to be “stronger than ever.” This George injury doesn’t give them a blessing in disguise. It doesn’t speak loudly to Indiana being trusted against top West competition, especially the defending champions that are mightily better from top to bottom.
Taking care of the ball is something these two teams will be at the opposite end of the spectrum with. During their two meetings in 2013-14, San Antonio’s Assist-to-Turnover ratio reached 2.21 (42 assists, 19 turnovers), which is borderline phenomenal. The Pacers? 1.24 (36 assists, 29 turnovers) … spot on with Indiana’s offensive reputation.
Total opponent Win/Loss for stretch: 251-159 (.612)