Indiana Pacers: 5 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season

5. The Pacers will not be represented in the All-Star game

Following the Paul George trade, the Indiana Pacers have no past NBA All-Stars on their roster. The hope is that at least one player can step into that void in 2018, but that doesn’t appear likely.

There are two players who seem to have the most All-Star potential this season: Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo. It’s possible that one or both could get an All-Star nod at some point during their careers, but it won’t happen this season.

There probably won’t be any one player who is clearly the No. 1 option night in and night out, so that will prevent anyone from putting up huge individual statistics that might garner them some All-Star votes.

In addition, Indiana will be a sub-.500 team that won’t make the Eastern Conference playoffs. Team success is critically important when All-Star candidates are assessed, so playing for a lottery team won’t help any of the Pacers’ top players in that regard.

ESPN projects Myles Turner to put up 17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game this season. Victor Oladipo is expected to post 16.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest, according to ESPN‘s fantasy basketball ratings.

That level of productivity is attainable, and those numbers are certainly very good — but not good enough to land either Turner or Oladipo on the All-Star team while playing for a below-average Pacers club.