Indiana Pacers hope roster changes can break 48-win ceiling

Storyline 3: Can everyone stay healthy?

The elephant in the room when looking at the Pacers not in terms of 2K ratings but in terms of actual projected NBA performance is that most of their talent could go poof in an instant if their old injury woes continue to haunt them.

Malcolm Brogdon has played in just 112 of 164 possible games over the past two seasons. T.J. Warren has played in just 261 of 420 possible games, never appearing in more than 66 and three times failing to crack 50. Oladipo starts the season in street clothes and Turner has failed to reach 70 games played twice in his career.

If this team ends up on injured reserve, they’re going to be left running the Fort Wayne Mad Ants out there to try and win basketball games.

This is a great team on paper in a video game world where if someone gets hurt, you just press the reset button and magically bring him back to full strength.

In practice, it’s hard to imagine this team, after the All-Star break, being anything other than a banged-up mess forced to run guys out there who are trying too hard to punch above their weight. Down that road lies another 4-13 finish including a first-round sweep.