Indiana Pacers Roster 2019 Pacers Roster

All it took was one season for the Indiana Pacers to go from being a team without hope to a team on the rise. A trade that was universally panned became the linchpin for turning around this franchise's fortunes. Now add to the trade a couple of smart offseason moves, and the Pacers suddenly look like the team to beat in the Central Division. The Pacers have very few weaknesses even though they have arguably one star player. That star player, Victor Oladipo, may be perhaps the best shooting guard in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have the right coach for the job in Nate McMillan. He knows how to integrate role players into his system. There are not many scenarios that do not involve the Pacers in the playoffs. The best case for this team is that Indiana challenges Boston and Toronto for conference supremacy.

Top Indiana Pacers Roster Questions 2019

After Paul George departed Indiana for Oklahoma City, they have been relatively competitive and almost took down LeBron James in round one of the playoffs. It now starts with Victor Oladipo, who took a major step forward with Indy. Darren Collison played alongside him, and still is showcasing why he can be a steady point guard in this league. The Pacers feature a lot of veteran wings like Lance Stephenson, Thaddeus Young, Trevor Booker, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Domantas Sabonis also came over from Oklahoma City and is going to make it known to the Pacers and others he is a starting caliber player. For now, Myles Turner sucks up most of the minutes, but his second year wasn’t a step forward for the future. Indy should remain a competitive team, but in an east that is getting stronger, they need another superstar to play alongside Oladipo or else the back half of the East is where they will stay.

Is Oladipo this Good?

Pacers fans howled when Paul George was traded away to Oklahoma City. The return that the Pacers received was widely criticized as insufficient. Oladipo was regarded as a good, but not great player. One year later, the perception has drastically changed. While George has done as expected in Oklahoma, the Pacers are considered the winners of the trade. In a perfect world, Oladipo will not have to repeat last season because his supporting cast will contribute more. Oladipo's numbers derived from his extreme usage. He can be this good again if he has to, but the Pacers may be better off if he does not have to put the team on his shoulders one more time.

Where Will the Extra Push Come From?

The Pacers came so close to knocking Cleveland from the playoffs last year. In fact, they were one quarter away. Oladipo cannot do it alone and will need a member or two of the supporting cast to step up to help. The help this year will likely come from Tyreke Evans. The Pacers did well to sign Evans to a one-year deal to become the sixth man off the bench. Evans rebounded well from injuries to establish his niche in New Orleans and will provide a scoring lift off of the bench. Evans will give the Pacers another option in crunch time to go alongside Oladipo and Myles Turner. Evans can fill in at multiple positions as a bench option.

Who Will Man the Middle?

The other part of the George trade that gets less attention was the acquisition of Domantas Sabonis. The Lithuanian is an undersized center who provides a scoring and rebounding lift. In addition, the Pacers signed Kyle O'Quinn as a free agent in the offseason. O'Quinn is a rugged banger who never really got a full chance in New York. Sabonis will likely continue to start in the middle, but will be spelled with O'Quinn, who presents a different look. With Turner in at power forward, the Pacers will be able to space the floor nicely. McMillan will have the offensive unit humming, and the Pacers will be difficult to beat.