Tier two: The playoff locks
6. Indiana Pacers
Last season: 48-34, 5th in Eastern Conference
Notable additions: Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb, TJ McConnell, Goga Bitadze, Justin Holiday
Notable subtractions: Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young, Tyreke Evans, Cory Joseph, Wesley Matthews
Disclaimer: I am a big believer in the Indiana Pacers and their offseason moves, and come the playoffs I think they could be the third-best team in the East. These rankings are based on the whole regular season, though, and Indiana’s place here is solely based on the continued recovery of Victor Oladipo.
Shortly after the NBA Draft, Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said that he hoped to see Oladipo return sometime in December or January. Based on last season’s schedule and that very vague timeline, the Pacers could be looking at anywhere from 22-51 games without their star guard.
It’s that uncertainty around Oladipo that makes it hard to place Indiana in next season’s standings; even when he does return to the court, how long will it take before he’s back at 100 percent? Will he integrate smoothly with the team’s new players? Will they already be too far back in the standings to recover?
After his injury last season, the Pacers continued to be successful and hold their playoff position thanks to their deep rotation. That depth is still largely in place, but the loss of Bojan Bogdanovic will be felt tremendously in Oladipo’s absence. Indiana has improved their roster’s fit around Oladipo, but they may be lacking a go-to scorer while he is out.
Malcolm Brogdon is an upgrade defensively over Bogdanovic and a good complementary scorer, but he’s not exactly proven as a first option. The Pacers will have to succeed by committee, with Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Myles Turner all needing consistently solid output on the scoresheet. If they can just stay in the playoff picture until Oladipo returns, they should be poised for a strong postseason run.