Indiana Pacers: How will they fare in the new-look Eastern Conference?

The Indiana Pacers have revamped their team in a major way from the 2018-19 campaign, with which they look to make some noise in the 2019-20 season

The 2019 NBA offseason turned the league upside down. For the Indiana Pacers, they saw the departure of seven players who played significant roles in their 2018-19 campaign. But all those departures create an opportunity for change and improvement. And that is precisely what the Pacers went for.

But the changes started even earlier than free agency for the Pacers. For Indiana, their changes started on NBA Draft night, acquiring TJ Warren and a second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations. Then, with the 18th overall pick, they surprised some people by selecting Goga Bitadze, a prospect with a lot of upside and potential to be a very good player.

It was then Pacers fans knew that Kevin Pritchard meant it when he said he wanted to “think big” in free agency.

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Another curve ball was thrown at the Pacers just two days before free agency opened up, with Darren Collison announcing his retirement after 10 seasons in the league. This made the point guard position a main focal point for Indiana going into free agency.

The first guy the Pacers landed was their big fish, Malcolm Brogdon on a four-year, $85 million sign and trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, immediately filling the void left by DC retiring. Then, they landed Jeremy Lamb from Charlotte on a three-year, $31 million deal. In the days to follow, they bolstered up their bench unit by adding TJ McConnell and Justin Holiday.

With all this addition there must be some subtraction. The Pacers had to part ways with several fan favorites, including Cory Joseph, Thad Young, and Bojan Bogdanovic. This poses the question: How will this “new look” Pacers team stack up with the rest of the revamped Eastern Conference?

Right away, it is safe to say the Pacers added some much needed offensive firepower. Brogdon, Lamb, and Warren are all coming off career years offensively. Each of them can create their own shot, which is something Pacers not named Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic struggled with last season.

Each of these guys can also space the floor out and knock down outside shots. Alongside Oladipo, this season the Pacers will have guys who can step outside with the game on the line and knock down these types of shots:

The Pacers did not only improve on the offensive end. In adding Brogdon, they added an elite perimeter defender who can help take some of the defensive pressure of Oladipo as he is eased back into the mix when he returns from injury, and to go alongside Myles Turner‘s elite rim-protecting ability. TJ McConnell will also provide some defensive intensity off the bench that was previously provided by Cory Joseph.

The East underwent a complete overhaul this offseason, with some elite players leaving the conference, and some entering the conference. The Philadelphia 76ers and Bucks are shaping up to be two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. But with Kawhi Leonard leaving Toronto to go West, Kyrie Irving leaving Boston for Brooklyn (with Kevin Durant to join him in 2020), and Jimmy Butler heading down to South Beach from Philly, just to name a few, there is certainly a chance for there to be a shakeup in the East.

This means that this newly constructed Pacers squad could definitely make some noise, especially when Oladipo returns. This will depend on many factors, however.

One of the main factors is the success of the Sabonis/Turner pairing in the starting lineup. They showed flashes of success last season but will have to work to mesh their playing styles together as the season progresses.

Another factor is how well and how quickly the new players adapt to the system, coaching staff, and team as a whole. Pritchard brought these specific guys to Indiana for a reason, and these guys wanted to come to Indiana for a reason. It is a city and state rich with basketball tradition and passionate fans that are as excited as the players to get going and start winning some basketball games.

And the final factor is Victor Oladipo. When will he be back? How long will it take for him to return to his All-NBA level? Will he ever return to that level? These are questions that all Pacers fans have in the back of their minds. One thing is for certain though, Oladipo is one of the hardest-working players in the NBA, and he is going to do everything in his power to come back as good, if not better than he was before his injury.

All of these things will determine how good this team can be this season. There will be some ups and downs. This Pacers team is a young team with a lot of talent. With some time to work together and gel as a team, it is not out of the question for this Indiana Pacers team to make an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2019-20 season. Time will tell.