Records can be deceiving, just ask the Indiana Pacers. With consecutive seasons of 36-46 records, the Pacers appear to have shown no improvement. Fortunately for the Pacers, their record is one of the few areas in which the team has not improved. One of many bright spots for the Pacers in ’08-’09 was the emergence of Danny Granger, who was fifth in the league in scoring and won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. For the first time since 2006, the Pacers are in position to make a run at the playoffs, but are still raw overall, and may prove to be too inexperienced to make a serious splash in the postseason.   OVERALL GRADE: B-

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:                              

PG:T.J. Ford– 6th Season out of Texas, 6’0                                                                       SG:Jarrett Jack– 5th Season out of Georgia Tech, 6’3
SF:Danny Granger– 5th Season out of New Mexico, 6’8
PF:Troy Murphy– 9th Season out of Notre Dame, 6’11
C:Roy Hibbert– 2nd Season out of Georgetown, 7’3

STARTING BACKCOURT
Indiana’s starting backcourt of T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack is not their backcourt of the future, although both are solid off the ball and are excellent free-throw shooters. Their biggest mutual weakness is three-point shooting, with Jack at 35.3% from behind the line and Ford at 33.7%. In his first season with Indiana last season, Ford, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career with Milwaukee and Toronto, stayed healthy for the most part, missing only 8 games. Jack played in every game, averaging 13.1 points, and was second only to Ford on the club dishing out more than 4 assists per game. As solid as this backcourt is, they will likely have their starting spots taken away within a season or two. First-round pick Brandon Rush had a good rookie year, and should move to the starting two-guard by next season, and possibly some time during the season. If he can stay healthy, Ford is a very good point guard who contributes in all facets of the game. However, Ford’s health is a liability, so in tomorrow’s NBA Draft, don’t be surprised to find the Pacers looking to land a point guard to eventually replace Ford as starter. Possibilities are Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn, UCLA’s Jrue Holiday, and Italy’s Brandon Jennings. OVERALL GRADE: B

BACKCOURT ON THE BENCH
When T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack need a breather, Pacers fans can breathe, too. That’s because the Pacers are deep in guards, with five players to take their place. The back-up guards are led by Marquis Daniels, who averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench last year. Daniels is very capable of being a starter if Ford is injured, and averages less turnovers than Ford. Daniels is complimented on the bench by the up and coming Brandon Rush, who last year averaged over 8 points and 3 rebounds in his rookie season. This year, Rush will see more minutes, and if he can develop his three-point shooting game, the Pacers will pose a double-digit scoring threat with Ford, Jack, Daniels, and Rush. Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy can also play at guard, but are more helpful as forwards. OVERALL GRADE: B+

STARTING FORWARDS:
Indiana’s starting forwards, Danny Granger and Troy Murphy, are each capable of scoring 20 points in any given game. When healthy, they are arguably the best tandem of forwards in the Eastern Conference. However, both have been bitten by the injury bug multiple times, damaging their teams’ playoff hopes. Small Forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer and lone All-Star, scored 25.8 points per game last year, a 6.2 point jump from his ’07-’08 average. Granger was fifth in the NBA in scoring and beat out New Jersey point guard Devin Harris for the league’s Most Improved Player Award, even though he missed 15 games. Every team with a superstar needs a sidekick to succeed, and Granger and the Pacers have a great one in power forward Troy Murphy. The 6’11 veteran from Notre Dame grabbed a team-high 11.8 rebounds per game in 08′-09, second only to Dwight Howard in the NBA, and shot 47.5% from the field, averaging 14.3 points. Murphy’s post and mid-range presence opens up the floor for Granger, and his aggressiveness on the boards opens up the Pacers’ other perimeter shooters for three-pointers. In order to make a playoff run, the Pacers will likely need Murphy to again average a double-double this season.          OVERALL GRADE: A

FORWARDS ON THE BENCH:
Unless the front office makes a deal to acquire a decent forward to back up Granger and Murphy, the Pacers are going to struggle when Granger and Murphy are on the bench. The Pacers have a very solid 6th man in Mike Dunleavy when he is healthy. The problem is that Dunleavy is oft-injured and unable to play. He only played in 18 games last season, but was a big contributor in those games, averaging a tad over 15 points per game. Dunleavy is the X-Factor for the Pacers. If he stays healthy, he should provide enough of a boost to catapult the Pacers into the playoffs. Another reason Dunleavy’s health is of great importance is the play of the rest of the forwards on the bench. None of the three other forwards, Stephen Graham, Maceo Baston, and Josh McRoberts, were able to average 6 points or 3 rebounds per game. Although they saw limited action, with Graham averaging the most minutes at 13.2, these Pacers will have to pick up the pace to keep up with the rest of the team. In the upcoming NBA Draft, the Pacers may be looking for a power forward such as Pittsburgh’s DaJuan Blair or North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough to help out the bench and eventually start.    OVERALL GRADE: C-

STARTING CENTER:
Last season, the Pacers platooned three of their big men, Jeff Foster, Roy Hibbert, and Rasho Nesterovic, at starting center. This year, look for the Pacers to go with Hibbert more often than not as their starter. The 7’3 big man from Georgetown was acquired from the Raptors on draft-day last year, and started 42 games in his rookie season. Hibbert had a bit of a tough time adjusting to the more physical play of the NBA, averaging only 3.5 rebounds and more than 3 fouls in about 14 minutes per game. His conditioning also needs work, with fatigue adding to the factors that prevented him from seeing more floor time last year. One bright spot for Hibbert was his scoring output, as he averaged over 7 points per game. Throughout his career at Georgetown and now with Indiana, Hibbert has always been criticized for being too soft and not taking full advantage of his enormous frame. He needs to work on staying out of foul trouble and defending down low if he wants to have a much more successful sophomore season.   OVERALL GRADE: D+

CENTERS ON THE BENCH:
Back-up centers and veterans Jeff Foster and Rasho Nesterovic may not start, but they will have to be ready to play if Roy Hibbert gets into early foul trouble. a common theme of his rookie year. Both are key contributors on the boards and on the scoreboard for the Pacers, combining to average 12.9 points and 13.3 rebounds. Foster by himself averaged 6.9 rebounds in just under 25 minutes per game last year, good for second on the team. What will likely be the case is that neither Foster nor Nesterovic will average more minutes than Hibbert individually, but combined, they should see more action than Hibbert. Like Hibbert, both need to stay out of foul trouble. If they can, both can be literally huge weapons for the Pacers, potentially presenting a nightmare for defenses when trying to contain three 7-footers.    OVERALL GRADE: B-

The Pacers are one of the NBA’s up and coming teams playing in small markets. Like such clubs as the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers are rich in talent and skill. The burning question for the Pacers this season is this: If healthy, are they ready for the playoffs? I think the answer to this question is yes, but probably not ready enough to make a deep run. The Pacers need a couple more seasons to develop before they will be serious contenders in the East. Until then, they should continue building towards the future.  
PROJECTION: 3rd place in the East Central Division, 7th place in the Eastern Conference, Lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round of the playoffs, 4-1.

2. Steinberg tries to update his blog once an hour.

3. If he makes a mistake in a blog, Steinberg fixes the error by crossing it out with a slash. Instead of just erasing the mistake, Steinberg does this to show honesty and let his readers know that he freely admits his errors.

Craggs: http://deadspin.com/5296815/why-your-stadium-sucks-angel-stadium?skyline=true&s=x  If Craggs cares more about stadium quality than quality of the stadium’s home team, let him experience a homestand in D.C. from the view of a Washington Nationals fan.

Garber: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon09/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=4273020