Pacers will wreak havoc in the East

[tankcity!]

And will be a legitimate threat to the Cavs.

This is what they're rolling with..

Teague
Ellis / Stuckey
George / Miles
Jefferson  /  Young
Turner  /  Allen


You could make a strong argument for George as a top ten NBA player, who is probably as good as anyone at defending LBJ.

Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis are still potent offensive players who can get it going at anytime.

Jeff Teague is one of the most underrated guards in the league on both sides of the floor. He was the 2nd best player, next to Horford, on a ECF team last year.

Thaddeus Young could very likely be one of the best 6th men in the league on this team.

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

Of course there has yet to be a single game played but it looks like Larry Legend has put together a very good squad. You go, Larry! 

Nah.....You lost me at Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis are still potent offensive players who can get it going at anytime.

[kozlodoev]

Nah.....You lost me at Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis are still potent offensive players who can get it going at anytime.

This assessment is accurate. They're too broken down to do it every game, but they will certainly win you games on offense.

[Evantime34]

Nah.....You lost me at Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis are still potent offensive players who can get it going at anytime.

This assessment is accurate. They're too broken down to do it every game, but they will certainly win you games on offense.

I don't expect either to start. Young should start at the 4 (Jefferson can barely guard 5's now let alone 4's), and Ellis works better as a 6th man than a floor spacing 2.

[max215]

Sorry, I don't see it; they're a 4-6 seed in my eyes.

[pearljammer10]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

[BornReady]

They look good on paper
But we need to see how they fit together

[kozlodoev]

Nah.....You lost me at Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis are still potent offensive players who can get it going at anytime.

This assessment is accurate. They're too broken down to do it every game, but they will certainly win you games on offense.

I don't expect either to start. Young should start at the 4 (Jefferson can barely guard 5's now let alone 4's), and Ellis works better as a 6th man than a floor spacing 2.

Regardless, I still expect them to occasionally take over games offensively.

[BitterJim]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

He didn't say that Turner won't eventually become an Ibaka-level player (or better), just that he wasn't "Ibaka on roids" yet.  And he's right, Ibaka at his best is/was better than Turner is right now

[pearljammer10]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

He didn't say that Turner won't eventually become an Ibaka-level player (or better), just that he wasn't "Ibaka on roids" yet.  And he's right, Ibaka at his best is/was better than Turner is right now

Meh. I know stats don't tell the whole story but when you put them side by side last year:

Serge 12.6 ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.9bpg 48%fg, 33%3pt, 32 minutes per game 13.99 PER

Myles 10.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.4bpg, 50%fg, 21%3pt, 22 minutes per game 15.51 PER

He's not there yet, but I don't think that was implied with the original poster either, but I'd take Turner over Ibaka at this point.

[BitterJim]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

He didn't say that Turner won't eventually become an Ibaka-level player (or better), just that he wasn't "Ibaka on roids" yet.  And he's right, Ibaka at his best is/was better than Turner is right now

Meh. I know stats don't tell the whole story but when you put them side by side last year:

Serge 12.6 ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.9bpg 48%fg, 33%3pt, 32 minutes per game 13.99 PER

Myles 10.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.4bpg, 50%fg, 21%3pt, 22 minutes per game 15.51 PER

He's not there yet, but I don't think that was implied with the original poster either, but I'd take Turner over Ibaka at this point.

I would definitely take Turner over Ibaka now (especially when considering age/salary), but I think we can agree that Ibaka was far from at his best last year.  I'd take Ibaka at his best over present-day Turner, no doubt about it

[Snakehead]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

He didn't say that Turner won't eventually become an Ibaka-level player (or better), just that he wasn't "Ibaka on roids" yet.  And he's right, Ibaka at his best is/was better than Turner is right now

Exactly.

And especially on defense lets not forget how good Ibaka was before losing something the last couple of years for whatever reason.

[Diggles]

The Pacers are the real deal.... Top 4 Team in the EAST all Day.   I'd be willing to bet on that!  If their starting 5 misses less than 10% of the games they should finish better than Toronto...   

[celticsclay]

Myles Turner is an absolute stud at stretching the floor and blocking shots. Think Serge Ibaka on roids.

ehhhhhhh.....  I haven't seen anything from him that is far superior to Ibaka at his best.

They do have an interesting team.  But you can go at Jefferson and Ellis on defense.  I will be interested to see come the season how they look.

Averaging 10, 6 and 3.3 blocks per playoff game as a freshly turned 20 year old rookie doesn't show you anything towards him becoming an Ibaka like player or better?

Or the fact that he was a 10, 6, block and a half guy as a 19 year old on the regular season shooting 50% from the floor while starting 30 games and only averaging 22 minutes per?

He's got a long way to go but the signs are there. The Pacers have made some really nice moves this summer. There lineup has some nice depth and they could really turn a few heads this year. Top four should be a no brainer for them in the east.

He didn't say that Turner won't eventually become an Ibaka-level player (or better), just that he wasn't "Ibaka on roids" yet.  And he's right, Ibaka at his best is/was better than Turner is right now

Exactly.

And especially on defense lets not forget how good Ibaka was before losing something the last couple of years for whatever reason.

A lot of people think Ibaka is actually older than his listed age...

[CelticSooner]

I do wonder how much their defense will drop off without Vogel and with new coach McMillan. I don't see their offense improving enough regardless.

[timpiker]

I like a lot of the Pacers but all of the names are past their prime.