We we finally get to a team that is still playing. The Pacers are again represented by: Richard "T-Bone" BurtonWho shows that he is almost as big a homer as Curtis and Rob by selecting: Alan Henderson, PF, 6-9. Indiana ============================================================================== I. Team Needs/History The Indiana Pacers are coming off their best year in NBA history. They won a division title for the first time since their ABA days after a slow start. The Pacers finished the season with over fifty wins, was one of only three teams to sweep their first-round opponent, somehow managed to survive the Knicks in game seven at Madison Square Garden, and, as of this writing, are tied 2-2 with Orlando. I said it last year and I'll say it again: the secret for a mid- to top-level team without an immediate need to get better through the draft is to draft what you will need the most in a year or two, not now. However, the team has one immediate need, and there are one or two additions that would be nice. A. CENTER Rik Smits has finally become the kind of center that GM Donny Walsh envisioned. Larry Brown has Smits palying about 30 pounds lighter than previous coaches wanted. Not a guy with a big build in spite of his height, Smits' weight reduction has made him more mobile, reduced his knee problems to almost non-existent, and increased his endurance. This has made him one of the league's top offensive centers. Rik uses his 7'4" frame and good shooting touch to draw out opposing centers and open the lane for Miller, Jackson, McKey, and the Davisses. Smits is also a good passer, and improving with time. After a big first half, he often draws double teams outside of the lane then dishes off to a cutting teammate for a quick two points and maybe a foul. Smits' rebounding and defending have improved, though he will never be a monster rebounder, even at 7'4". His offensive game takes him (and the opposing center) away from the basket and out of position for rebounds. This is not a problem with Dale and Antonio Davis and Derrick McKey on the same team. At backup this past year was LaSalle Thompson; he will be 35 at the start of next season. He has said he will not be in Indiana next year; it is time for Tank to leave, but we wish him well. THis leaves a ~$2,000,00 salary slot open. Scott Haskin, the '93 first round pick, is a 6'11" banger who was drafted with the idea of his backing up Smits; injuries and the unexpected play of Antonio Davis impeded his progress. Haskin has spent the whole year on injured reserve, which created problems for the Pacers when LaSalle Thompson went out for the remainder of the season. The pacers have 9 non-free-agents on their roster; Haskin was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was thankfully taken. Good riddance. His leaving opens up a ~$1,400,00 slot which can be used to re-sign Antonio Davis. Greg Kite was brought in as an emergency backup. He's not even convincing in this role. Backup center is definitely a need; whether this can be addressed in the draft, or if the team will need free agency is a big question. Drafting so late, it isn't likely the Pacers will be able to draft an adequate backup. Also, reserve power forward Antonio Davis fills in at backup, which gives him more minutes without taking them from Dale Davis. The Pacers may have their backup playing overseas. The team drafted Spencer Dunkley, a 6'11" center, a couple of years ago in the second round. He has been playing well in Europe, and may be ready to play this year. Antonio Davis, another second round project, went this route with good results. Dunkley is worth at least inviting to camp, and may prove good enough to be the needed backup. However, one can't count on this. B. POWER FORWARD The Indiana Pacers may be blessed with what may be the best power forward duo in the NBA. In more than name, both Dale and Antonio Davis are quite similar. Both are 6'11" power forwards who can rebound, block shots, play tight defense, run the floor, and provide big dunks when the Smits and Miller draw extra do. They both are intelligent players, rarely making dumb mistakes. They feed off one another, each pushing the other in practice and in games, but the rivalry is friendly one. The Pacers are as solid at this position as any team in the league, assuming Dale's offseason surgery for his seperated shoulder is successful. Antonio is a restricted free agent this year. Signing him with Haskin's or Thompson's salary slot is a high priority. Sam Mitchell is a 6'7" swing forward who was a throw-in player on the Chuck Person-Pooh Richardson trade; he is more important to the Pacers than Pooh ever could have been. Mitchell backs up McKey and plays power forward when the Pacers go to a small(er) lineup. Mitchell is not a great player, but like McKey, he is the type of player everyone wants to play with. He rebounds, defends, and has a great work ethic. And Mitchell can produce, too. When at Minnesota, Mitchell averaged double digits in points and was a solid rebounder. In Game 4 of the Knicks series this past year, Dale Davis went down with a seperated shoulder, and Mitchell stepped in with 11 points plus his usual rebounding and defense. This position is solid. C. SMALL FORWARD Derrick McKey may just be the second best player in the league today, after Jordan, but no one seems to notice this. McKey puts up solid, if not great, stats (12ppg, 4.3apg, 5.3rpg, 1.5spg, .500fgp, a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio from a ballhandling 6-10 forward in 93-94) but is best known for his defense. That McKey was only second-team all-defense in the league truly shows how little people understand defense. The only defensive stats which are kept are steals (but not "failed steals" which lead to an easy backet for an opponent) and blocks. If you block a shot, often it's because your man got the ball where he shouldn't have in the first place. Most of McKey's blocks, though, come from leaving his man to help a teammate. And McKey's defense is more about cutting off passing lanes, rotating to cover two men when a teammate doubleteams, keeping his man from ever seeing the ball, keeping rebounds alive for his teammates, etc. During one stretch this year, McKey held opposing starting small forwards (a position known for scoring punch) to under 10 points and 40% shooting in 14 of fifteen games. (The only double-digit scorer was Glenn Rice, who seems to give Derrick trouble for some reason.) Coach Brown and Derrick's teammates want to see him shoot and drive more, but with Smits and Miller on the team, McKey only looks to score when the team needs him to. The team has a defensive presence, a toughness, a scrappiness it sorely lacked before, due as much to McKey as Larry Brown. He'll never make the All-Star team, but McKey is the most important player on a championship-contending team. It would be nice to see him shoot (and score) more, but you can't have everything. McKey's backups are Mitchell and Duane Ferrell. Ferrell was signed as a free agent, and has been a bit of a disappointment. He did show improvement during the course of the year, though, and now seems to have a better grasp of Brown's approach to the game. However, he didn't play too much in the playoffs. It would be nice to have more firepower at this position, but the Pacers can stand pat here without much trouble. D. SHOOTING GUARD What can you say about Reggie Miller? The man is a paradox. A skinny 6-7, he is also one of the league's ironmen; he only missed one game this year after being leg-whipped in The Jordan Bowl (brought to you by Bud Ice Draft Light). Reggie is a superstar, one who thrives under pressure. He is very confident in his abilites but isn't a spoiled star since he grew up in the shadow of his sister. Reggie, a shooting guard, gets to the free throw line more often than most centers, and is deadly at the charity stripe (.897 last season). He is a bigtime scorer who understands team play. Reggie may well be the best shooting guard in the league, at least among those who don't see themselves as bigger than the game. Backing up Miller is veteran Byron Scott. Byron had a horrible series against the Knicks, but he's still in great shape and his skills are showing few (if any) signs of eroding. (Witness his clutch three in the last seconds of Game 5 of the Knicks series.) He has brought maturity, experience, and focus to the Pacers, the best money the team has spent in the last 20 years. Scott, however, may only be around for another year or so, then moved to an assistant or management position. (Byron would eventually make a very good coach.) The third shooting guard is Damon Bailey, who spent the year on the injured list after knee surgery. Damon was drafted in the second round last year, probably as a publicity stunt. After his knees healed up from surgery, he began practicing with the team and was a pleasant surprise. He impressed the coaching staff and players with his energy, toughness, and work ethic. He won't ever be as good as Reggie, but he may be the next Billy Keller, and that's damn good value for his league-minimum salary. Besides, cutting Damon before giving him a chance to play could be a PR nightmare ... especially if he hooks up with another team and does well. E. POINT GUARD This position is solid if somewhat frustrating. The starting job belongs to Mark Jackson, who came to the Pacers for three players who wouldn't have seen court time at Indiana. Jackson is a pretty good offensive point guard; he averaged over eight assists a game his last year with the Clippers. He is deceptively slow; not a quick player by any stretch of the imagination, Mark is quicker than you'd think, and can occaisionally lull opponents into complacency before slicing into the lane and dishing off for an assist. As for his defensive skills, ... well, Mark Jackson averaged over eight assists a game his last year with the Clippers. Jackson comes from a long tradition of St. John's players with little/no defense. Which is where Workman comes in. Consummate journeyman Heywood Workman was brought on board in '93 to back up Vern Fleming, who was then the backup to Pooh Richardson. When Pooh went down with an injury, Workman got playing time and turned out to be better than Fleming. Workman barely made the Pacers' roster in '93-94, then led the team deep into the playoffs once he got his chance. Workman is a defensive demon. After Blaylock and Harper put up big numbers on Jackson, Workman came in and all but shut them down. The guy is also gutty. It was his taking a charge on Charles Oakley in Game 3 of the Knicks series that pushed the game into overtime. As an offensive player, .... well, Workman is a defensive demon. His offense is better than Jackson's defense, so Workman gets his share of minutes. He doesn't start because it is important to establish Smits' offense early and because Haywood has no problem with being the backup as long as he earns his minutes. Vern Fleming is the fifth guard in the rotation behind Miller, Scott, Jackson, and Workman. Vern has been around for quite a while, and has played as a Pacer more years than any other. He and Scott are both near the ends of their careers, and one may be let go before this upcoming season. I'd be tempted to let Vern go, since basketball is a business and sentiment has little/no place in business, but he does have solid if not great point AND shooting guard skills if one of the four ahead of him gets hurt. Plus, the guy is gutty and knows what it takes to win. He, like Mitchell, is important to team chemistry, so keeping Vern around for one more year, then letting him be the first NBA Pacer to have his jersey retired, is probably a good idea. ************************ In short, the Pacers are solid at every position. A backup to Smits is needed as injury insurance and to help Antonio Davis, but the team is drafting kinda late, so free agency may be needed to successfully fill this hole. A high scoring/solid rebounding small forward to backup/compliment McKey would be nice, but this is not a top priority since Ferrell and Mitchell have shown signs of life. The reserve guards are aging, so drafting a backup guard who may be able to play a year or two down the line might be a nice idea. Also, when one drafts this late, going with Best Player Available is generally the best option. You can usually trade talent at position X for talent at position Y, so if one is unsure, drafting for talent, not position, minimizes the potential for big mistakes. Mostly, you are looking for a guy who will fit in with your team. Here, that means someone who is 1) intelligent, 2) unselfish/a team player, 3) plays D (or is VERY willing to learn), and 4) is a hard worker. II. Your Selection (and explanation) Alan Henderson, PF, Indiana. Henderson would be a decent player with a solid background who can provide rebounding, scoring, and defense from the bench. He also would have Derrick McKey as a mentor/teacher, and there ain't many better than McKey. Henderson fullfills the above four criteria, and would be a big fan favorite. I see Henderson as eventually being a poor man's McKey, and a decent replacement for Derrick down the road, but Henderson has more of a scorer's mentality. This is sorely lacking on the Indiana bench (outside of Byron Scott). III. Others considered (and why considered) George Zidek, C, UCLA. Big. Really big. He won't be given the lion's share of minutes behind Smits, so he will have time to develop before being thrown into the viper pit. He'll never be great, but we're only looking for a backup right now. Potential trouble when George takes a pay cut entering the NBA. Jarvis Lang, SF/PF, UNC-Charlotte. Lang will provide scoring and rebounding from the small forward spot. Lang has a history of injury problems, but in playing a backup role will reduce wear and tear and injury potential. He has great work ethic, and could play significant minutes when Indiana goes to a smaller lineup. Greg Oostertag, C, Kansas. Fills a big need, no pun intended. His maturity is questionable, but if he comes in he HAS to know he isn't going to get a lot of minutes at first. John Amaechi, PF, Penn State. Amaechi is raw, but he would fit in with Indiana's inside game. AD and DD are not smooth offensive players, and Smits needs gritty, defensive-minded rebounders around him. Amaechi would fit in well. He had trouble with double-teaming in college, but he wouldn't face that in the NBA. Cory Alexander, Virginia. Cory is a solid if inconsistent point guard who has been hit by injuries repeatedly. He would be strictly a backup/emergency point guard, but he has the tools to develop in time. Jerome Allen, Penn. Allen is a good, intelligent player and has solid if not superstar skills. He would be a nice find this late and has the potential to develop into a damn good guard. IV. Who the team will probably take Damned if I know. Donny Walsh rarely fails to surprise in his drafting or his trades. The thing is, he's usually right. His drafting of Miller instead of Steve Alford was not overly popular, but no one doubts this now. Drafting Chuck Person was a minor surprise, but Chuck became ROY. Trading Herb Williams for Detlef Schrempf raised a few eyebrows, but made the Pacers legit. His drafting of Dale Davis was greeted with shrugs, and Walsh's choosing Antonio Davis in the second round was ignored. Walsh found Michael Williams in the CBA, then traded him and Person for Richardson and Mitchell. Then he got Jackson, who has meant so much to the team. Taking Bailey in the second round was seen as a publicity stunt, but Damon has stuck around and is well-liked by the players and coaching staff. My best guess is that Walsh will take the BFPA (Best Future Player Available). Unless there is a good backup center available, expect Walsh and Brown to draft a project who can play in Europe for a while. This worked with Antonio Davis and is allegedly working with Spencer Dunkley. V. Other moves that the team should make (In no particular order of importance) 1) Make sure that the free agents who want to stay are re-signed; make DAMN sure that Antonio Davis and Heywoode Workman want to stay. 2) Get that backup center!!! 3) Make a decision, quickly, on the backcourt. 4) Give Dunkley his chance to shine. =============================================================================