Indiana Pacers Betting Odds – NBA Basketball Futures – Gambling Picks
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Indiana Pacers
Sportsbook.com Pacers Odds to win NBA title – 150/1
Key players added – Darren Collison
Key players lost – Troy Murphy
The NBA rewards winners with trophies and huge contracts, and takes care of losers with high draft choices and the possibility of getting better. Teams that don’t qualify for either, like the Pacers, seemed doomed forever to be the ones left for road kill.
That’s the conundrum facing Larry Bird and Indiana as it has too much talent to sink to the bottom and not even to compete with the elite teams.
That said, the Pacers appear to be a bit better than the team that finished 32-50 and 9 games out of a playoff spots in the Eastern Conference last season.
For one thing, they now have a legit point guard in Darren Collison, who opened a lot of eyes last season filling in for the injury Chris Paul in New Orleans. For another, the Pacers don’t figure that top scorer Danny Granger will miss another 20 games this season.
And finally, they have high hopes that in his third season 78-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert will continue to progress and figure things out on the defensive end.
Troy Murphy was a good citizen for several years in Indianapolis, but the Pacers figure they can replace his numbers, and Murphy was never healthy enough to play a full season – even one that didn’t include playoffs.
Tyler Hansbrough brings energy if not much upside to the front line, and coach Jim O’Brien likes Josh McRoberts, who will inherit most of the minutes that Murphy consumed.
It’s clear that the Pacers will build around Granger offensively, but what isn’t clear is if Granger has the talent or desire to become a better all-around player. Perhaps with Collison’s hands on the ball on nearly every possession, Granger will have more energy to rebound and defend.
If not, expect the Pacers to try to move him after the season.
The rest of the roster is not Nets-bad, but there aren’t a lot of players who could get quality time elsewhere. T.J. Ford is cooked and never had O’Brien’s confidence.
Dahntay Jones is a decent defender, but he and James Posey are all the past and won’t be around if/when the Pacers break out of NBA purgatory.
Surprising stat: For a team with decent offensive players, the Pacers ranked 28th in the league in field goal percentage last season.
Strengths: Granger’s ability to score, Collison’s ability to create.
Weaknesses: Concern that Hibbert has peaked. If true, huge problem along the front line.
Playoffs? Unlikely, but if Collison is the goods and Granger can play 75-plus games, maybe.
Win total projection for 2010-11: 34-39
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Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts.
