Change of Pace: The Difference Between This Year's Team and Last Year's

Victor Oladipo (4), Darren Collison (2), Lance Stephenson (1), Myles Turner (33), Thaddeus Young (21), and Al Jefferson (25)

What's the difference between this year's Indiana Pacers team and last year's? It's quite simple, actually. They operate within the concept of team. In other words, they play as a team. I could end this blog right now with that, if I wanted to, but I will proceed. Actually, I could include the team from the year before last in this conversation as well. As a matter of fact, let's start there.

That year (2015-16), they had a go-to guy in All-Star Paul George, and a decent supporting cast, such as George Hill, Monta Ellis, who was on the downside of his career, but could still somewhat produce, (when he was healthy) Rodney Stuckey, and an up-and-coming, then-rookie, Myles Turner, who is still growing as a player.

They finished 42-40, 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. To be honest, I thought this team was good enough to make the playoffs, but I wasn't expecting them to make a lot of noise once there. They did give the Toronto Raptors a scare, extending the series to seven games against them, but Toronto advanced in the end, 4-3.

Ironically, the team they had last year had better players on paper, but the chemistry never materialized. They were by far the most disappointing Pacer team I've ever seen. Seeing the moves they were making, I thought they were built to contend with the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, and just knew they would be in the top three in the conference last season, which shows you two things: one, there's no such thing as a sure thing, and two, there are some things money can't buy, and chemistry is one of them.

Then, of course, there was the ordeal over the summer with Paul George-- who was entering the final year of his contract-- wanting out of Indiana, which put them in a bind in terms of what they could do concerning him moving forward. After their sub-par at best season with all of that talent, I was frustrated and tired of the whole thing, and he (George) made it clear that it was time to go, and personally, I couldn't wait for the Pacers to execute a deal and get him the hell out of there.

Then...it happened. On July 6, 2017, Paul George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for SG/PG Victor Oladipo and C/F Domantas Sabonis. Now, I'm sure a lot of Pacers fans wanted Pacers' President Kevin Pritchard's head at the time, but I can honestly say I was not one of them. Sure, I felt that he could've gotten a little more-- a first round pick to go with Vic and Sabonis in particular-- but initially, based on Vic's talent and Sabonis' upside, I viewed it as an okay trade.

Along with pick-ups such as Darren Collison, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Cory Joseph-- maybe not "superstars," but they're nice foundational pieces to put around a franchise guy. I'll admit, Darren wasn't quite what I had in mind to play the point, but when healthy, he has been efficient (49.5 % FG, 43 % from 3 point range). He's averaging 5 assists, but to me, that's deplorable from the PG position. That's good if you're a shooting guard or a small forward, great if you're a power forward or a center, but I would expect more dimes from my point guard.

Nevertheless, his play has been a pleasant surprise, and part of the reason why Indiana has been doing better than expected. Bojan Bogdanovic's play has went under the radar; when they acquired him, I thought he would basically just drop back and fire threes/open two-pointers, but he has been creating his own shots off the dribble, creating plays for others when there's an opportunity, scoring on the low block occasionally, and I've seen him give some effort on defense.

I viewed Cory Joseph two ways: one of Indiana's worst nightmares when he played for the Raptors, and Nate McMillian's type of guard, a big guard who plays defense, although his offense is improving as well. As a Raptor, I remember when he would kill Indiana with that jumper above the key, and I'm glad he's brought that and more here.

Domantas Sabonis. Photo by David Richard- USA Today

Domantas Sabonis, the son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, has also been very productive. Wow, I remember watching his dad play growing up, now I'm watching him play. Stuff like this makes me feel old, and I'm only in my 30s, but I digress. In a recent win against the Atlanta Hawks, he posted his 13th double-double of the season, and is averaging nearly a double-double for the year. This is part of the reason why I said I was okay with the trade. I liked his upside coming out of OKC; he got off to a good start, but (in my opinion) was cast by the wayside when the Thunder started making a push for the playoffs. He plays just like his dad with the inside/outside game, dexterity with the ball, and is good passer, but he's more nimble than his dad was.

These guys along with incumbents such as Thaddeus Young, Lance Stephenson, Glenn Robinson III, and Al Jefferson all have been the reasons for Indiana's success. Of course, Vic is a part of this success, but I didn't mention him in detail for a reason. He will be the subject of my next post. I've said this quite a few times this season, that although I felt the Pacers would surprise people, they have even exceeded my expectations of them, and this is the most proud, excited, and confident I've been of this team in a long time.

Ultimately, that's the difference between the team this year, and the team from last year. The one last year had better players, but this one has better chemistry, more fluidity, beautiful ball movement, etc., and I saw this from the first game of the season. It's hard to beat a squad that plays as a one.