I was going to post this yesterday but then I saw the Nancy Leonard news and wanted to give her the respect of her own article. Shout out to Kahonu for his tribute.

It's crazy but the team opens training camp in less than a week. We'll have quasi-real basketball to talk about again before we know it. Chad Buchanan and Ted Wu even sat down for a quick season-preview press conference yesterday.

Presser Highlights

Unsurprisingly, they are not considering this a gap year. They believe that the players on the roster have opportunities they haven't had before and they hope they'll grow into bigger roles.

Despite not having Tyrese, you can still expect a Rick Carlisle team. They'll be defined by hard play and picking up full court. This will be a "tough, well-prepared" group. However, they conceded that the pace will be a bit slower and they'll have to be more physical without their star point guard.

Drew is going to have more of an offensive role this year and may not guard the opponent's best player every night as a result. They are expecting him to be more of a leader and a floor general. They think they've seen him step up his leadership over the offseason.

This season is a big opportunity for Benn. They want him making quick decisions and sprinting the floor. He'll also get at shot a the toughest defensive matchups now that Drew is the lead guard. He's walking into camp as the starting shooting guard and it's on him to keep the spot. They've had a lot of convos about what he needs to do, which is using what he already does well but in a way that contributes to winning. They think he's ready.

The centers on the roster all have a great opportunity to prove themselves. James and Isaiah have no health restrictions as of right now but will take it day by day, especially as training camp ramps up. Jay Huff is someone they've had their eye on for a while. He fits their analytics profile perfectly with his age, shooting, and high bball-IQ. However, playing at our pace is going to be an adjustment for him.

It's an important year for Jarace. He's going to get an opportunity as a big bodied wing defender. Especially with Nemby moving to a more offensive role. Jarace needs to embrace that first and they think the rest will come. They have no doubt the talent is there.

The 15th roster spot will be a competition. The team wants another ball handler. Monte Morris won't be in camp and Delon Wright will take his place. We also have four centers currently, so there's going to be plenty of competition at the edge of the roster.

Standings

And now, back to trivia.

  1. DetlefBest - 25 pts
  2. Fullsail - 24 pts 
  3. BillyNightNight - 23 pts 
  4. Hoosiers47 - 23 pts
  5. NortheastNightmare - 22 pts
  6. Infinityzero - 20 pts
  7. Life in Paradise - 19 pts
  8. Rubalamp - 19 pts
  9. Drunkle Reg - 17 pts
  10. Kahonu - 13 pts
  11. RandomPacersFan - 7 pts 

Trivia