Indiana Pacers - Better or Worse

Photo source: KaCey97007

Indiana has been hovering just below mediocrity for some years but dropped a little further below it last year.  They did not do much to change their roster until late in the offseason when they traded for point man Darren Collison.  The Pacers had seemingly been positioning themselves to be players in the free agent market after this season.  But now that they have their general in Collison it will be interesting to watch what direction they go.  How do they look right now for this season?

(Note: The rankings you see referenced below are fully explained in my initial NBA point guard rankings post)

Point Guard
2009 - Earl Watson (#47 PG, Level 9), T.J. Ford (#44 PG, Level 9)
2010 - Darren Collison (#31 PG, Level 6), T.J. Ford (#44 PG, Level 9)

Collison is an even bigger upgrade than the numbers show.  His stats are limited because he did not start consistently getting bigger minutes until after the mid-point of the season.

Shooting Guard
2009 - Brandon Rush (#68 SG, Below level), Dahntay Jones (#64 SG, Below level)
2010 - Brandon Rush (#68 SG, Below level), Mike Dunleavy (#27 SF, Level 6)

This has to be the last shot for Rush.  He got a lot of minutes last year and put up very little production.  When healthy Dunleavy can be a good backup.

Small Forward
2009 - Danny Granger (#7 SF, Level 3), Mike Dunleavey (#27 SF, Level 6)
2010 - Danny Granger (#7 SF, Level 3), James Posey (#53 SF, Level 10)

Though he missed 20 games and was playing hurt for a few more, Granger had a solid '09-'10 campaign.  Posey, who was part of the Collison deal, really fell off last year.  The Pacers are hoping he'll be revitalized in Indiana.

Power Forward
2009 - Troy Murphy (#16 PF, Level 4), Josh McRoberts (#33 PF, Level 6)
2010 - Tyler Hansbrough (#55 PF, Level 9), Josh McRoberts (#33 PF, Level 6)

You can expect a drop in production at the power forward position after Murphy was traded to get Collison.  The two-deep here could easily be flipped.  Hansborough's ability at the NBA level is still unknown after he suffered from an odd case of vertigo in his rookie year.  McRoberts is a quality backup.

Center
2009 - Roy Hibbert (#27 C, Level 5), Solomon Jones (#54 C, Below level)
2010 - Roy Hibbert (#27 C, Level 5), Jeff Foster (Did not qualify last year)

Hibbert improved in almost every statistical category last season.  He needs to continue that development in his third year in the NBA.  Foster missed most of the '09-'10 season with a back injury.

Overall
Indiana may have been better off in the long run if management let the team hit rock bottom this season and re-armed the squad in 2011.  But Larry Bird and Jim O'Brien were not content to let that happen.  They sacrificed the power forward position to improve at point guard.  To what scale that move hurts them or helps them will have a large effect on this season.

The Pacers finished last season at 32-50.  Based on their projected lineup I've got them picking up four wins at point guard, one at shooting guard, one at small forward and one at center while losing four at power forward.

In the final verdict the Pacers are BETTER.  As they are currently constructed I predict they will have a 35-47 record.  That leaves them somewhere between challenging for a playoff spot and the flotsam and jetsam of the Eastern Conference.