No one outside of Indiana is expecting much from the Pacers this year without Paul George and Lance Stephenson, but Frank Vogel hasn't lost his confidence. The head coach has been outwardly optimistic and positive since the day he took over as on an interim basis in 2011. That is an endearing quality -- my favorite Vogelism is when he calls players on his own team "beasts" -- and it hasn't changed because of what happened this offseason, via NBA.com's Steve Aschburner:
“We’re going to be fine,” Vogel said. “We’ve got more than enough to compete with the best and we’re going to have another great season. Our approach is, we’re going to try to not skip a beat.”
Vogel’s fingers were not crossed. There was no whiff of rum in the room, and he wasn’t talking in Comic Sans.
He continued: “Two guys being gone – Lance being gone, Paul not being with us because of injury – creates opportunities for other guys. Both at that position and also at other positions to carry a bigger role.”
Ah, OK, so maybe it was the whole interview thing. So you switched off the recorder, looked the Pacers coach in the eye and said, now Frank, how do you really feel?
“I really feel that way,” Vogel said. “I think we’re going to be OK.”
Vogel pointed to offseason additions Rodney Stuckey, C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez as reasons to feel good about the roster, as well as expressing his belief in Chris Copeland and Solomon Hill, who barely saw the floor last year. Center Roy Hibbert has also reportedly lost 14 pounds in order to be more mobile.
If you're reading this and thinking, "Uh, the Pacers fell apart in the last few months of the season and now they'll be without their two best offensive players," trust me, I understand. Even if you're bullish on Stuckey and Miles, even if you think Vogel can find a way to keep Indiana an elite defensive team, it's hard to envision this group being in the East's upper echelon. The offense was extremely ugly for significant stretches in 2013-2014, and Vogel really doesn't have enough scorers or creators at his disposal now. The playoffs are not guaranteed by any means.
There are only two things you can take away from something like this:
1. Training camp is coming up, so everybody is cheery.
2. Vogel always wants his players to know he believes in them.
