Pacers at Raptors
The Indiana Pacers were sitting atop the Eastern Conference not too long ago but enter the 2015-16 campaign with a new look and a quicker pace after missing out on the playoffs last season. The Pacers will show off their new style when they visit the Toronto Raptors for the season opener on Wednesday.
Forward Paul George’s broken leg in the summer of 2014 and a slew of other injuries set Indiana back last season, and waving goodbye to David West, Roy Hibbert and Luis Scola in the summer of 2015 changed the look of the team up front and forced George to move to the power forward spot. “We have a lot of great pieces, a lot of versatility,” George told reporters. “The sky's the limit for what we can do." The Raptors breezed through the regular season last year but were swept in the first round of the playoffs and are hoping adding Scola and DeMarre Carroll to the frontcourt will give the team a boost. “We want to get a solid rotation where guys know when they’re going to play, know when to expect they’re going to play in a constant rotation,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey told reporters. “I think that’s a key to guys being comfortable in their role.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE PACERS (2014-15: 38-44): Indiana ascended to the top of the East based in large part on a stifling defense led by West, Hibbert, and George, and getting back to that with a smaller lineup is one of the challenges this season. "I want to see the offensive improvement, which I really believe we're going to see,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters. “My goal is to make sure that happens without defensive slippage. I believe we can get that accomplished.” Indiana added guard Monta Ellis, who averaged 18.9 points with Dallas last season, to boost the offense.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (2014-15: 49-33): Toronto made a concerted effort in the offseason to upgrade on the defensive end and Carroll, who was the defensive standout on a 60-win Atlanta team last season, is the biggest acquisition. “Coach Casey is definitely a defensive-minded coach and that’s the type of coach that I like,” Carroll told the Toronto Star. “I like defense, that’s my forte. We’ve been focusing on defense and not so much offense, but we’ve got so many scorers that the offense will take care of itself.” Carroll averaged a career-high 12.6 points and shot a career-best 39.5 percent from 3-point range last season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors have taken four straight in the series by an average of 13 points.
2. Indiana rookie F Myles Turner (ankle) is questionable for the opener.
3. Scola appears to have beaten out Toronto PF Patrick Patterson for a spot in the starting lineup.