Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 16 – NBA Blog

Gerald Henderson, Paul George fined by NBA

Paul George and Gerald Henderson fined by NBA

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George and Philadelphia 76ers guard Gerald Henderson have each been fined $25,000, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

George has been fined for public criticism of the officiating following the Pacers’ 120-111 win over the 76ers on Monday, April 10 at Wells Fargo Center.

Henderson has been fined for his Flagrant Foul 2, for throwing an elbow to the head of George with 2:59 remaining in the fourth quarter of the same game.

To view the on-court incident, click on this link.

Lance Stephenson is back on the Pacers

Lance Stephenson is once again a member of the Indiana Pacers. The team signed him to a contract today.

Stephenson, a 6-5 guard/forward, was drafted by the Pacers in the Second Round of the 2010 NBA Draft as the 40th overall pick. He played four seasons with the Pacers and averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the regular season. He played in 42 games in the playoffs with the Pacers, including twice in the Eastern Conference Finals, and in those 42 playoff games he averaged 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

According to the Indianapolis Star, “Stephenson, the tenacious, versatile and mercurial combo guard who once flourished in a blue and gold Indiana uniform, will make his stunning return to the Pacers later this week and be reunited with George. He signed a three-year, $12 million deal Thursday that includes a team option in the final year of the contract.”

“We’re very happy to have Lance back as part of our team,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We always knew he wanted to come back here, and we feel now is the right time, not only for the rest of this season, but moving forward. We look forward to having a long relationship with him, because we know what he can bring to our franchise, both on and off the court.”

After the Pacers, Stephenson played for Charlotte, the L.A. Clippers, Memphis, New Orleans and most recently with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has career averages of 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Stephenson will join the team in Cleveland for Sunday’s game.

Pacers waive Rodney Stuckey

The Indiana Pacers have requested waivers on injured 6-5 guard Rodney Stuckey.

Stuckey appeared in 39 games off the bench for Indiana this season while averaging 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

In a recent injury report, the Pacers said Stuckey will be out for the next 4-6 weeks. The 2017 NBA playoffs begin in around 2.5 weeks.

In his three seasons with the Pacers, Stuckey recorded averages of 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game over 168 appearances.

“We want to thank Rodney for his commitment to our franchise in his three years with the Pacers,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He was a positive influence not only to our team but also in the community. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

The Pacers’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Pacers: Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson injured

Here are the latest Indiana Pacers injuries:

Rodney Stuckey has a left patellar tendon strain and is expected to miss four to six weeks. He sustained the injury in Sunday night’s victory over Philadelphia.

Al Jefferson will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left ankle. He will be reevaluated at that time. He sustained the injury in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia.

Glenn Robinson III remains out with a left calf strain and will be reevaluated late next week.

Glenn Robinson III wins 2017 Slam Dunk contest

From the NBA down to the D-League, players with Indiana ties were flashing their skills all over New Orleans on Saturday during the NBA All-Star weekend.

But let’s start with the show-stealing Glenn Robinson III, the Gary native and Indiana Pacer who blew away his competition to win the 2017 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.

Robinson beat Derrick Jones Jr. of the Phoenix Suns in the final round. Robinson clinched the win with a perfect 50 on the final dunk of the night — going over three people for a reverse dunk and nearly touching his head on the rim in the process…

Robinson started with a dunk where he leaped over Indiana teammate Paul George, grabbing the ball from the All-Star before his slam that merited 44 points…

DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic were eliminated in the first round. Gordon finished second to Minnesota’s Zach LaVine in last year’s contest.

— Indianapolis Star

Pacers having rebounding problems

Here’s the Indianapolis Star with some insight on the Pacers, whose lack of size is probably hurting their ability to rebound the ball:

Roy Hibbert, David West, Andrew Bynum. None of those Indiana Pacers’ trees of yesteryear will come striding through the Bankers Life Fieldhouse doors anytime soon — at least not in a Pacers uniform.

But the truth is any one of them could help this team in one of their biggest areas of need: rebounding.

Entering Friday, the Pacers are 23rd in the league in total rebounding — averaging 42.3 per game — and have been out-worked on the glass in 10 of 12 games. That’s led to a differential of minus-4.7 per contest, the fourth lowest ratio in the league.

It should not come as much of a surprise to the Pacers or their fans that Indiana has struggled to pull down missed shots. With team President Larry Bird’s offseason emphasis on making this team a sleeker, faster unit, the roster was hit with an almost inevitable consequence.

Players got small. According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the Pacers entered the season the third-shortest team in the league.

Pacers sign Ben Bentil

The Indiana Pacers have signed 6-9 free agent forward Ben Bentil to a contract.

Bentil, who played collegiately at Providence, was a second-round pick (51st overall) of the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Pacers this season are built around guards Jeff Teague, Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey, forwards Paul George and Thaddeus Young, and centers Myles Turner and Al Jefferson. George is the big star of the group.

Pacers waive Jeremy Evans and Julyan Stone

The Indiana Pacers on Sunday waived 6-9 forward Jeremy Evans and 6-6 guard Julyan Stone.

Evans appeared in two preseason games and did not score.

Stone played in five games, scoring one point while averaging two rebounds per game.

The Pacers’ roster now stands at 15.

Pacers exercise option on Myles Turner contract

The Indiana Pacers exercised their team option on center Myles Turner’s contract for the 2017-18 season.

This was an expected move. Turner is one of the team’s main young building blocks.

The 6-foot-11, 243-pound Turner averaged 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game last season as a rookie.

Pacers sign Kevin Seraphin and Nick Zeisloft

The Pacers signed veteran free agent forward/center Kevin Seraphin and rookie guard Nick Zeisloft today.

The 26-year-old Seraphin, 6-10, 278, was a first-round pick (17th overall) of the Chicago Bulls in the 2010 NBA Draft. Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, France, Seraphin was traded to Washington in July, 2010, and played with the Wizards for five seasons before playing with the New York Knicks last season. He has career averages of 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Zeisloft, 6-4, 185, played last season at Indiana where he averaged 6.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.