Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 27 – NBA Blog

As good as they are playing, Pacers can still use Danny Granger

The Indiana Pacers are off to a fantastic start, and have a solid bench this season, but there’s always room for Danny Granger’s services once he’s healthy. Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

Granger was supposed to battle with Lance Stephenson — who had a breakout campaign while Granger was absent for most last season — for the fifth and final starting spot before the calf injury. But Stephenson is off to a strong start and his leaving the starting lineup appears less and less likely. The Pacers also appear to have plenty of depth.

But Vogel said he won’t have any problem finding playing time for Granger when he returns.

“He’s going to be another perimeter threat for us,” Vogel said. “We need his veteran’s savvy, we need his big-play ability. He’s a winning player.”

Granger, who has played his entire eight-plus year NBA career with the Pacers, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Danny Granger should be back at practice soon for Pacers

The 8-0 Indiana Pacers are off to a great start, and their depth should only increase soon. Here’s the Indianapolis Star:

After Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger shot down reports about a setback with his surgically repaired left knee, coach Frank Vogel repeated Monday that the veteran will return to the practice court this week.

“I still think it’s going to be a new beginning of a process to get his game legs back under him and his game timing,” Vogel said before the Pacers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “So I’m not sure when his return date will be, but he’ll start practicing.”

The Pacers will not have a full practice today, so Granger, who is entering the final week of what was expected to be approximately a three-week absence with a calf strain, will participate in individual work and possibly 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games. By Wednesday, Granger and the Pacers should be back to full practicing.

Pacers forward Danny Granger out 3 weeks

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger will miss approximately three weeks as he rehabilitates a strained left calf injury sustained in the preseason.The length of time is a precautionary measure as the team wants to ensure Granger is physically ready to play in light of missing all but five games last season due to his knee injury. The rehabilitation time is strictly related to the calf injury.

Hopefully Granger finally returns for the Pacers and is able to contribute regularly from that point on.

According to the Pacers.com blog, “What we know for sure now is that Lance Stephenson will start for the immediate future, and probably for the rest of the season. Coach Frank Vogel stated early in training camp that Granger would start if healthy. More recently, he said Granger would be given starting opportunities once healthy to see how it worked. Given the uncertainty of Granger’s availability, Vogel might decide to stick with Granger in a reserve role, where any uncertainty surrounding him would have less impact. If the Pacers open the season well with Stephenson in the starting lineup, why change?”

Indiana Pacers release Hilton Armstrong

The Indiana Pacers announced Saturday they have released forward/center Hilton Armstrong.

The Pacers’ roster now stands at 14 players.

With the NBA regular season starting on Tuesday, teams around the league are trimming their rosters down to 15 players or less.

Danny Granger banged up, but hopefully back somewhat soon

Well, Danny Granger is banged up again. But it’s minor, hopefully. And not directly related to the stuff that kept him out for a long time. Hopefully. And the good news is, the Pacers are a talented team with a nice bench, so they can afford to be patient. Here’s Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star:

Danny Granger’s return to the Indiana Pacers likely will be delayed a bit longer — although no one knows exactly how long.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after practice Thursday that the strained calf suffered by Granger last week is worse than previously thought and he doubts the former All-Star forward will play in the team’s regular-season opener against Orlando on Tuesday.

“There’s a chance he could play (against the Magic), but it’s probably unlikely,” Vogel said.

Granger did not play in Tuesday’s 107-89 preseason victory at Atlanta and will not play Friday night in the Pacers’ preseason finale at Dallas. He missed all but five games last season because of a knee injury.

George Hill hurts ankle in preseason loss to Rockets

The goal in every NBA preseason game is to escape without a player sustaining an injury.

Even in a setting on Sunday when the Indiana Pacers finished their Global Games with an exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan – while entertaining a voracious crowd ranked high for the basketball ambassadors, knees and ankles still mattered more.

During the Pacers’ 107-98 loss to the Houston Rockets at the Taipei Arena, point guard George Hill collided with Roy Hibbert during a third quarter play and grabbed at his ankle. Head coach Frank Vogel described Hill’s injury as a mild ankle sprain.

Paul George led the Pacers with 19 points while backup forward Danny Granger, recovering from knee surgery, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in his most productive preseason performance.

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star

Solomon Hill getting great experience buying lotion for Pacer teammates

First-year Pacers forward Solomon Hill has impressed head coach Frank Vogel as a “proven” player on the court, but to his teammates, he’s still a rookie — which makes Hill an errand boy.

Through the first week of training camp, center Roy Hibbert would often shout “Hey, Rook!” and dutifully, Hill would heed the command to bring the veteran a bottle of water. Even off the court, the rookie duties have continued.

“Hasn’t been anything too serious yet,” Hill said. “It hasn’t been too bad. Nothing too crazy. Get video games.”

“Grab towels for the guys, you know, some guys want certain lotions.”

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Blog)

Pacers forward Luis Scola discusses his love of travel

“I like traveling a lot,” said Scola, who spent much of the summer player for Argentina in Venezuela. “I think it’s fun. You get a chance to see new countries and do what a lot of people pay a lot of money to do and do it for free. We’re actually getting paid for doing this. I think it’s great. It’s one of the best things about basketball. And every time you go to a new place … it’s a fact there is a lot of stuff we didn’t see because we’re flying, we’re playing, we’re practicing, we’re doing media, we’re doing events and a lot of things. There is always a good chance to come back and do all the stuff we couldn’t do because we were playing.

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Blog)

Danny Granger will have important role on Pacers, whether he starts or not

Although Lance Stephenson walked out on the floor with the starters on Saturday night, Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel has not yet settled on his top five.

“Obviously, if Danny Granger comes back to the level that he was playing at before, then he’s our starter and it’s going to be an exciting group, and Lance comes in and gives us some spark off the bench,” Vogel said. “But look, there’s a lot of different ways that you can use guys, and I haven’t made any final decisions.”

San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili and James Harden, during his time with Oklahoma City, set the precedent of sixth men who play major minutes and finish games. If Granger were to remain on the bench, he would play a similar role.

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star

C.J. Watson looks like solid addition for Pacers

C.J. Watson seems like great fit for Pacers

C.J. Watson has spent nearly his entire professional career coming off the bench so when the Indiana Pacers told him that likely would be his role if he accepted their free-agency offer last summer, he was fine with it.

Yet, Watson also knew the Pacers were crying out for help at point guard. Even if he didn’t start, substantial playing time could be had on a team in which starting point guard George Hill often resembles a shooter and scorer as much as a distributor.

“D.J. (Augustin, the Pacers’ previous backup now in Toronto) still played a lot last year,” said Watson, who signed a two-year, $4.1 million contract after spending last season with the Brooklyn Nets. “That was a good thing for me to see, knowing I could help this team.”

After the first few days of training camp, coach Frank Vogel sounds more convinced than ever he will do just that.

Reported by Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star