Category: Indiana Pacers Blog

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that rookies Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson will join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for two games this weekend. This is the first time the Pacers have assigned players to their NBA D-League affiliate.

Plumlee, a 6-10, 245-pound center/forward who was the Pacers’ first-round pick last June (26th overall), has played in four games this season, scoring four points and pulling down five rebounds. Johnson, a 6-5 guard who was a second-round pick that the Pacers acquired from Sacramento on draft night, has played in two games, but hasn’t scored.

“We could not be happier to have Miles and Orlando join our team for these first two games,” said Mad Ants head coach Duane Ticknor.  “We think we can provide both players a great opportunity to improve their games, and I am excited for this watershed moment in our partnership with the Pacers.”

Fort Wayne hosts Erie Friday night and Maine Sunday. The two players will re-join the Pacers for their three-game western road trip next week.

Danny Granger injury update: The news is bad

The Indiana Pacers announced that Danny Granger received an injection Tuesday to treat left patellar tendinosis.  The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Team medical personnel are looking at a recovery time of approximately three months. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.

According to the Associated Press, “Without Granger, the Pacers will be searching for offense to offset his loss. Granger averaged 18.3 points per game last season and led Indiana to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He has led the team in scoring the past five seasons. Gerald Green had started at forward in Granger’s absence before coach Frank Vogel turned to Sam Young this week.”

The Indiana Pacers announced Tuesday that forward Danny Granger has continued soreness in his left knee and will be out indefinitely.

He will get a second opinion and once that is received an update will be provided.

Granger in the playoffs last season averaged 17.0  points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, though he shot just 39.7% from the field.

In the regular season for 2011-12, he averaged 18.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 1.8 apg while shooting 41.6% FG.

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The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have exercised the team option on forward/guard Paul George for the 2013-14 season. George will be entering his third season with the team.

It’s a no-brainer that the team would hang onto George. This was a completely expected move.

The Pacers also announced Monday that center Luke Nevill along with guards Sundiata Gaines and Blake Ahearn have been released, putting the Pacers’ roster at 15. Nevill saw limited game action in two games, scoring one basket. Gaines also played in two games, scoring four points, and Ahearn played in three games, scoring five points.

The Pacers close out the preseason this week with games at Cleveland Tuesday night and at South Bend, IN, Friday night against the Chicago Bulls. They will open the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 31, at Toronto, visit Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 2 and have the home opener in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Saturday, Nov. 3, against the Sacramento Kings.

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger is just like the rest of his teammates during most of practice.

He stretches with them and takes part in the same drills and scrimmages. But there comes a point in every practice when Granger makes his way to the sideline and becomes a spectator.

That’s because the Pacers continue to limit Granger’s practice time to avoid any flare-ups with his left knee.

“It is frustrating,” Granger said. “I’m just glad we still have plenty of time before the first game (on Oct. 31). I’m still conditioned, and when I’m on the court, my wind isn’t that bad.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer the past five seasons, will be limited some at the start of training camp after an issue with his left knee, which happened while working out in Los Angeles late in the summer, caused him to get an injection in it.  Granger’s at the fieldhouse working out with the rest of his teammates daily, but the Pacers, who don’t believe it’s a major issue, plan to take it easy with him early on and allow him to use the preseason to work on his conditioning. Granger’s expected to play in some of the preseason games.

I ran into forward David West in the building and immediately noticed that he spent a lot of time in the offseason toning up his upper body.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (Blog)

The Indiana Pacers announced Tuesday the signing of free agents Luke Nevill and Ben Hansbrough to contracts. We presume these are training camp deals.

Nevill is a 7-2 center out of the University of Utah (2009). He was the Mountain West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Since then, he has played in the NBA D-League with the Utah Flash and overseas in Australia and Russia.

Hansbrough is the younger brother of Pacers’ forward Tyler Hansbrough. The 6-3 guard played at Notre Dame (2011) where he was the Big East Player of the Year in 2010-11. He spent last season playing in Europe and was a member of the Pacers’ Summer League team in Orlando this past July.