Indiana Pacers

Vegas Over/Under: 31.5

The Record Projection: 30-52 of fromal The Bet: Avoid but lean under
Spoiler alert: Losing Paul George is a major thing.
According to NBA Math’s total points added (TPA) metric, the haul–if you can call it –brought back couldn’t quite match his creation throughout the 2016-17 season. Whereas the superstar small forward ended with 150.42 TPA, Victor Oladipo (minus-58.86 TPA) and Domantas Sabonis (minus-159.61) fell a bit short.
Of course, the Pacers bought into these youngsters for their long term potential. They should improve during the 2017-18 campaign, and the same is true of Myles Turner, who’s a solid bet to become a first-time All-Star during the upcoming season. This roster does have some upside, especially when factoring in Cory Joseph and T.J. Leaf.
But is that enough to overcome the departures of both George and C.J. Miles? Probably not, which explains exactly why a steep dropoff ought to be expected after the Pacers somehow exceeded expectations to complete with a 42-40 record .
These players will all be studying in featured characters, and losses will occur quite often. But that is not a bad thing. Let the up-and-comers grow, maximize the capacity of draft choices during the 2018 prospect pageant and reap the benefits in the future.