The Pacers tip-off their 2014-15 campaign Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Already, the team is dealing with numerous injuries that’ll force head coach Frank Vogel and his staff to shuffle the lineups for at least the first few weeks.
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird spoke with reporters Tuesday after practice and discussed a number of topics ahead of the new season.
On the injuries:
I thought they looked pretty sharp, and then all of a sudden the injuries started. It jolted us a little bit but we’ve got to get through this period until the guys get back.
On Paul George:
I think Paul will probably be out all year. We don’t know yet, but it looks that way.
On Paul’s progress:
That means nothing. He’s got a rod in his leg holding that bone together and it’s got to heal. Looks good against his dog and when he’s standing out there in front of you guys he looks pretty good. Other than that, he don’t do nothing.
On what are reasonable expectations for this team:
I felt that we have a legitimate chance to get into the playoffs but we’ll see what happens. That’s still our goal and we’ll fight towards that goal. I think it’s important for our franchise to get in the playoffs every year. And then we regroup when Paul gets back and go from there.
On looking outside for help:
If we do, we have to cut someone. We got 15 players on our roster. Paul counts as one of the players so somebody’s got a go — so it’s got to be in a trade.
On how active they’ll be looking for players with the future in mind:
Yeah, we always look two or three years down the road, too. Our goal is to do whatever we can to get into the playoffs, but you don’t want to do anything to hurt us in the near future, either. We’ll take a look as we go along, and if we feel something is out there that we need or will make us better, we’ll do it.
Larry Bird and George Hill after a practice last month.
On Roy Hibbert and possibly needing more from him on the offensive end:
We’re not putting a lot of weight on Roy’s shoulders because that’s not the type of player he is.
On who has stood out to him:
George Hill is awesome. Awesome training camp. Every day. Not once a week. Every day he was good.
On what he expects from George Hill when he returns from injury:
I think he’s going to be aggressive, I think he’s going to attack. I think he’s going to get players involved and it looks like he worked on his shot all summer and he’s making shots. I just think he’s a better all-around player right now.
On weighing the present and the future when Paul is back:
Exactly. That’s exactly what we’re thinking. And every day we sit up there and go over the players in the league, guys we think will be available, guys who are going to be available next year, and how we get this thing back on track as quick as we possible.