A lot happens each week with the Pacers and it’s not easy to stay on top of it. Introducing a new weekly feature, Pacers Last Week, which should help keep you up-to-date on all things Pacers.
The regular season is 10 days away!
- Rookie Ike Anigbogu participated in a team scrimmage for the first time since being drafted 47th overall in June. He’s still rehabbing from a tweak to his left knee suffered during his pre-draft workout in Indy.
- Damien Wilkins was thrusted into the second unit, earning Glenn Robinson III’s minutes as he rehabs a severe ankle sprain).
- In the annual GM survey conducted by NBA.com, Myles Turner tied with Kristaps Porzingis for the second-most votes to have a breakout season behind Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Hall of Famer Reggie Miller spent nearly a week in Indy. It’s unclear why with the team out of town. But he did several Instagram Live’s from Monument Circle with his son.
- NBA announced changes to the All-Star game, ditching East vs. West for playground type of team selections. Also, the two teams will be playing for charity.
- They won preseason game No. 1 in Milwaukee, 104-86.
- Country star Garth Brooks took over Bakers Life Fieldhouse for five sold-out concerts that left even casual music fans raving about the show.
- Pacers named Jerry Baker, the first radio voice of the team, as the new public address announcer.
- Between games in Milwaukee and Cleveland, the team practice at Marquette University on Thursday.
- My podcast with Mad Ants General Manager Brian Levy and coach Steve Gansey went live.
- NBA announced rule changes for the G League. They will experiment with four-person officiating crews during the preseason and November regular season games. The playoff format is also different. It’ll be a four-round, 12-team playoff format. Overtime periods will be two minutes, down from three. Coaches are allowed one challenge (fouls called, goaltending/basket interference and out-of-bounds calls) per game.
- Rule changes and tests in the G League should be interesting because it serves as a testing ground for the NBA. Some work, some don’t. This is another payoff of having a development league.
- Victor Oladipo released his first album.
- Is Glenn Robinson III next?
- They won preseason game No. 2 in Cleveland, 106-102.
- I wrote about Pacers officials picking up the fourth-year option in Myles Turner’s rookie deal for the 2018-19 season.
- Nate McMillan won’t play most of the starters. In fact, Darren Collison (for about 12 minutes) will be the only one Monday night in Detroit so that they can give the younger guys an opportunity. Don’t worry, though. The normal starters will play Tuesday in the team’s only home preseason game.
- Glenn Robinson III, who suffered a severe ankle sprain, is now walking but with a noticeable limp.
Glenn Robinson III (left high ankle sprain) walking with a significant limp pic.twitter.com/2vQfBiUv22
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) October 8, 2017