Many speeches have already surrounded the planned return of the NBA season – from the cornavirus pandemic to the social justice that players choose not to play.
While all of these things are important to the Indiana Pacers, they are primarily focused on basketball.
“The main reason we are playing is because the kids want to win,” they watch / advance Justin Holiday he said, via the Indianapolis Star. “If you get on that plane, no matter what you’re thinking about before you get to that game, and someone hits you in the mouth, you won’t back down.”
The Pacers are among the 22 teams that hit Orlando this week for the return of the season, scheduled for July 30th. Their first rehearsal is Saturday at the NW Pavilion from 1pm to 4pm EST.
They are also among the teams that will miss a key player – as a star guard Victor Oladipo opted for an effort to stay healthy. He appeared in just 13 games before the break after undergoing knee surgery last season.
“As a competitor and teammate this is tearing me apart” Oladipo told Shams Charania about The Athletic. “But I really believe that continuing on the path I am following and becoming fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”
However, as was generally the case under the guidance Nate McMillanPacers believe in good things. They enter the second half with a record of 39-26 and draw with the Philadelphia 76ers for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
For the record, the Pacers are 32-20 in games without Oladipo this season.
And there are really many reasons to hope. Small ahead TJ Warren lead the team in scoring. Direct power Domantas Sabonis he was an All-Star. Malcolm Brogdon remains one of the underestimated guards of the league, Myles Turner a more than capable man in the middle.
“We were playing basketball well and didn’t have our whole list,” McMillan said of life before the break.
Now, however, things will be different.
The world has changed a bit since the NBA stopped the game in March. But the Pacers insist on being ready for when the ball starts bouncing again.
“It will be intense,” said Holiday. “You won’t know until you get there. I don’t see why the boys don’t go out to compete.”
Turner offered similar feelings.
“For us (the Pacers), I’m not worried,” he said. “As an NBA brotherhood, it will be bigger than basketball. We will have to be able to have an open dialogue and discussion outside of basketball.”
