Surprising overachievers each of the past two seasons, the Indiana Pacers tip off the 2019-20 season Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Detroit Pistons as contenders to win a wide-open Eastern Conference.
The loss of All-Star Paul George in the 2017 offseason elicited preseason projections of an Indiana team near the cellar in the Central division. But the emergence of swingman Victor Oladipo as an All-Star powered the Pacers to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18, a feat they duplicated last year.
Last season's run came with Oladipo sidelined for 46 games with a quadriceps injury. Despite a return to 5-on-5 practices on Oct. 18, the two-time All-Star -- who last played on Jan. 23 -- will not be available for the season opener.
The Pistons will also be missing a star, as the team announced Tuesday that six-time All-Star Blake Griffin will miss the start of the season due to hamstring and knee soreness. Griffin will likely miss several games, with the team saying he will be re-evaluated in the first week of November.
Indiana opens with much of the young corps that kept things going down the stretch last season. The interior duo of center Myles Turner and forward Domantas Sabonis made considerable career strides in 2018-19.
Turner averaged 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and an NBA-best 2.7 blocked shots per game. Sabonis, who just signed a contract extension on Monday, registered career-highs of 14.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Both are just 23 years old.
The addition of steady 3-point shooting wing Malcolm Brogdon from divisional rival Milwaukee helps offset the Pacers' most noteworthy roster loss from a season ago, Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic signed with Utah in the offseason after putting up 18 points per game in Indiana.
Adding Brogdon, a career 40.8 percent 3-point shooter, promises to bolster an already-dangerous lineup from deep that ranked fifth in the NBA from behind the arc a season ago. That stands in stark contrast to opening-night opponent Detroit, which tied Oklahoma City for the worst 3-point shooting percentage among playoff teams in 2018-19.
