While a healthy Danny Granger undoubtedly makes an already stacked Indiana team even scarier, some outsiders are concerned that his presence will stunt the growth of Paul George. George, however, doesn't see things that way. “Even my second year in the league and my rookie year, we were still able to play off one another,” George told Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. “I didn’t have as big of a role as I do now, but we still did a good job playing off one another.” Here's more out of Indiana..
- With the addition of Luis Scola, the Pacers might have the best team in the Eastern Conference, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Indiana managed to reach the conference finals and take the Heat to seven games last season despite having a weak bench and any upgrade to that unit goes a long way for them.
- Scola will definitely help the Pacers, but the offense-driven games of the veteran forward and newly-signed guard Chris Copeland give Zach Lowe of Grantland (via Twitter) some pause. The deal for Scola is expected to be finalized today.
- George, who has said that he wants to stay with the Pacers long-term, feels that talks are going well and both sides are on the same page, writes Scott Agness of NBA.com.