The Indiana Pacers were eliminated 4-1 in their first-round 2011 NBA Playoffs series against the top-seed Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. But in the Pacers' first postseason since 2006, there were real signs of hope for the future, and cause for optimism. Rick Wagner of SB Nation's Indy Cornrows discusses the positives taken from the series.
Hope Springs For Indiana Pacers Fans Despite Loss To Chicago Bulls
What if Coach Frank Vogel had a full off-season to prepare and get these guys going, what if this group had played as they did in this series all year. Regardless of the ups and downs this team took all of us through, they ended the season with a sense of excitement and optimism looking forward.
After all the criticism Larry Bird receives by us and others at times, he sits in his chair with a solid young coach, solid young core (with multiple "questionable" draft picks), and a ton of money to work with in the off-season. If he returns, he can play with the money he created, and if not, he has put the this franchise in a great position moving forward.
Indy Cornrows’ Tom Lewis also discusses why this offseason should be filled with intrigue for the Pacers.
Jamaal Tinsley will officially disappear from the team's salary cap, part of $30 million in cap space. Of course, that cap is subject to change, but regardless, the Pacers have five open roster spots with T.J. Ford, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts, Solomon Jones and Jeff Foster all heading onto the free agent market. Plus, A.J. Price has a non-guaranteed contract for next season so that puts six roster spots in play.
And so the offseason begins, but thanks to a fantastic showing in the playoffs, the Pacers have left us wanting more and looking forward to the next stage in the development of the young core players that came up so big under the bright lights of their first playoff experience.
It’s still not certain as to whether Bird will return; a decision on the front office will likely be followed by a decision on Vogel. Indiana is one of the teams losing money under the current collective bargaining agreement, so how revenue sharing is handling under the new deal will go a long way toward determining how much the Pacers could spend in free agency.
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