The Indiana Pacers took the Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern conference finals last season and after adding back David West along with Chris Copeland and Luis Scola in the offseason, the team is now the number one threat to the Miami Heat in the East as they try for their third straight NBA title.
The Pacers made a number of additions to the team to get better, including bringing back David West and adding Luis Scola in a trade and they also have Danny Granger in their pocket as well after he was out all last season. The team now has deep playoff experience and after making the Heat look very bad at times last season, they may be ready to overtake them in the East. Granger has been an All-Star in the past and if he can get back to that caliber of a player, the Pacers will be very hard to defeat.
The Pacers made some big moves in the offseason to get better and they got rid of a number of players, including D.J. Augustin, Tyler Hansbrough and Sam Young and now they have added back West and Scola. The deal with the Suns was a long time coming for the Pacers, as they liked Scola back when he played for the Rockets in Houston. The team traded away Gerald Green, center Miles Plumlee and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick and they feel that they got the full better end of the trade since they added Scola.
Plumlee was previously a first round pick that didn't factor into things last season and now the Pacers are clearly stronger than they were last season while playing the Heat. Danny Granger was out of commission all season and the team still was successful, so a trade could help the team by getting them something in return, but him staying also helps, as he was the team's leading scorer before getting hurt and while they made it far without him, having Granger is a positive for the Pacers.
Scola comes to the team as one of the most durable players in the league, as he has played in all 82 games five out of six seasons in the league and he comes over after averaging 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds with the Suns last season. He played five years with the Rockets and has career averages of 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and his addition is another blow to the Miami Heat, as the Pacers were very close to beating them last season.
The Scola deal comes after the team decided to sign David West back to for three years and $36.6 million and adds him to a frontcourt that already had Roy Hibbert as well. The Pacers signed CJ Leslie as a backup and bringing back West was a priority for the franchise as they moved forward in the offseason. The 32-year-old is one of the most consistent forwards in the NBA and he has developed into a true team player for the Pacers.