The Indiana Pacers are coming into the 2013-14 NBA season with very high expectations after taking the Miami Heat to seven games in the eastern conference finals last postseason and now the team will start off the year as the NBA opener with a game against the Orlando Magic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday starting at 8 pm and TV will be handled by Fox Sports Indiana.
The team returns with a veteran squad of young stars like Roy Hibbert, David West and Paul George and the team is expecting to improve after trading for Luis Scola, who the front office had coveted for many years. The team should be very strong up front and that is one reason why they should be able to challenge Miami in the east and on Tuesday night they will be favored in the opening matchup of the season. The home TV broadcast will be on Fox Sports Indiana and will have Chris Denari and Quinn Buckner, while the radio will be handed by FM 107.5 The Fan and should be a nice matchup for fans to check out for the first game of the season.
The Pacers were one of the most consistent teams in the NBA last season and it showed in the playoffs, as they were able to advance to seven games against the eventual champion Miami Heat. This season the team should be even stronger with Danny Granger returning and while he may not be ready for the start of the season, the team knows that Lance Stephenson can step up for him, which is exactly what he did last year while breaking out for head coach Frank Vogel.
Last season the team won the division with a 49-32 record and while they went 13-3 against the Central last year, things should be much tougher this time around, as the Chicago Bulls have Derrick Rose back and the Detroit Pistons are coming in with Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings after acquiring them in the offseason. The Pacers obviously made their own moves with letting Tyler Hansbrough go and bringing back West while also getting Scola and now they could be the team that knocks off the Miami Heat in the division.
Paul George is a budding superstar and he will be coming back as the leading scorer with 17 points power game, while Hibbert comes back as the leading rebounder and he has developed into one of the best players in the league at his position. The two teams last played back in March and the Pacers were able to win the game by over 20 points against the Magic, with Paul George leading the team in scoring. The Pacers and the Magic will be playing on Tuesday night at 7 pm.