3. Will Indiana’s revamped bench make the expected impact? Optimism is prevelant in nearly every area of the Pacers this offseason, but the biggest concern lies in the team’s moribund bench. After all, it was this time last 
season the bench moves were just good enough to work and gave the Pacers just the extra push it needed.
The loss of Granger hurt the bench dynamic – possibly beyond repair – but so too did the overwhelming ineptitude of Gerald Green and D.J. Augustin, the lack of night-to-night reliability from Tyler Hansbrough and the need to get more out of Sam Young and Ian Mahinmi than either were capable of.
But last season’s bench was a collection of if guys. If Augustin is a Darren Collison type who can pass. If Green’s career year in New Jersey wasn’t just him posting glory in garbage time. If Granger is a go by the All-Star break.
With the exception of Chris Copeland’s rookie campaign (which unlike Augustin and Green, came on a winning team that advanced in the playoffs), the Pacers have built their bench around a collection of because guys. Luis Scola will work out because he has shown a high level of play on good teams. C.J. Watson will be a solid backup at the point because he has been a key asset for playoff teams in the past.
Even simply being reliable with somewhat disappointing seasons for guys like Scola and Watson gives coach Frank Vogel and his staff so much extra leeway when it comes to using the starters in less demanding fashion, whether starting Granger and allowing Stephenson to run an up-tempo offense as a direct contrast to the starters’ grind-it-out style or using Granger in a leading role off the bench as a primary scorer.
4. Is Danny Granger actually a viable option in his return? While Indiana’s bench expects to see a lot of improvement on its own, the biggest tipping point in Indiana’s goals will be whether Granger can return to provide some much needed shooting. Granger returning in February was supposed to be the most important deadline move (short of Derrick Rose returning), but after five games, Granger couldn’t continue, ending his season.
There are valid concerns about what Granger will look like when he returns after surgery, but the Pacers aren’t in need of him to lead the team. It allows them to figure out different ways to use him, whether the team opts to start him or bring him off the bench. There shouldn’t be much concern about Granger not being game for whatever role he has 
thrown his way, nor should there be any current concerns about the Pacers trading him.
Granger is far more valuable to Indiana as an expiring contract that can help the Pacers win right now than he is as a trade piece. Indiana would almost assuredly move forward with George and Stephenson on freshly minted deals than a pile of worthless contracts clogging up talks with Stephenson. It makes for a key season, not only for Granger but also for Indiana in expecting to be the most complete team it may field.
5. Can the Pacers evolve into a nightly threat? Despite a 4-7 start last season (including 1-6 on the road) and still sitting below .500 on Dec. 9, the Pacers never lost more than three in a row. At the same time, Indiana never eclipsed five consecutive wins. The Pacers have aspirations of hosting Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, so both of those numbers will have to improve.
While Indiana proved to be lethal on nights they were keyed in and focused – particular in games against Miami and Chicago – the team often had a string of off nights, clanking their way to some poor losses. While the defense saved them on a lot of nights, there is still plenty of room for improvement in the win/loss column.
This is a “taking care of business” regular season for the Pacers, so every game will carry importance to get them where they want to be heading into the playoffs. It will take a lot of extra focus not to slip up on those cold January nights against bad teams who play up to Indiana.
Nathan Samples is the editor for SB Nation’s Indy Cornrows, an Indiana Pacers blog. He can be found on Twitter @plusnathan.
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