Spud. One of the true characters of the NLL, has come across to the NSL and put together an interesting squad for the 2019/20 season. 

Any team that has the pillars of Victor Olidipo and Marvin Bagley is going to be successful in any league. The only problem is they are both injured. Victor quite seriously. He is the franchise player for the Spuds Pacers, so they will not be rushing him back. However, picks like Gasol, Barnes, Chandler and Tucker and a salary of upwards of $120 Million suggest that The Pacers want to win now. Can they do that? Let’s have a look.

In an ideal world, Spud would roll with the line-up of Bledsoe, Dipo, Barnes, Bagley & Zeller. That’s very solid indeed. By no means the best starting 5 in the league. But very solid. Then you throw in off the bench. Tucker, Green, McConnell, Gasol, Waiters and you have a really deep squad that is good on both ends of the floor. 

Spud hasn’t filled his squad with names that necessarily jump off the page at you. But he has put together a very solids squad, that in an Eastern Conference that isn’t as strong as its counterpart in the West, could do some damage. 

The cherry on top is the young Rookie, DeAndre Hunter. The 7^th pick in the Rookie draft, he will add immediate defence and hustle. He can give spud some very reliable minutes off the bench at a very cheap salary for the next 4 years. His offence is going to be inconsistent, but he wont be called upon much for that, as this squad has more than enough weapons. 

The squad is great. Will the be healthy? Bagley will be back in around a months time. Dipo is the big question mark. When will he return? And will he get back to his best. Spud is going to have to work hard in the opening few months of the season to keep this ship straight until his stars return. He has the depth and the smarts and experience to make it happen. Lets next have a look at their division and what impact that will have on their season. 

The Central Division in the East looks like a bit of a mixed bag. The Bulls with Davis and Wall and Kuzma would be a big threat, however Wall is out the entire season. They have Randle and Sweet Lou, which makes them lethal on the offensive end. However, if Dip can come back fit I think Spud will like his chances of finishing above The Bulls. 

The Cavs are an interesting squad. Jokic and an ever improving Brodgon are nice pieces however I am not sure the depth is there. Pencil the Pacers in to finish above them too. 

The Bucks are super exciting but super young. A team led by Zach LaVine and Zion is as fun as it gets. But they are so raw. This isn’t there season to be competing. The Pacers will finish above them too.

Finally we have the Pistons. Sheed reunited with his man Blake Griffin. Blake and Kyrie, two superstars, two injury prone careers. Sheeds season will probably be determined in the medical room. Even healthy, I’m not sure there is enough there for the Pistons to finish above Spud and the Pacers.

Central Division Predictions 

Indiana

Chicago 

Detroit

Milwaukee 

Cleveland

There you have it, my predictions for the division. Maybe I am bias because I am writing about the Pacers and if I was writing about The Bulls perhaps I would have them on top. But I think the Pacers are a legit shot to win the division. Pending Dipo’s fitness. 

If they can win their division, which in the East looks like one of the stronger ones, that will put them in a good position to make a deep run at the Eastern Conference. Spud himself is a very experienced GM. He has been doing this for a number of years. So he will have plenty of tricks up his sleeve to cover the loss of Victor.

Transactions

As far as trades go. Indiana have been relatively quiet. One big trade went down. They moved Rozier to The Wizards for TJ MConnell and a first. Spud might have seen Rozier has a little bit of excess with Bledsoe in town. He got a decent back up for him and a what looks like a late first and shed some salary. Rozier is getting paid a lot to do not much in the NBA, so it might have been a sensible deal for Spud. Other than that, it has been all quiet on the transaction front. Including singing no Free Agents the other day. 

Forecast

I think I’ve fallen in love with The Pacers as ive written this article. The have a nice starting  when healthy. A Solid bench. A crafty GM. Ticking a lot of boxes. 

Victor Oladipo (knee) has gone through two, 5-on-5 practices and he will be re-evaluated in "about a month," according to head coach Nate McMillan.

Oladipo still hasn't been cleared for working out multiple days in a row, but he continues to make progress in his recovery from a brutal injury. He'll be re-evaluated in a month, but we're still not expecting him back until December at the earliest. He might not give you much until after the All-Star break, so those stashing him will need to be very patient this season.

 Dipo could be back in December. Which would be huge. In the NSL. Once he is back, he is back. No Minutes restrictions or bringing him back slowly. Which is a huge benefit to an NSL GM over an NBA GM.

Lock it in. Pacers to win their division and finish top 4 in the East. Good luck to Spud and all the Pacers fans this season. It should be a fun ride. Go Get em!