Danny

Granger

“We feel like he can play in the backcourt and hopefully (first-round pick) Shawne (Williams) will grow and we’ll be able to play those two guys together at the two and three (positions) or maybe three and four,” assistant coach Chuck Person said. Granger should be a starter for the Pacers this season, giving him decent fantasy value in the process.

Granger is now signed through the 2007-2008 season. If they didn’t pick up his option, he could have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. Granger is expected to start this season and play an integral role in the Pacers offense.

Most of the team’s younger players are expected to attend. It should be a good way for a young team to aid in the building of chemistry during the work stoppage, and it’ll be interesting to get a rundown of all the players who wind up participating to chart any noticeable absences from the list.

This echoes a similar sentiment from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski from months ago, when he identified both West and Carl Landry as potential fits for the Pacers. Josh McRoberts is an unrestricted free agent, and the Pacers likely aren’t sold on a full-time role for Tyler Hansbrough. West’s addition would give the team a serious force in the pick and roll game, and his addition would really benefit both Danny Granger and Darren Collison.

Granger sounds excited about the Pacers’ future, and pointed out that in their first-round playoff loss to the Bulls the Pacers relied upon rookie Paul George, sophomores Tyler Hansbrough and Darren Collison, and Roy Hibbert. He acknowledged his team’s difficulty executing their offense in crunch time and admitted that he sometimes loses sight of his man on defense -- the entire interview is honest and accurate, and well worth reading.

Granger was terrible tonight, stifled by Gerald Wallace and the Nets’ surprisingly solid defense. He should get back on track against the Wizards on Thursday.

Granger is rolling along and exceeding expectations right now.

Granger quietly silenced the doubters with third-round value on the season, averaging 18.9 points, 2.0 threes, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks after tonight’s action.

Hill will direct the team going forward with Darren Collison (groin) questionable to return for the start of the playoffs, unless Frank Vogel rests guys with home court advantage locked up in the first round. Hill is a must-start player until further notice. Danny Granger added 29 points in the win.

In crunch time, Granger missed an easy shot at the basket, choked on some free throws, and traveled. Indiana as a team didn’t score a single point in the final four minutes of the game, echoing a criticism that has hounded them all year -- they don’t have any players capable of being ‘The Man’ in pressure situations.