Its a case of the rich getting richer, as the Indiana Pacers, who are currently leading the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a 20-5 record will get another weapon back in their lineup on Friday with the return of former all-star Danny Granger.
While Granger has been fully cleared to play, and has been undergoing full practices with the team all week, the Pacers plan to ease Granger back into the lineup, bringing him in off the bench and are planning on giving him around 15 – 20 minutes per game.
“There’s no way to simulate the game intensity, game adrenaline so I’m sure that’ll feel differently for him and there’s going to be an adjustment period while he gets used to that again,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after practice on Thursday.
Granger has been working at both the shooting guard and small forward positions and is expected to see time at both wing spots in the Pacers rotation. In his last healthy season, 2011-12, Granger averaged 18.7 Points Per Game in 33.3 minutes per game. His best season was 2008-09 when he averaged 25.8 points per game.
Granger has been out since straining his left calf on October 18th. Due to a back injury, he played just five games last season. In his absence, Paul George and Roy Hibbert have emerged as the leaders of the Pacers and helped the team become one of the best in the NBA. How Granger adjusts to his new role on the team, and how the team adjusts to him will be interesting things to watch this season. In an ideal scenario, Granger would team with George to give the Pacers a second big-time scoring option, and ensure there is little to no drop off when George needs to go to the bench. If he doesn’t mess with the offense, the fact that Granger has an expiring contract is an asset to the Pacers as they could use him as trade bait come the deadline.
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