Forward Clark Kellogg’s career was cut short by injuries, but boy could he play when he was healthy.  His best season for the Pacers was his rookie year in 1982-83.  Kellogg played in 81 games (all starts) as a rookie for the Pacers and he averaged 34.1 minutes, 20.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Kellogg played his whole NBA career with the Pacers (5 years) and he played in 260 games (241 starts) in which he averaged 32.7 minutes, 18.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  No telling how good Kellogg would have gotten if he could have just stayed healthy.

32-year old power forward David West is going to be one of the top three power forwards (Josh Smith and Paul Millsap are the others) available in free agency this summer, so he is going to have suitors other than the Pacers.  The Pacers are going to have to ante up if they want to keep him.  West played in 73 games (all starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  West has played in 139 games (all starts) in his two years with the Pacers and he is averaging 31.4 minutes, 15.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

The Pacers had their eyes on the prize in 2012-13, so they didn’t have much P.T. available for rookies.  24-year old shooting guard Orlando Johnson was the best of this bunch for the Pacers in 2012-13.  He played in 51 games (0 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  He had 4 games in which he scored at least 10 points and 4 games in which he had at least 5 rebounds in a game in 2012-13.  24-year old center Miles Plumlee spent most of his rookie year in the D-League.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 3.9 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Plumlee only shot 23.8% from the floor in this game.  25-year old Ben Hansbrough only played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 7.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He only shot 33.3% from the floor and 26.1% from three point range in 2012-13 for the Pacers.

39-year old Frank Vogel really coached up his Pacers in 2012-13, as they literally had the Miami Heat on the ropes before falling in Game #7.  The Pacers were 49-32 (60.5%) during the regular season and 11-8 (57.9%) under Vogel in 2012-13.  The Pacers are now 111-74 (60%) in the regular season in Vogel’s first three years in charge.  They are also 18-17 (51.4%) in the playoffs on Vogel’s watch.  The Pacers seem to go just a little bit further every year under Vogel.  If that happens again in 2013-14, they will be in the NBA Finals.

The Indiana Pacers finished the regular season as the Central Division Champs with a 49-32 record, 4.5 games better than the Chicago Bulls.  The Pacers then went 11-8 (57.9%) in the playoffs, as they beat the Hawks and Knicks before falling to the Heat in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Pacers in this 2012-13 season, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  Paul George - 23-year old small forward Paul George really stepped up his game in 2012-13.  He played in 79 games (all starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 37.6 minutes, 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  He had 23 double-doubles and 1 triple-double last year for the Pacers.  George scored 20 or more points in a game 34 times last year.  He also had 22 games with at least 10 rebounds, 26 games with at least 5 assists, 19 games with at least 3 steals and 4 games with at least 3 blocked shots last year.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Lance Stephenson - 23-year old shooting guard Lance Stephenson stepped into the starting lineup when Danny Granger was banged up (knee injury) for most of the 2012-13 season.  He played in 78 games (72 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He had 2 double-doubles last year.  Stephenson scored at least 10 points in 36 games last year.  He also had 26 games with 5 or more rebounds, 13 games with at least 5 assists and 6 games with at least 3 steals in 2012-13.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  D.J. Augustin - 25-year old point guard D.J. Augustin was signed last summer to play some big minutes at point guard….but that just didn’t work out too well.  Augustin played in 76 games (5 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 16.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  Augustin only shot 35% from the floor and 35.3% from three point range last year.  Augustin scored 10 or more points in a game 10 times last year and he had 9 games with at least 5 assists last year for the Pacers.

The Indiana Pacers had a rough time last night as they just couldn’t get anything going offensively and it killed them in this game.  Roy Hibbert led the way for the Pacers last night with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  David West (14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots), George Hill (13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) and Lance Stephenson (10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals) also pitched in for the Pacers last night.  The Pacers lost to the Heat in seven hard fought games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers took care of business tonight against the Heat.  They shot 50% from the floor and they out-rebounded the Heat 53-33 tonight which were two big reasons for the nice win.  But, they really turned up the D as they held the Heat to 36.1% shooting from the floor and that was a huge factor in this game.  Paul George (28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals) and Roy Hibbert (24 points, 11 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Pacers tonight.  George Hill (16 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists) and David West (11 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) also had rock solid games for the Pacers.  Lance Stephenson pitched in with 4 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal last night.  The Pacers have forced a winner take all Game #7 in Miami against the Heat this Monday Night.

The Pacers were outscored 30-13 in the 3rd quarter last night and it really hurt them in this game.  Paul George led the way for the Pacers in this game with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.  Roy Hibbert (22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots) and David West (17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Pacers last night.  The Pacers are now down 3-2 in this series.

The Pacers shot 50% from the floor and they out-rebounded the Heat 49-30 to put them away in a rousing Game #4 win.  Roy Hibbert led the way for the Pacers with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Lance Stephenson (20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists) and George Hill (19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot) also had rock solid games for the Pacers.  David West (14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Paul George (12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots) also pitched in for the Pacers.  The Pacers have now tied up this series at 2 games apiece.

The Pacers only shot 39.7% from the floor, which negated the fact that they out-rebounded the Heat 45-36 last night.  The biggest problem for the Pacers was the fact that they played no D as the Heat shot 50% from the floor.  David West (21 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist) and Roy Hibbert (20 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Pacers in this game.  George Hill (19 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and Paul George (13 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists) also pitched in for the Pacers.  The Pacers are now down 2-1 against the Heat in this series.