Can Pacers Win without a Superstar?
But this team can make a lot of happy noise in May, first by knocking off their likely first-round opponent, the Dwight Howard-less and (maybe) Hedo Turkoglu-less Orlando Magic, then by challenging their next likely opponent, the Miami Heat.
“I don’t think it’s necessary (to have the one superstar),” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Obviously, most championships are won by having that main, go-to guy, or a Big Two or a Big Three. But teams have done it without that as well.
“I know Dallas had Dirk (Nowitzki), but what Dallas did as recently as last year gives us confidence and faith. Also look at those Pistons teams, where all five parts of the starting unit were equal and very difficult to guard. And they knocked off the dynasty Lakers.”
The superstar thing works; history doesn’t lie. Before the ’04 Pistons, you have to go all the way back to the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics to find a champion that didn’t have an all-world player. In the postseason, teams prepare to take away most of your options, often requiring an established go-to guy to make something happen on his own.
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