Danny Granger Calls the Indiana Pacers the Second Best Team in the East


The Indiana Pacers may have posted the third best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but according to Danny Granger, his Pacers are now just a step behind the defending champion Miami Heat in the East. Per the Indy Star: “Like everybody else in the Pacers organization, Granger is eager for the season to start after they were eliminated by Miami in six games in the second round of the playoffs last season. ‘Still not over it,’ Granger said laughing about losing to the Heat. ‘I’m over it. It happens. They were the better team. I think they deserved to win the championship. That’s the way it goes. We have to get better.’ The Eastern Conference will be better next season. Brooklyn, Boston, New York and the Pacers are expected to be in the mix for seeds 2-4 in the East. Granger believes they’ve got the second best team in the conference behind the Heat. ‘It’s going to be tough,’ he said. ‘Brooklyn, they are going to be a threat. Obviously Miami is going to be there, but I think we still view ourselves as a top-2 team in the East.’ The battle for the seeds 2-4 will likely be determined by which team can stay the healthiest. The Pacers were a relatively healthy team last season. […] ‘I think we’re in the driver’s seat coming off the success we had last year,” Granger said. ‘We just have to go out and win the division.'”