Intro and only 81 of these things left

I've been an Indiana Pacers fan for pretty much all 50 years of my life. And even though I haven't lived in Indiana for quite some time, I'm still a devoted fan thanks to the NBA League Pass where I watch almost all the games. I've always loved writing about the Pacers through good times and bad and since these will hopefully be considered some good times, I thought why not do what everybody else is doing and start a blog about something you love to write about..
   Certainly, this will evolve over time, but I hope to comment on almost all the games this season with some likes, dislikes and maybe even second guesses, even though I'm a big Frank Vogel fan as I live about an hour from his hometown.
    So, it was nice to start the season with an expected win, 97-87 over visiting Orlando. 1-0 and here we go.
Overall impression
   This wasn't one of the best games you'll ever watch and while the Pacers were sluggish, especially in that second quarter and trailed 45-40 at the half, their shooting was much better in the second half and their defense picked up as well, things that go hand in hand with this team. So, while it ended up a 10-point game, there was no real suspense at the end.
Likes
   1) It was good to see Roy Hibbert smiling on the bench in the final seconds of the game. He left late in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and there was some obvious concern. He didn't bang knees with anyone and came down kind of awkwardly on it, but that relaxed look on his face at the end of the game tells me Hibbert doesn't think the injury is anything serious and Vogel said Hibbert will play tonight at New Orleans.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert had 16 rebounds in Tuesday's opener.

   2) It's been good see some little improvements in some of the players. David West appears to be a bit lighter and more nimble on his feet. West is tough enough and smart enough and know hows to play without being the fastest or quickest guy on the court. But if he can be just a bit more mobile, that will help him and the team, especially defensively. Also, it appears that reserve guard Orlando Johnson has worked on his shot in the off-season. I'm not predicting he'll turn into a Reggie Miller or even Paul George type of shooter, but if he can make the defense respect his outside shot, that will make the Pacers bench even better. Lastly here, Luis Scola isn't as fast and probably not as feisty as the departed Tyler Hansbrough was, but he certainly understands the little things about the game and he looks really relaxed shooting that 16 to 18 foot jumper, which will be nice to have throughout the season.
Dislikes
   This was a bit of a problem last season and it was apparent again even in the opener. The Pacers are not going to be mistaken for being one of the best passing teams in the league. Sometimes there are passes thrown toward the post, to either West, Hibbert or even backup center Ian Mahinmi, and you just wonder what the passer was thinking. Sometimes the post-up player can give a better target, too. It's an area you know the coaches will work on and emphasize throughout the season, so hopefully it will get better.
Second Guesses
   The big one tonight is for Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn. After Andrew Nicholson scored 18 points in the first half, he didn't see the floor again until the start of the fourth quarter. If you're a team trying to find its way early in the season and you've got someone showing a bit of leadership in the performance area, don't you have get him  back in the game a little sooner?
The Next Game
    Tonight the Pacers will be the first team to play the
New Orleans team named the Pelicans. It will be in New Orleans, so you know, being the road team in home openers can be difficult. If the Pacers can scrape out an ugly win, that would be perfectly acceptable at this early stage of the season, as there are 81 more of these things to go.