The theme for the season is right there in front of you, in bold, black, all-caps letters above the practice courts in the new St. Vincent Center next to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
WE ARE ONE
It's a boilerplate motto for a basketball team, similar to those for all the other NBA teams. But for the Pacers it's also a rebuttal to last season, when a team predicted by many to win about 50 games won 42 and barely qualified for the playoffs.
They put up a good fight down the stretch, after Lance Stephenson arrived, winning their last five regular season games and giving eventual championship Cleveland a legitimate challenge in the opening playoff round.