The Pacers are off to a 6-8 start to the season, which is somewhat miraculous when looking at the roster.
The team’s two top playmakers from last year, Paul George and Lance Stephenson, were both long gone before the season even started. But others began to drop during training camp, with David West being the most notable of the bunch.
West suffered an ankle injury in the preseason that has kept him sidelined, but it appears as though he’s ready to make his return later this week.
From Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star:Indiana Pacers power forward David West hopes to make his season debut Friday against the Orlando Magic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
"(Coach Frank Vogel) will make the call,” West said after participating in practice Tuesday in San Antonio. “I’ll see what he says. (But) I feel good. This last week has been good. No setbacks. The ankle is healthy which is important.” ...
“We’ve exhausted all options in terms of getting it healthy. It was a bad sprain,” West said. “I got really lucky that it just did what it did and didn’t go any further. I got really lucky.”Indiana is currently holding down the eighth spot in the East, and even sniffing the playoffs didn’t seem at all realistic before the season began. Getting West back into the fold will only help that cause -- he averaged 14 points and 6.8 rebounds in 80 regular season appearances for the Pacers last year.
