Indiana Pacers Begin Training Camp for 2021-22 season

The Indiana Pacers held their annual Media Day on Monday to officially kick off the training camp portion of the 2021-22 season.

The NBA has been forced to deal with COVID-19 for parts of the last two seasons, but the league intends to play an entire and normal season this year.

There wasn’t much news surrounding the Pacers during the Summer months, but that hasn’t been the case over the last few days. Basketball remains King in the state of Indiana, and anytime that the Pacers are in the news, it is a big deal.

The first major announcement doesn’t have anything to do with the team at all, but rather the building in which the Pacers are set to play their home games. Gainbridge Fieldhouse is the new home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, replacing Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The actual stadium that the two teams will play in remains the same, but it comes with a name change. Bankers Life Fieldhouse became the official name of the arena back in 2011, but those rights expired back in 2019.

Governor Eric Holcomb and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett are set to provide more information on this name change. Gainbridge is a digital company that offers financial products that are trusted.

This isn’t the first time that the Gainbridge name has been used as a sponsor in the state of Indiana. Gainbridge was also the presenting sponsor of the Indianapolis 500 back in 2019.

Levert Injury Lowers Expectations

It’s hard to get a good read on how the Indiana Pacers will perform in 2021, as it was a pretty disastrous ending to the 2020-21 season. The Pacers return much of the same roster, which will help, but they still don’t have a true superstar to lead the way.

Caris LeVert can carry the Pacers on the offensive end of the floor, but he is already dealing with some injury concerns. LeVert has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, but there is a chance that he could be back for the beginning of the season.

LeVert also dealt with another injury issue a season ago after being traded to the Indianapolis Pacers from the Houston Rockets. A cancerous mass was found on the kidney of LeVert during a routine physical, but he was able to return to the court in March.

The Pacers can’t be a playoff contender without LeVert, but they also don’t want to rush him back and risk further injury.

Sumner Tears Achilles

The Pacers suffered a blow to their depth earlier this month when Edmond Sumner sustained a torn left Achilles tendon during a workout. Sumner has been with the team since 2017 but finally started to come into his own a season ago.

Sumner averaged 7.5 points per game a season ago, and he has developed a role on this team. It’s unclear how much time Sumber will miss with this injury, but it could cost him the entire 2021-22 season.

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