Larry Bird hopes new additions return Pacers to playoffs

Alongside two of his newest acquisitions, Pacers president Larry Bird stood in the bowels of Bankers Life Fieldhouse on a July day talking about the NBA playoffs.

Specifically, whether the team he's assembled is capable of making it there.

"I hope it is," Bird said. "I'd be very disappointed if we didn't make the playoffs. We think we've got enough talent here to do that."

The Pacers added to that talent pool by bringing in league veterans in forwards Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger along with guard Monta Ellis.

It's the latest step for a team undergoing a philosophical change. The Pacers are looking to play faster and with more excitement. As Bird explained, he wants Indiana to average six-to-eight more points per game, bringing the Pacers up from 97 points per game last season to between 103 and 105 — which would place them among the highest scoring teams in the league.

And make no mistake about it; Bird did not go into the offseason planning to rip up his roster. He made clear that David West opting out of his contract was the catalyst for a rebuild that is quickly nearing completion.

"Everything we did this summer is because of his decision," Bird said.

With the new acquisitions, Bird thinks he has the Pacers close to what they've been for much of the past five years: one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

"Chase is great on the wings running a lot and Jordan is a big guy who can play around the basket," Bird said. "They're all veteran players and then you throw all of our guys in there and I think we're going to be all right."

Yet the Pacers are bracing for some defensive lapses along the way. Bird noted that you can't add scoring without making sacrifices on the other end of the floor, a notion best represented by the addition of Ellis.

The 29-year-old guard has averaged 19 points per game over his career but isn't known for doing much else.

"He's not a great defender," Bird said. "We know that, but the pluses outweigh the minuses."

Those pluses include Ellis' ability to create shots off the dribble and execute pick rolls rather seamlessly — "He can get his own without doing a lot," Bird said — and the minuses, well in Bird's terms it breaks down like this: Indiana scoring six to eight more points per game is more important than giving up an extra two or so per game.

Which is why Bird could stand there Tuesday and say the Pacers have an opportunity to make the playoffs. With all that's been made about his moves and comments this summer, to Bird it's just making sure his team adapts to an uncompromising standard.

"I don't like a lot of change, never have," Bird said. "I felt we have to get up and down the court a little bit more. I think we can do that with this group."

Follow Star reporter Blake Schuster on Twitter: @Schustee.