http://my.nba.com/cms/indiana_pacers..._seasons_plans
(Conrad Brunner)
(Conrad Brunner)
As you tick the checklist of needs for the Pacers' frontcourt, elements like athleticism, aggressiveness, low-post defense and rebounding tend to rise to the top.
And it pains Jeff Foster, because those just happen to be his areas of expertise.
After missing most of the season with a lower back injury that required surgery in mid-February, Foster said he is on pace with the timeline for recovery and plans to be back next season.
It is so much an assumption, in fact, he was surprised at the question about his future.
"Have you heard something I haven't heard?" he said. "Every intention I have is to come back and play at hopefully a high level and see what happens from there."
Foster last played on Dec. 19 in San Antonio, just his 16th appearance of the season. When he left, he took with him the aforementioned physical traits, not to mention a sizeable portion of the team's veteran leadership.
He has been gone but not forgotten. Asked how Foster factors into next season's plans, Coach Jim O'Brien replied, "Tremendously."
"They (the team's medical staff) think he's going to be fine by next year," said O'Brien. "We went the entire year pretty much with four big guys and that's a little shallow. So he and Tyler (Hansbrough) are very, very key guys."
Foster is still in the first phase of his recovery, but the process should accelerate soon.
"They said when I had the surgery it would be about three months before I could do anything really hard," he said. "We're at two months in the time frame and kind of still just doing the same thing – light lifting and elliptical training.
"I always work hard during the summer and I'll continue to do so. Obviously, I'll probably have to do a little bit more with my back but I'm looking forward to getting back in game shape and coming back next year and having a solid year."
The Pacers have been outrebounded by 5.1 per game, 29th in the league. They're 28th in offensive rebounding, 29th in rebound percentage. Even at the advanced age of 33, in a role limited to 20ish minutes a game, Foster could make a serious dent in those numbers.
"Obviously, I feel like any of us that were hurt could've contributed," he said. "I happened to look at the stats the other day and saw we were 28th in the league in offensive rebounding and 28th in field goal percentage. You put those two together, well, normally you're not that bad.
"I know I could've helped in that area and defensively I could've helped, as well. I'm looking forward to coming back."
The lone bridge to the team's glory years – his rookie season was 1999-2000 when the Pacers reached the NBA Finals – Foster learned quite a bit about the current team while in the role of involuntary spectator.
"Danny's been playing really well the past month. He's got to play at that level the entire year for us to be a playoff-caliber team," Foster said. "I think we've learned over the last month, month-and-a-half, that these guys aren't going to quit. It's kind of a microcosm of our season. We seemed to get down a lot in games and then fight our way back as it seemed like we were getting embarrassed.
"It seems that's kind of how it's happened with our record at the end of the year. Guys may have seen how bad our record was and they came out and played their butts off the last month-and-a-half and ended with a strong string. How much that carries over to next year is still to be determined. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the guys that are back. We'll start anew next year."
As will Foster, who has one season left on his contract but hopefully not in his career.
"If I wasn't able to play again for some weird reason, just walking off the court in San Antonio is now how I would ever have envisioned ending my career," he said. "I plan on playing next year and hopefully more years after that."
And it pains Jeff Foster, because those just happen to be his areas of expertise.
After missing most of the season with a lower back injury that required surgery in mid-February, Foster said he is on pace with the timeline for recovery and plans to be back next season.
It is so much an assumption, in fact, he was surprised at the question about his future.
"Have you heard something I haven't heard?" he said. "Every intention I have is to come back and play at hopefully a high level and see what happens from there."
Foster last played on Dec. 19 in San Antonio, just his 16th appearance of the season. When he left, he took with him the aforementioned physical traits, not to mention a sizeable portion of the team's veteran leadership.
He has been gone but not forgotten. Asked how Foster factors into next season's plans, Coach Jim O'Brien replied, "Tremendously."
"They (the team's medical staff) think he's going to be fine by next year," said O'Brien. "We went the entire year pretty much with four big guys and that's a little shallow. So he and Tyler (Hansbrough) are very, very key guys."
Foster is still in the first phase of his recovery, but the process should accelerate soon.
"They said when I had the surgery it would be about three months before I could do anything really hard," he said. "We're at two months in the time frame and kind of still just doing the same thing – light lifting and elliptical training.
"I always work hard during the summer and I'll continue to do so. Obviously, I'll probably have to do a little bit more with my back but I'm looking forward to getting back in game shape and coming back next year and having a solid year."
The Pacers have been outrebounded by 5.1 per game, 29th in the league. They're 28th in offensive rebounding, 29th in rebound percentage. Even at the advanced age of 33, in a role limited to 20ish minutes a game, Foster could make a serious dent in those numbers.
"Obviously, I feel like any of us that were hurt could've contributed," he said. "I happened to look at the stats the other day and saw we were 28th in the league in offensive rebounding and 28th in field goal percentage. You put those two together, well, normally you're not that bad.
"I know I could've helped in that area and defensively I could've helped, as well. I'm looking forward to coming back."
The lone bridge to the team's glory years – his rookie season was 1999-2000 when the Pacers reached the NBA Finals – Foster learned quite a bit about the current team while in the role of involuntary spectator.
"Danny's been playing really well the past month. He's got to play at that level the entire year for us to be a playoff-caliber team," Foster said. "I think we've learned over the last month, month-and-a-half, that these guys aren't going to quit. It's kind of a microcosm of our season. We seemed to get down a lot in games and then fight our way back as it seemed like we were getting embarrassed.
"It seems that's kind of how it's happened with our record at the end of the year. Guys may have seen how bad our record was and they came out and played their butts off the last month-and-a-half and ended with a strong string. How much that carries over to next year is still to be determined. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the guys that are back. We'll start anew next year."
As will Foster, who has one season left on his contract but hopefully not in his career.
"If I wasn't able to play again for some weird reason, just walking off the court in San Antonio is now how I would ever have envisioned ending my career," he said. "I plan on playing next year and hopefully more years after that."
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