USA - Pacers' Granger to have short offseason

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Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger's offseason will be shorter and he hopes busier than normal.

Granger planned to spend plenty of time in the gym working on his game as he attempts to help the Pacers end their four-year playoff absence next season.

The difference this summer is he will start back sooner, preparing for the upcoming USA Basketball national team camp.

Granger hopes to be selected for Team USA at the World Championships in Turkey in late August. His ability to play both forward positions works in his favor.

"This will definitely be a different summer for me because I normally take a little bit of time after the season to rest, but I plan to get back at it sooner," Granger said earlier this month. "Who wouldn't want to be able to have an opportunity to represent their country?"

Granger, who spends most of the offseason working out in Los Angeles, was selected to take part in the training camp last summer, but he elected not to participate so he could rest his right knee.

Nine players from the 2008 gold medal Olympic team are part of the 27-player national team. All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard have said they are unsure if they will play this summer.

"I think that's a great experience for (Granger)," said Pacers president Larry Bird, who won a gold medal with the 1992 Olympic team. "Like I told him, 'Don't go out there and fire up 50 3s. Take it to the hole. Show these guys you're a man.'

"I hope he gets an opportunity to play. I think it's a valuable experience anytime you can play for your country."

It also will allow Granger to spend time on a daily basis with some of the league's best players and leaders.

"I think he'll learn a lot being around those guys," Bird said. "It's always good to see how those guys prepare themselves and you find out what kind of workers they are and how they go about doing things."

Granger averaged a team-high 24.1 points last season. It was not until the last month of the season, however, that he looked like the All-Star from the 2008-09 season. Granger topped his scoring average 11 times in the final 16 games.

Still, scoring alone won't get the job done.

The Pacers need Granger to be an all-around player, not one-dimensional, as he tended to be at times. He needs to be able to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player and is looking to average more than 5.5 rebounds.

"He regressed a little bit," Bird said of last season. "I thought his defense was great when he had a challenge, and I thought it was poor when he thought he could overmatch his guy. A lot of nights, he was very good on the defensive end. I'd just like him to be a little more consistent."