IC Cold Links: Previews Galore And More

by Tom Lewis on Oct 24, 2008 4:15 PM EDT in News Comment 2 comments

I'm heading out of town for a couple of days so here are a few items to ponder over the weekend including several season previews. See you locals down at the Fan Jam on Sunday.

Bruno's latest Caught in the Web is hyped for the season to begin and making the case that T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack may combine to be the bets PG tandem in team history. Also, there are some promising numbers to take from the preseason.
Mike Wells on the rookies earning a solid spot in the playing rotation.
ESPN season preview with an interesting play for down 1 with 9.2 seconds to go. Didn't seem to come off as humorous as intended. The expert panel doesn't have much faith in the Pacers. Only Hollinger and Ford think the Pacers will make the playoffs. The rest don't think they'll be close.
Wages of Wins tries to debunk the skepticism of the ESPN crew so I don't have to. They also think the Pacers project to finish somewhere in the 6th to 8th range in the Eastern Conference. Sounds good to me. (HT: Darrin at Willowbend)
Marty Burns of SI.com likes the Pacers as a surprise playoff team if they can stay healthy. Notice my little contribution written in early September. The rut appears to be in the rear view window at this point.
Ball Don't Lie offers a sober look ahead. KD likes what he sees from the Pacers which may not lead to as many wins as we'd like but should be entertaining none the less.
Basketbawful breaks down the Pacers for Deadspin along with some sound advice when considering plastic surgery.
Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus uses SCHOENE to project 37 wins and third place in the Central Division for the Pacers.
SLAM Online via me breaks down the roster and lands on a 39 win season. This was written well in advance of last night's game. Good thing.
iBlog Bulls looks at the enemy that is the Pacers and hopes projects a 33-36 win effort from the blue and gold.
NBA Blogger preview, once again capturing my thoughts on the upcoming season, except from the perception of a different day.

If you've read or written any good previews that I've missed please add a link in the comments.

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Comments

Blazer Fan on JJ

That was a great article on the thunder and lightning of Ford and Jack. Expect Jack to be a big contributor in the fourth quarter. He is great at driving to the hoop, getting to the line, and nailing the clutch free throws. He isn’t a strong man-to-man defender but is an excellent team defender. He is contantly directing traffic and studies opposing offenses and knows their tendencies.

His main problem in Portland was unforced turnovers. He had a habit of stepping on the sideline when making his move from the wing and jumping without having a clear option of what to do with the ball once he got in the air. At times he looked a bit out of control under pressure but he did deliver in some big games. He always seemed to play his biggest games against the L@kers.

The hope was that he would grow out of those mistakes and improve on his ability to run the offense. He teamed up quite well with Zach Randolph when he was a Blazer, meaning he can get the ball into the post and recognizes where the ball should go. He was also quite good at finding James Jones for open three pointers whenever they were on the floor together.

I would worry if he was your starter, but having him come off the bench at either the one or the two should make the Pacers guard corps solid if not spectacular on the second unit. If he keeps his TOs down, he will be a great assett for the next 5 years.

PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04

by tssbro on Oct 24, 2008 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs