IC Cold Links: Pacers Stand Strong In Tough Central Division; Ready For Knicks Tonight

Awesome to see the Pacers finally come out of purgatory and make some noise around the league. It was even better to see that when I got to Bdubs last night the Pacers were already on the big screen without me having to ask. Sorry college basketball marathon, the Pacers are playing! Go Pacers!

dont make the mistake of thinking the knicks are due. they simply have no offensive direction, and the low shooting percentage is because they jack up 3’s without first creating penitration/ seperation. im a big knicks fan (but pacers season ticket holder) and can tell you they are simply awfule.
 my biggest concern in this game is that the pacers will be tired after playing last night in new jersey, while the knicks have had a few days off. its the exact same senario boston had when we beat them.

as for mike wells comment on roy hibbert… i agree they should feature him more often, he has surprisingly effective post moves. (which i never saw in college) he can even hit a jumpshot or two, even if he extends his range a bit further than he should. (he REALLY wants to take some threes, i totally called the one he took in that boston game.)
they always seem to start out feeding it to him once or twice before forgetting about him for large stretches at a time.

However, with that said, Roy is simply too weak with the ball at this point in his carrear. he has had to many turnovers where the guard coming on the double team has simply stripped the ball away from him. jim o’brien had to yank him from one game ( i think it was golden state) because he commited 2-3 turnovers in a row. this happened just as they were starting to feature him in that game.

he also needs to get stronger on the boards, mostly on the defensive end. i realize hes averaging around 10 a game, but with his size he could average 12-13 easily. he really should be dominant. i think this is another area where increased strength could really help him.

before he can be an offesnive force worthy of a consistant feature role in an offense he has to 1. Get stronger with the ball and 2. anticipate the double team more.
 i think he can be a real good player in this league, and his offensive rebounding/put backs have been outstanding. his development will go a long way in determining where this team ends up.

Ill be the guy in the larry johnson jersey tonight, making the “LJ” symbol he used to make with his arms during the ’99 playoff run. pacers fans may recall this was the sign he made after the infamous “four point play.”

does anyone else hate tj ford as much as me? hes #1 on my shit list. i was looking at his “girlfriend” message board site,(if you dont know what this is type “tj ford’s girlfriend” into google, you will be amazed) and toronto fans were derisivly calling him “mej,” which made me giggle. i see hes highjacked teams before.

its no conicidence the pacers got their biggest win, against boston, when ford was limited. the offesne simply works much better with earl watson, and even luther head playing unselfish, mistake free basketball. this team doesnt need another scorer, it needs a ball distributer. just look at our team assists, we must rank near the bottom of the league.

I think Watson should start, and at some point in the season he will win the job. TJs game is better suited to coming off the bench and supplying instant aggressive offense. His mid range jumper has been poor early, but he can hit that shot. As far as running an offense, ya gotta love Watson…I noticed on the links that NJ bloggers criticized Roy for making an O face everytime he scores. DON’T LISTEN ROY. That enthusiasm and enjoyment playing the game is what this team has not had the last couple years. Roy, D Jones, and now Granger have brought back that intensity. I love, Indy loves it, the only people griping are the fans of the teams he just posterized. GO PACERS!!!

A lot of Pacer fans really knock TJ for his poor assist totals, but really is it TJ’s fault or the system’s? While probably never a “true PG,” TJ did average close to 7 assists per game in his career before coming to Indy. Coach OB’s system incorporates maximum ball movement and passing, but neither has to be spearheaded by the PG in the offense, so it’s possible a PG’s assists production will take a hit in the process. To further backup this point take a look at Earl Watson’s numbers. As a career backup he’s been good for 5-6 apg, but as a backup/semi-starter in this system his assists per game are down to 2.8. There’s no such thing as a “pass-first PG” on this team because the system doesn’t require it. Anyone who can handle the ball plays a portion of the PG role. While Ford should do better than 2.8 apg, those expecting 7-10 apg aren’t watching the design of the offense.

I see alot of comments that are pointing out all kinds of areas Roy can improve. They are correct, but let’s remember he is young. He’ll get better. He has for 6 straight years. He was a total project when he was a freshman at Georgetown. He got better every year. When we drafted him at 17 we took alot of critisism. He just went to work and proved the nay sayers wrong. He has alot of holes in his game still, but he knows it and I guarantee he’s working on them.

That is so true…I think what people get upset with is that in our motion offense TJ has a tendency to absorb the ball in the half court and just look for his shot. I don’t hate TJ, he has some great qualities (defending penetration, getting his own shot) but he’s a lil feller, and I just think were a better team with Watson on the floor.

Has anyone actually watched this kid for the length of a game yet. I remember when he was drafted the the Euro scout for ESPN said he had a ways to go, and I think his scoring average in the Euro league was in the teens with few assist. Then he’s lighting it up in the NBA early this year. I’m curious if he’s just ball hogging, or is he that good?…if he’s taking all the shots I wonder how that will fly once Redd returns…there’s only one basketball.