Open Letter to Roy Hibbert

Dear Indiana Pacers' All-Star, Mr. Roy Hibbert,

Don't do it, Big Roy. We need you. The Pacers need you. The modern-day game in desperate, desperate need of a smooth, hook-shot possessing big man, needs you. Please, don't do it. Don't go one-month Roy on us. Who's one-month Roy you ask? You know, the Roy Hibbert who brought the NBA-viewing public to its collective knees during the first month of the 2010-2011 season; the Roy Hibbert who had Pacer fans teeming for a Most-Improved Player award; the Roy Hibbert who pranced and danced around in the paint, an old-school soul dominating new-school flair.

One-month Roy disappeared as fast as he arrived, and didn't bother returning until the Blue and Gold we're already 10 games under .500, and waiting for the opportunity to be eighth-seed fodder (well, Indy certainly wasn't mere fodder for the Bulls, but you know what I mean). What was that? Why even bring one-month Roy up? Well, here we sit. It's little more than a month into the season. Your name is back on the tip of everyone's tongue, your much-deserved all-star selection was just announced, and that hook shot is seemingly back to being Abdul-Jabar lite...but the number 4 prowls around like dust in the wind.

In the past four games, vestiges of one-month Roy uneasily lurk: 10.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 40.5 FG% with three losses in four games. It hasn't been pretty. It hasn't been big-extension ish. It hasn't been all-star like.

Despite the rhetoric, I'm not worried, Big Roy. I don't think Pacer fans, collectively, are worried either. You're a new player with a refined game. You're a legitimate all-star center. You're quite possibly the Blue and Gold's most favored son since that gawky-looking #31 ventured around the cornrows of Indiana. You're NOT one-month Roy, you're beyond that.

Again, we need you. Four games, shmore games. All stars don't let stench-worthy play linger. All stars blast inconsistency into Pacer-induced oblivion. All stars get/eventually get big paychecks.

Did you hear who's coming to town tomorrow night? That's right, the Nene-led Denver Nuggets. The same Nene who flirted with the Pacers' FO. The same Nene, who, if signed, may have taken your C spot. Sounds like a good time for All-star Roy to return and play a little game called vindication. It sounds like a good time to say goodbye to those cautionary traces of one-month Roy.

Sincerely,

Your Blue-and-Gold follower(s)