Pacers are pretenders
by denggoy7 on Feb 3, 2012 9:45 AM EST
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Printaccording to cbssports while our next opponent, the Mavs, are contenders. Here's something for the Pacers to think about before the game. Pretenders vs. contenders tonight.
Note: Philly is considered a contender in that article. I think we could have beaten them in Philly if we had Granger and Hill at that time. We also have a better road record and tougher schedule than the 76ers so far so at least in my books, we should at least be recognized like them.
The Bulls were excluded from the list as well as Heat and Thunder. I am assuming that the writer has considered those 3 contenders as would anyone with an iota of NBA knowledge. Well, we beat the Bulls in Chicago. We lost to Miami but I think that game was an exception. No way they will beat us like that again. Their offense was clicking and our defense was sleeping. We have yet to play OKC but I think we can at least give them a good fight. But even as of now, we have already shown that this team is for real and not just for this year but also for years to come provided this team stays intact and plays unselfish offense and great defense.
Indiana Pacers
I want to believe. I really do. The Pacers are a fun team and their resurgence over the past two seasons has been something else. David West was a nice addition and Roy Hibbert is playing really well. They've built up their resume with some good wins over the past couple weeks, but I don't see how they improved in the area that killed them last postseason -- fourth quarter execution. Danny Granger is a good player but can't shoulder the load of getting tough, key baskets in crunchtime. I can't see them beating the Bulls, Heat or even 76ers.
Verdict: PRETENDER
Dallas Mavericks
It appears the championship hangover is finally wearing off. But for a while there, the defending champs had us concerned. They looked flat, uninterested and worst of all, not as good after losing J.J. Barea, Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson. But the Mavs are finding their form a bit and if Lamar Odom can ever finally wake up, Dallas goes eight deep with a nice rotation. And as long as that tall German guy is on the roster, they're a tough matchup for anyone.
Verdict CONTENDER
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/34654252
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I like it when our team is under the radar. This cat hasnt seen too many Pacer games to realize were not flashy and we get wins from playing “D”…the kind of defense that frustrates the hell out of other opposing teams (D. Rose, K.Love, Orlando Magic) and we play together. No padding stats here or depending on 1 player to shoulder the load. Rediculous!
***Forever Grunge...Man!***
*Hill with the steal, he drives the lane and finger rolls. COUNT IT aaaand put'em on the line...A magnificant display of defense from George Hill*
The Mavs Are Not Finding Their Groove
You have a link to CBS Sports, yet you didn’t link to the preview, where Rick Carlisle calls the Pacers legit.
“…the Dallas Mavericks coach thinks the Indiana Pacers are legitimate contenders.”
See here:
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/preview/NBA_20120203_IND@DAL/pacersmavericks-preview
@denggoy7 the Pacers already beat the Bulls. And we’ve also added the Lakers and Boston to that list. The games we’ve lost have been close. With the exception of the Heat. But, they’ve blown out pretty much everyone else. What’d you expect?
I agree we need to continue our surge, however are the Mavs in a resurgence? Have you looked at their stats? Resurgence?
They just lost to OKC. That’s expected, right? And they beat a Nash-less Phoenix. Lucky. Because they barely won against Phoenix on Jan 23. Yes, Phoenix. Barely. And did you see that loss against Minnesota? You know that team that has a cry-baby elbowing nutcase named Love. And that team that we beat. We showed a finish there and teamwork we didn’t have last year.
I don’t deny that the Mavs are a deep team. Or that we will have a very difficult game tonight. We will. If he’s fully healthy, Dirk is going to start ripping it up on the court. He’s never particularly flashy, and he’s so awkward that when he has a great game, it doesn’t always show up in a stat line, it just annoys the hell out of the other team. In this case, it could be us. But with no Chandler, Hibbert should show up. He has to show up.
But, the days of the Mavs dominance are numbered. Just like Boston. Are you going to rely on Vince Carter for scoring? And Jason Terry? They have weapons, but they’re struggling. They have a deep team, but so do we. It will be a great game.
Danny Granger is picking-it-up. That’s a good thing. And it’s great timing too. 36 pts the other night to finish off the Wolves. He is shouldering the load. And frankly he’s still young too, and needs to get confident. He is the one that should be taking our last-second buzzer beaters. I wouldn’t trust anyone else. Our team is young, and just needs to continue our growth. Just like every one of the Pacers(think Hibbert and Collison). This team can only get better. And that’s what I expect. Because Paul George is the one that needs to be emerging. Not Granger. While George emerges we can’t have Granger fading. We need him to stay strong.
Oh, and it looks like we will get Kaman.
I like the Pacers under-the-radar as well. Great point @rockguyInIndy.
Wonder if there could be a Pacers/Rockets/Hornets trade. Rockets have some players I like that we could use.
Rockets could be Kaman and something.
Pacers get something like Patterson/TWill(preferably Patterson) and Jordan Hill
Hornets get cap space/picks/something
I don’t really have the time to try and figure out a complete trade, but I’d be up for something like that!
And it's now my sig
by Bronn on May 17, 2011 4:56 PM EDT
I read this article a few hours ago...
… and when I saw that the guy who wrote it called us pretenders, I shrugged it off and chalked it up to ignorance. Well, ignorance and some other choice words about his writing credentials, personal life, and family. The guy obviously doesn’t know us, and he clearly has no business writing about a team that he doesn’t follow.
that's how i feel about 90% of the stuff that is written about the pacers
in the national media
Harper's on Miller, McKey, gets in to Miller for the win and...
CHIEF
by wonillionaire on Feb 3, 2012 2:33 PM EST up reply actions
I don't really disagree. As much as I love this team, I don't honestly believe we can beat the Heat and Bulls AND West Champ in back-to-back-to-back series.
It’s not really a knock on us because those two clubs are really good. But does anyone here really believe our title chances can be described as anything other than “slim”?
The West, on the other hand, is much more wide open so Dallas has a more legit shot of reaching the Finals. Hence I’m fine with their “contenders” label (not so much with Philly however who is the same boat as us.)
Thanks for saving me the time.
I was going to write the same thing, though I think the Mavs got old and complacent very quick and I don’t see how anyone could call them contenders at this point…other than the fact that there only really seems to be one great team in the west and maybe one other really good team.
peac.e
An off topic question here.
If we get Kaman and his prorated contract, somewhere in the 9.5M area, will we still have enough room to make an offer to Wilson Chandler that Denver would not dare match?
If we do get those 2 without having to surrender any player for Kaman, that should only make us a more formidable contender in the east. Hope Larry gets this done.
Go Contenders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just read an article on ESPN about Kaman being off the market.
could be just a bargaining ploy though.
Here’s the link.:
Pacers, pretenders??
Lmfao!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahasuckitcbssports!!!!
by Shank Williams Jr on Feb 3, 2012 11:56 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Yeah, well....
I have the Pacers in the 5th slot coming out of the East. I don’t think they have the fire power to beat Miami or Chicago in 7. They are pretty evenly matched against the Sixers (I have Philly at 4). Not getting Mayo really hurts. We could use a playmaker type, which I don’t believe we currently have.
When you say playmaker,
I assume you mean high-scoring point guard, which is the fad right now. We aren’t going to get a guy like that because they are all max-contract superstars. Winning is possible with a distributor instead of a scorer.
I personally think DC is the most underrated point guard in the NBA. Not even fans of the team think he’s good enough. But they’re wrong. Sure, we could have a more talented player, but you can say that about any player on the roster.
This is a real team, a cohesive unit, not a bunch of satellites surrounding a big-name iso player.
by Manfred James on Feb 4, 2012 10:19 AM EST up reply actions
I like DC.
Wanted to trade out of the slot where we took Hansbrough and draft him. But, I don’t know if I’d call him a distributor. He brings the ball up the court and makes simple passes in the half court. Hibbert and PG are probably as much of distributors right now.
DC is kind of like those max guys you talk about, only to a much smaller degree. He’s good for about 10ppg and 5apg on average and can easily get abused by guarding bigger point guards on opposing teams.
But, I think I get your point.
peac.e
Well, he isn't Chris Paul.
But he’s not chopped liver, either. He does a good job as a floor leader most nights, and he’s popular with the players.
by Manfred James on Feb 5, 2012 3:30 PM EST up reply actions
I like DC.
Love his combination of passion and levelheadedness. He’s prone to take a couple bad shots per night, but for the most part he’s rock solid, if not spectacular.
He’s capable of getting in the lane. Doesn’t do alot of that attack/kick stuff that would be ideal for a superstar point, but his ability to attack and shoot 3s keeps defenses on their toes and out of the passing lanes for the most part.
Long live DC. I’d love an upgrade, but considering our likely investments in the near future in other spots, he should remain affordable and effective.
peac.e
I got Pacers on top of the East,
they are tied with Miami for the most road wins, they have only lost one at home and then went on to beat that same team on their home court, they’ve beat Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Celtics, T-Wolves, Lakers, and should have won the Philly game. The Miami game was a letdown but they can beat them and will. They have a top ranked defense and everybody knows defense wins championships. Stop the nay saying and get behind your Pacers, this has all the possibility in the world to be a great year for the team, let’s show our support and stop the hate.
I agree...but....
…there’s very little president for a team built like this to go very far in the playoffs. I’d be very happy with a good showing in the 2nd round, not too surprised with a hard fought loss in 6 or 7 in the 1st round especially if we have to face Miami, Chicago, or a resurgent Orlando (they just match up well with us), and I’d be ecstatic about a solid showing in the ECF.
I can’t see us getting swept or even really losing in 5 games against anybody…but, I’ve never seen a 5 game series as close as last year and I don’t know if we are really that much better than that Pacers team. I mean we clearly look better. But, not that many teams bring the kind of intensity we are showing for 48 minutes in the regular season. Come playoff time in a 7 game series we may see that we aren’t quite as far ahead of some of the middle of the pack teams as we think.
At this point it’s probably about two main questions. #1 Can we continue to move the ball and shoot efficiently? #2 Can we get 100% healthy (including Hill and Foster or another piece we might add) and remain fresh enough not to have to rely much on Amundson, Price, and Lance for any contribution in the playoffs? B/c I don’t think those guys are prime-time ready.
peac.e
I can
absolutely see this team go all the way, they may have faltered against Orlando but it wasn’t a blow-out. They stayed in the game until the very end.
Lance will be ready for prime-time, this is his first year really getting much playing time so it will take him until the play-offs to get ready. Amundson has shown his worth, he defended Howard very well. Price… yeah I wouldn’t argue about trading him.
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