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IC Cold Links: Pacer Fans Have Much to be Thankful For

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By Rick Wagner
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  The season is young and there is no way of knowing exactly which way it will end up, but there sure seems like a number of things to give thanks for.  I decided to put together my top 5 list of Pacers events/observations that I am thankful for this special day:

  1. Defense -- As you will see in Bruno's link after the jump, the Pacers are actually playing very solid defense!  I assumed their offense would flow nicely, but I didn't truly believe in all the defense talk they were spitting out.  However, they have backed up their talk and it has been very exciting being in games with poor shooting, at times!
  2. Good morning, Brandon Rush!  -- I want to give thanks for Brandon Rush waking up these last couple games.  He has always played pretty solid defense, but lately he has improved that tremendously and has attacked on offense!  This is very exciting to see, but the fan in me says, "give it time, you have seen glimpses before".  So, I give thanks for he sudden impact, but hope to not be wrong in thinking he may have turned a corner (I almost can hear myself whispering this to make sure I don't say it too loud). More thanks along with the links after the jump.
  • Big Man -- Roy Hibbert has played very solid so far this year.  His last couple games have been up and down, but for the most part he has been great.  Not only is his impact on the court vital to the Pacers success this year, but his impact off of it may have just as much of an impact.  Hibbert is someone who is so easy to want to hear talk.  I know after games I want to hear what he has to say; he just really seems like a solid leader in that locker room.
  • Power Forward -- This is still, obviously, a weakness of the Pacers, but other teams haven't been able to kill us from that spot at this point.  I love the energy Josh McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough provide.  However, James Posey has turned into an awesome addition.  As a former Xavier Musketeer myself, I have always liked the guy (I was even able to pull out his bobble head when the Pacers traded for him), but he has turned into such a solid and, at times, clutch player.  I am thankful for his addition to the team.  I believe he has a huge impact on the team by his leadership and dependability in knocking down shots.
  • Jim O'Brien?? -- Now, I know most of you just cringed with me saying this.  I still don't believe he is the coach of the future, or of next year for that matter.  However, SO FAR I believe he has shown a pretty solid ability to get people in the rhythm of the game.  Also, the Pacers could easily plateau at any point, but he actually does a real nice JOB (pun intended) of downplaying their success.  He sees that there are still big-time weaknesses, so he makes sure and points those out to the media.

    • Man, that last one was tough for me to do.  I am thankful for what the Pacers have done so far this season; however, there is still a long season ahead.  The Pacers success thus far doesn't mean much if they can't keep it up.  A part of me believes that they have turned the corner, but the other part of me is very cautiously optimistic and hasn't allowed my mind to think that quite yet.  After the jump, check out just the few links I was able to scrounge together this morning.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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