Pacers Beat the Bulls!

 The Pacers beat the Bulls! Suck on that Chicago!

I’ll get to that later, but for now, let’s just do some recapping. The last time I wrote about the Pacers, they were 6-2 and in third place in the Eastern Conference. Sure it was early in the season but they looked like one of the Top 10 teams in the NBA. Now the Pacers are 12-5 and fifth in their conference. That may sound bad, but they are easily one of the Top 10 teams.

The three losses in that stretch came against the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and Orlando Magic. The Heat game was brutal to watch. They decimated the Pacers and won by 35. The Kings’ game was the first matchup for the Pacers on the West Coast and only lost by four. The loss to the Magic was hard to swallow though. It was the first home game after the West Coast trip and the Pacers had a chance to really assert themselves as the third best team in the East. Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson (who has ever heard of him?) of Orlando were too much for Indiana though, and they led the Magic to a 19-point win.

Enough of the bad though, how about some good news? The Pacers looked great against the Atlanta Hawks (7-4), L.A. Lakers (10-8), and Chicago Bulls (16-4). Offensively, we had six guys that had double digits in scoring against the Lakers and Bulls. Not only are the starting five getting baskets, but so are the bench players. Defensively, we were able to keep those teams below 41% in field goal percentage, which is no easy task when you’re going up against Kobe or Derrick Rose.

The team is really starting to play like a team. Danny Granger struggled in the beginning of the season, but he has really improved the past couple of weeks. That was evident last night when he had 22 against the Bulls. Center Roy Hibbert and guard Paul George are also playing spectacularly. Bench players Lance Stephenson, George Hill, Dahntay Jones and Tyler Hansbrough are bringing a ton of tenacity and energy every time they hit the floor. They may not put up a ton of points, but they keep us in the game.

Roy Hibbert is in his fourth year and seems to get better and better each season. He’s 7’ 2” and has long arms that make it easy for him to lay up just about any shot. He has also really improved his footwork, and he can get around just about anybody in the post.  

Paul George is only a second-year player, but he has the potential to be one of the best players in the NBA. He plays with a sense of cockiness and he’s not afraid of anybody. In the games against the Lakers and Bulls, if the guy he was guarding (usually Kobe Bryant or Derrick Rose) would make a three-pointer, George would bring the ball down the court and make a three-pointer of his own as sort of a “anything you can do, I can do better” move. That kind of brashness really reminds me of Reggie Miller.  

-Just a random side note here. Apparently the Pacers “celebrated” after their win against the Bulls. This provoked Derrick Rose to say “I will never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game”. Oh, those arrogant Pacers and their clapping and high-fiving after beating the best team in the NBA on their own court. Guess what Rose? We didn’t forget how you beat us 4-1 in the playoffs last year and never will. Bring it!

Here's us celebrating the win last night!!! It's a real party!!!

Indiana is a tremendous team, but is there any way they could improve? There are rumors and talks (talks being between my friend Earl and myself) that the Pacers could trade Danny Granger for shooting guard Eric Gordon. Gordon is from Indianapolis and has said he would love to play for the Pacers, and Larry Bird has said he would love to have Gordon. If Gordon came here, he would become the starting shooting guard, which would move Paul George back to his natural position of small forward. Granger has been a Pacer his entire career, and he really is the heart and leader of this team. I would hate to see him leave. If the Pacers are gonna make a move by trading or signing a free agent then they really need to get a big man. 

Here is who the Pacers currently have:

POINT GUARDS- Darren Collison, George Hill, A.J. Price (injured)

SHOOTING GUARDS- Paul George, Lance Stephenson

SMALL FORWARDS- Danny Granger, Dahntay Jones

POWER FORWARDS- David West, Tyler Hansbrough, Lou Admundson, Jeff Pendergraph (in

CENTERS- Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster (injured)

Yeah, 8 of our 13 players are forwards or centers, but Admundson is awful, Pendergraph-for reasons I don’t know- never plays, and Foster has battled injury all year. We should drop Admundson and Pendergraph and sign a real forward.  It’s ironic how we drafted a forward in the NBA Draft but traded him for guard George Hill.

Next 8 games:

1/27- at Boston

1/29- at Orlando

1/31- vs. New Jersey

2/1- at Minnesota

2/3- at Dallas

2/4- vs. Orlando

2/7- vs. Utah

2/8- at Atlanta

            We’ve already beaten Boston twice and New Jersey and Atlanta once, so they shouldn’t be a problem. However, the Magic beat us decidedly so they will be a challenge. The blue and gold should get through this with at least five wins. That would give us a 17-8 record on the season.