Pacers Keep on Winning

 It was a near perfect week for the Indiana Pacers. Starting on January 29^th, the Pacers went on a four-game winning streak that included wins against a couple of solid teams. They had wins at Orlando and defending champion Dallas. They were also able to beat Kevin Love and the Timberwolves as well as the New Jersey Nets. However, they were not able to win five games in one week when the Magic came to Banker’s Life. The Magic left out Super Bity with a four-point win.

            By going 4-1 in the past five games, Indiana has a 16-7 record and holds the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. It’s a tight race for the top seeds, and one that is ever-changing. The Bulls, Heat, 76ers, Magic, Hawks and Pacers are separated by five games. Even though we have already beaten the Bulls, they and the Heat are the likely contenders for the top two spot. That leaves the other four teams to battle for the 3-6 spots.

I’m a little biased, but I believe the Pacers are the best out of all of those teams; although our record against those teams doesn’t really prove that. We have played the Hawks and 76ers once. We beat the Hawks but lost to the 76ers, mainly because we were without three key players. We have a 1-2 record against the Magic but still have one game left against them so that record could end up at .500. Indiana will face Atlanta two more times and Philly three more times. Two of the 76ers games come in the final five games of the schedule, so those will most likely play a huge part in which team gets a higher seed for the playoffs.

           

There are three players that have really stepped up their game in the past week. First is second-year man Paul George. George had a career-high 24 points against the Nets and has shot .533 from three-point range in the past five games. Veteran leader Danny Granger is also performing at a high level. Granger had a season-high 36 points against the Timberwolves and has averaged 23.5 points in the past five games. It’s nice to see Granger scoring a lot of points, and more importantly, taking good shots. In the beginning of the season, he still had the mentality of “I have to do everything”. It seems like he has realized that his teammates have the ability make baskets too.

            Last, but still least, is Lou Admundson. Admundson was added to the team before the season began and he has yet to impress me, but he is slowly chipping away at my disgust to him. In the past two games, Lou has gone 8 for 8 on field goals. He still has a lot of work to do to become a consistent force off the bench, but he is showing improvement from where he was at the beginning of the season.

Next 7 games for the Indiana Pacers:

2/7- vs. Utah Jazz (13-10)

2/8- at Atlanta Hawks (16-9)

2/10- at Memphis Grizzlies (12-13)

2/11- vs. Denver Nuggets (15-10)

2/14- vs. Miami Heat (18-6)

2/15- at Cleveland Cavaliers (9-13)

2/16- vs. New Jersey Nets (8-18)

            Six of those games are winnable for the Pacers. Can you guess the one that’s not? That’s right, the Heat. The last time we played Miami they man handled us, and that was without Dwayne Wade. The Jazz and Nuggets are playing well right now, but so are the Pacers. We’ve already beaten Atlanta, Cleveland, and New Jersey so they shouldn’t be a problem. 

UPDATE 2/14: Pacers got off to a good start with a victory against Utah. It all went downhill from there as they lost the next three. The team is playing good but they're just getting beat by better teams. I may just be making excuses but our bench is really sub-par. We have money and cap space to sign a good player and that's what we need to do. Our starting five can compete with anybody. It's our bench players that are failing.

            Watch for my next Pacers’ post in a couple of weeks.

Opening Night for the Pacers

            The Indiana Pacers began their 2011 campaign Monday night with a 91-79 victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Pacers had to rely on their rebounding and defense as they only shot 37% from the field. Indiana’s big men were the stars of the game. Center Roy Hibbert, and forwards Tyler Hansbrough and David West, all had double-doubles. Indiana made 7 of 15 from behind the arc and 20 of 25 from the free-throw line. The team also combined for 53 rebounds, 18coming on offense, and 20 assists. This was a game that the Pacers should have won. They are the better team, and they proved it. The Pistons never led (I don’t think) and we beat them in most statistical categories.

            
            Tyler Hansbrough may be the early candidate for the “Sixth Man of the Year Award”. Hansbrough is the back up to West, but he gets plenty of playing time. Head coach Frank Vogel also played Hansbrough and West at the same time. West moved to center and replaced Hibbert while Hansbrough played power forward. Although the Pacers lose some height, they replace that with two guys that play with a lot of tenacity and energy. Everybody’s favorite journalist, Bob Kravitz, compared Hansbrough to Tim Tebow in an article today. I agree completely. Hansbrough has a drive to win that not everybody is born with. He is a competitor that wants to win every time he plays. It is vital that he is on the court as much as possible.

            
            The player that starts ahead of Hansbrough, David West, was also impressive in the first game of his Pacers’ career. West suffered a season-ending injury about eight months ago, and came off of rehab less than three weeks ago. He showed last night why the Pacers were so quick in signing him. He only shot 3-12, but he made five free throws and had twelve rebounds.

            
            Another player making his debut for Indiana was my new favorite player, George Hill.  Hill was born in Indianapolis and attended the same high school as me, Broad Ripple. He then turned down offers from several schools to stay in Indy and play at IUPUI. After playing for four years and leading IUPUI to the NCAA Tournament, Hill was drafted by the San Antonia Spurs. There he backed up Tony Parker and got to see some starting time. He finally returned home when the Pacers traded a draft pick to acquire him. Hill is the backup to point guard Darren Collison, but he is more than capable of being the starter. 

           

            
            I went to three Pacers’ games last year, but none of these even came close to the energy and excitement of what I experienced at this game. I could definitely feel the electricity in the air from the time I first walked into newly named Bankers Life Fieldhouse and until I left three hours later. As I was standing in the lobby before the game, surrounded by fellow Pacers fans, I couldn’t help but to smile. There was such a sense of pride and happiness that I had never felt at a sporting event before. This city has yearned so much for a great basketball team, and it seems like they finally have it. Opening night was just the first game in the beginning of what could be a magical ride. 


Next three games for the Pacers: at Toronto (12/28), vs. Cleveland (12/30), at Detroit (12/31)