As the title says I think the Pacers have the potential to have a good season. I like our mix of players, however, there are some potential chemistry issues as there is with every team at the start of the season. The change to an uptempo offense will allow our playmakers to make more plays. We might give up more points per game, but we will score more to make up for it. Larry and Donnie know what they are doing. Both of them have been in the league a long time and are proven winners. Yes, they may have made some bad calls on guranteed contracts and keeping Artest around too long. However, they always say the right things and never overreact when faced by adversity. I completely respect the way they have tried to deal with players like Artest and Jackson. Professional athletes are some of the hardest individuals to work with. Walsh and Bird have done whats best for the franchise. What might have hurt them in the past is actually caring for their players personally and not just treating them like commodities like the majority of NBA franchises do. They actually try to show loyalty to players who have produced for them.
Anyway now to what I really want to talk about Pacer BASKETBALL!!!
- Haven't seen a game yet this season, but have followed using gamecast and have seen numerous Pacer games over the last few years.
- Hopefully injuries don't become a problem again. We need our key guys for 80+ games.
- Today I'll discuss our 1's.
- Tin's as a starter would be ideal. I'm fine with Runi as a starter, but we are much better team with both of them playing quality minutes. Tins can be one of the better 1's in the league. However, it all comes down to his head. If he can get his head straight then he can give us a lot. When I mean head straight I mean he plays team ball. With this year's squad he has to get everyone involved, shoots when he needs to and uses his fantastic handle to create for his teammates. When he hogs the ball and doesn't make the extra pass he still gets numbers, but the Pacers don't get wins. Jamal then becomes Stepon Marbury all numbers and no wins. There is a good possibility he will get injured and miss games. That has to be expected.
- Why is everyone down on Runi? What did you expect 20 and 10 every night. He isn't that type of player. What you want from your backup point guard is to bring a skill set to the floor that your starter doesn't have. He can be a great defender, an energy guy, a shooter, a great dribble penetrator, a good passer etc... He doesn't have to be an all-star. Runi gives us a good change of pace as a backup. He makes plays and for everyone who continues to go off on how he can't bring the ball up the floor, yes he doesn't have the greatest handle, but it's not as bad as everyone thinks. He does a great job of getting everyone involved on offense and is a great passer not only as an assist guy but making the extra pass and getting the ball to our scorers where they are comfortable. He shoots the ball much better then all our other 1's too. Yeah he gives up some points on defense, but we're not asking him to be a lock down defender and he is not as much of a liability as some people make him out to be.
- DA's great, but at his age I can't see him giving us 20 plus minutes a night. Not because he can't play, but because it is too much wear and tear on his body. He's best as an energy guy when the team is sluggish and needs a wakeup call. If we can limit his minutes in the regular season he will be able to player bigger minutes in the playoffs when we really will need him. Because by that time there is a good chance Tins will be injured and Jax won't be on the team anymore. Greene can't be evaluated on the one preseason game he played for us. It sounds like he has talent, but to say he should be our top backup after one game playing against the other teams second and third stringers? Hunter, forget it, he has about 7-8 turnovers, in the last two games he played against the other teams backups. In today's game he turned it over 4 times and had 0 assists. He also got a tech and for a guy who is desperately trying to make an NBA squad for the first time I'm sorry, but being out at a strip joint at 3 in the morning the day before a practice does not speak well on your work ethic. It's impossible make a case for this guy over Runi, DA, or Greene.
Wow long first post. I'll be back to discuss the rest of the roster later.
Anyway now to what I really want to talk about Pacer BASKETBALL!!!
- Haven't seen a game yet this season, but have followed using gamecast and have seen numerous Pacer games over the last few years.
- Hopefully injuries don't become a problem again. We need our key guys for 80+ games.
- Today I'll discuss our 1's.
- Tin's as a starter would be ideal. I'm fine with Runi as a starter, but we are much better team with both of them playing quality minutes. Tins can be one of the better 1's in the league. However, it all comes down to his head. If he can get his head straight then he can give us a lot. When I mean head straight I mean he plays team ball. With this year's squad he has to get everyone involved, shoots when he needs to and uses his fantastic handle to create for his teammates. When he hogs the ball and doesn't make the extra pass he still gets numbers, but the Pacers don't get wins. Jamal then becomes Stepon Marbury all numbers and no wins. There is a good possibility he will get injured and miss games. That has to be expected.
- Why is everyone down on Runi? What did you expect 20 and 10 every night. He isn't that type of player. What you want from your backup point guard is to bring a skill set to the floor that your starter doesn't have. He can be a great defender, an energy guy, a shooter, a great dribble penetrator, a good passer etc... He doesn't have to be an all-star. Runi gives us a good change of pace as a backup. He makes plays and for everyone who continues to go off on how he can't bring the ball up the floor, yes he doesn't have the greatest handle, but it's not as bad as everyone thinks. He does a great job of getting everyone involved on offense and is a great passer not only as an assist guy but making the extra pass and getting the ball to our scorers where they are comfortable. He shoots the ball much better then all our other 1's too. Yeah he gives up some points on defense, but we're not asking him to be a lock down defender and he is not as much of a liability as some people make him out to be.
- DA's great, but at his age I can't see him giving us 20 plus minutes a night. Not because he can't play, but because it is too much wear and tear on his body. He's best as an energy guy when the team is sluggish and needs a wakeup call. If we can limit his minutes in the regular season he will be able to player bigger minutes in the playoffs when we really will need him. Because by that time there is a good chance Tins will be injured and Jax won't be on the team anymore. Greene can't be evaluated on the one preseason game he played for us. It sounds like he has talent, but to say he should be our top backup after one game playing against the other teams second and third stringers? Hunter, forget it, he has about 7-8 turnovers, in the last two games he played against the other teams backups. In today's game he turned it over 4 times and had 0 assists. He also got a tech and for a guy who is desperately trying to make an NBA squad for the first time I'm sorry, but being out at a strip joint at 3 in the morning the day before a practice does not speak well on your work ethic. It's impossible make a case for this guy over Runi, DA, or Greene.
Wow long first post. I'll be back to discuss the rest of the roster later.
Comment