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Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

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"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

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"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

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We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

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There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

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The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Granger Private Workout Article - Draft City

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  • Granger Private Workout Article - Draft City


    FWIW, take it with a grain of salt as it doesn't seem to be from a pro scout, I only posted it in light of someone referring to his weak left hand. It's also hard not to pull for a guy like Britton Johnsen.


    Danny Granger/Britton Johnsen Private Workout
    User Submitted
    May 24, 2005
    by Jason Klein

    Danny Granger and Britton Johnsen worked out at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA on Thursday, May 19. UCLA legend Don MacLean is working with both players to get them ready for the NBA. Granger is jockeying for position in the draft, establishing himself as a firm lottery pick while Johnson is looking to catch on for good with a team for his third stint in the league following tours in Orlando and Indiana.

    A little background on Don MacLean – he holds some career records at UCLA including field goals made, which he shares with Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and points. He spent 9 years in the NBA and won the Most Improved Player award in 1994.

    Because this was nearing the end of a grueling week that marked Granger’s return after a 2 week layoff due to a hamstring injury and with workouts with NBA teams starting the next day, I was informed that they were going to take it a little easy today, which meant no full court or half court two on two or one on one play.

    MacLean has Granger and Johnson going 6 days a week. 8:30-10:00 at Athletes performance is strength training, 11:00-1:00 is on the court with McLean, and then 3:00-5:00 again at Athletes performance back in the gym. There’s no doubt that Granger is in the best shape in his life and is about to peak at just the right time for private workouts.

    The workout started with dribbling drills at a standstill. First hand to hand, then left hand, then right hand, then low figure 8’s between the legs all with their heads up and eyes facing forward followed by hand to hand behind the back. All of these were done with their heads up and eyes facing forward. This was followed by full court dribbling drills with a ball in each hand. The first laps were done dribbling the balls simultaneously baseline to baseline, followed by dribbling the balls alternately. In both cases the first lap was done straight through and the second consisted of stopping every 5 feet or so, backing up, then moving forward again. The final dribbling drills were done with one ball, zig-zagging across the court, turning their backs and switching hands.



    According to scouts who saw him in college, Granger's biggest weakness is the fact that he spent his first three years in the NCAA almost strictly in the post, but is now projected as a small forward at the next level. Therefore, his ball-handling suffered in college because of a lack of opportunities to work on it in real time game situations. There are questions regarding how long it will be before he will become adequate at using his athleticism to create his own shot at the next level. The scouting report says that his left hand is particularly weak, almost always favoring his right hand to take his man off the dribble and get to the basket.

    Granger's ball-handling looked surprisingly fluid during these drills and his left hand looks competent. This is huge for him, as making that much progress in such a short amount of time only makes you wonder how good of a ball-handler he will become in 2-3 years down the road. This goes well with the notion around the league that despite his age, Granger still has a big upside to improve, thanks to his physical attributes and work ethic. He appears to be working hard on this weakness and he will most definitely benefit from continuing with these drills.

    After that, it was catch and shoot drills with Johnson on one end of the court and Granger at the other moving from the left side of the court to the right. These started inside the NCAA 3 point line at first, then moved to the NCAA 3 point line, followed by moving out to what would be NBA 3 point range.

    Granger did well within the NCAA arc and at the NCAA arc. He has a textbook release on his shot and got some good lift on his jumpers. When he moved out to the NBA 3, his shot became more inconsistent. His shots were either all net or hitting the front of the rim. That can be attributed to the adjustment required for the added distance, as well as the fact that he just hadn’t been on the court in a while. With his form, feel for the game and work ethic, the adjustment should come fairly quickly.

    Then came pick and roll drills, all of which were confined to from just above the top of the key in, first on one side of the court, then the other. If the ball crossed over to the wrong side of the key, the play was stopped.

    The first of these drills consisted of one person with the ball, and the other setting the pick against no opponent. After the pick, the person with the ball would make a move to the hoop while the person setting the pick would move to the baseline and receive a second ball, so both were constantly working.



    This was followed by two on two pick and roll games with Granger and Johnson both teamed with a guard, local players from the area. On pick and rolls, Granger was setting some solid picks, but most of his shots after receiving the ball were rimming out. He looked comfortable in both situations, but was more successful with the ball in his hands as opposed to receiving it. Based on the frustration he expressed with each miss, it could have been an off shooting day due to the fatigue of a hard week after a long layoff. It would not surprise me since these were shots he was making with ease during the catch and shoot drills.

    Granger stands 6’8” with a 7’2” wingspan and a 36 inch vertical leap. He’s a lean, but very solid 220 pounds, and his frame can handle more muscle if needed. As he is now, he has a prototypical small forward body and is athletic with very good lateral quickness and quick jumping ability. His low post experience at New Mexico will help him in the pros, but defensively he will benefit from the additional strength, bulk and experience that will come as he continues to mature. Once this happens, him and his team will really be exploit that part of his game, even against the elite players like the McGrady’s and Marion’s of the league. There are some edges that need to be polished, mainly the experience that comes from guarding the perimeter night in night out, but he has the potential to be an excellent defender with his length, wingspan and lateral quickness. This is one of the things that NBA teams seem to be most excited about and will really be looking hard at.

    His jumper has a textbook high release and he shows the potential to be a powerful dunker, although he was overly enthusiastic about it on a few occasions which led him to hitting the back of the rim. His ball handling abilities have improved thanks to his work with MacLean, and they should improve more with continued practice.

    He is a very intelligent person (he turned down a scholarship to Yale) and his adjustment to the NBA game should be a fairly short one if he continues on his current training regimen.

    He will be working out for the Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers and Lakers next week.

    Johnsen stands 6’9” and looks to be around 220-225 as well (he put on 10 pounds during his time off). What really surprised me about Britton was his deceptive speed. I did not expect him to move as quickly as he did, especially with those toothpick legs of his. When it came to side to side sprints, MacLean threw down the gauntlet, saying that $50 was Britton’s if he completed 17 sides in less than 56 seconds. Johnsen made it in 55 and happily handed the money to his wife who was courtside with their infant son.



    He was a McDonald's All-American out of high school, and played under the conservative Rick Majerus at Utah, where he played a very limited role offensive, mostly as a post player who was not allowed to play too much on the perimeter and create his own shot. His pro potential therefore suffered, as he's clearly as perimeter oriented SF for the next level, but lacked the shooting or ball-handling skills out of college to get drafted. He also went on a two year mission (he's Mormon) so he was much older than everyone else in that draft. Regardless, he made the Orlando Magic thanks to an excellent summer league campaign, and then made the league once again last summer after another excellent summer league campaign. This year, he started off with Idaho in the CBA before being signed by the Pacers and even starting a few games for them before being cut.

    Johnsen did well on the catch and shoot drills, showing a solid shot out to the NCAA 3 point line. Beyond that, he was inconsistent. During the pick and roll drills, he hit around half of his shots when setting the pick. He looked to be able to hold his own defensively against Granger and the guards, using his long arms to get a couple of blocks and steals during the drills.

    Britton seems to have improved in most aspects as a small forward. His ball handling was decent and he had a very smooth shot from outside. As of right now, he is not starting material, but it would not be surprising to see him as an energy guy off the bench considering his speed, motor and defensive abilities. He needs to get a little more consistent from behind the NBA 3 point line to improve his chances, as he wavers from either not being able to miss or not hitting anything.



    Both Johnsen and Granger did a good job of talking to their partners in the pick and roll exercises, letting their guards know when to go over or fight through the picks. This is the type of thing that will endear these guys to an NBA team behind the scenes in practice. Defensively, both had some breakdowns, but overall showed the effort and ability to be effective using their length to bother their opponent. It’s a small thing, but both really cared about their shooting even in an empty gym and expressed frustration whenever they missed a shot that should have been an easy make. You could tell they are constantly pushing themselves and won’t settle for anything less than the absolute best.

    Unfortunately, even though Danny looked very impressive in the workout, we weren’t able to see some of his biggest strengths, like his basketball IQ within the team structure, his ability to be creative and improvise, his leadership skills, and just his overall feel for the game, which is excellent. These are the type of things that come out in games, but not so much in workouts.

    Britton’s best aspects of his game are his motor, constant energy, and his uncanny ability to get from one end of the floor to other. Again, this is something that you can get a better feel for when watching him play five on five. He seems to be the type of player that will excel in an up-tempo team that likes to get up and down the floor, as he has good speed in transition. Guarding him is an exhausting task, since he’s always moving.

    Overall, it’s not easy to judge either based on the competitive drills that were run, and that’s why this is just another tool that NBA teams use to evaluate prospects, along with footage from their career up to this point. There was no wide open two on two scrimmaging and when you confine any player to just a sliver of the court, you really can’t see what they really can or cannot do. I can say that both guys put forth maximum effort and would have been ripped by MacLean had they not.

    Without seeing them in an open court game, it’s hard to get a feel for their decision making on either end of the floor, and that’s a shame because this is an area that they both excel at, especially Granger. MacLean’s drills will definitely prepare them for what’s ahead, but watching them here is not enough to get a feel for how what they have learned will translate to live situations. We’ll just have to wait for next year when we see them in real NBA games to decide.

  • #2
    Re: Granger Private Workout Article - Draft City

    You all know I'm a Ron supporter, but the more I read, the more this guy screams "Artest Insurance."
    Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Granger Private Workout Article - Draft City

      Originally posted by Kegboy
      You all know I'm a Ron supporter, but the more I read, the more this guy screams "Artest Insurance."
      Screams versatility more than anything.

      This guy should be playing heavy back up minutes behind SJax and Artest..and every now and then JO. But man, There aren't enough minutes to go around next year.

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