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An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

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  • #16
    Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

    Originally posted by Hicks
    I think we're modestly screwed.
    I did not copy the rest of your post, but it was outstanding.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

      Originally posted by Hicks
      I think we're modestly screwed. We need two big changes to right the ship, IMO. I think whomever we get for Ron will help immediately in some ways, but not enough to turn straw into gold. But I think what it will do is prime us to be another move away from being in a good position again. This team needs a makeover, not open-heart surgery.

      Let's look at our PGs.

      I'm ready for Anthony Johnson to leave. Rick is clinging to him at Jasikevicius' expense and that is unacceptable. Sarunas should start and Tinsley should be backing him up, even though individually Tinsley is better. Let Tinsley score more with the second unit, and give what's usually a weak offensive bench some scoring power with those bullet passes, while Runi get the starters all involved to start the game, not to mention he's back where he should: With the ball in his hands. He's smart enough to get people involved, take opportunity shots, and to drive. Yes he does make mistakes, but it's not like there's a perfect PG out there, and as a rookie he's already made large strides in his game.

      With that said, it's not going to happen. Tinsley's too "proud" to play backup, and Rick clings to AJ like he did Michael Curry. That being the case, Tinsley or AJ has to go. Preferably AJ, because I can live with Sarunas being the backup to Tinsley a lot more than I can AJ still being here backup up Runi.

      Time for SGs.

      This is a mess. Sarunas Jasikevicius should never play shooting guard. It ruins him. It's like playing Jalen Rose at PG. No, no, no. Fred Jones is what he is. And undersized SG who Rick plays for his defense, only his defense just isn't that great. It's fine, but not good enough to be earning him special privilages (playing extended minutes). His jumper is hit and miss, he's never been a serious threat on the drive, he can't dribble, and his passing is merely OK. You can do worse for a backup 2, but he's just not special. We don't have a starting SG right now.

      Moving on to SF.

      Stephen Jackson has really sunk in my eyes. I was high on him last Fall pre-11/19, and I thought he was pretty good after he came back. But this year his attitude seems worse, his defense has disappeared, and his shot selection (and the ability to make them) is as bad as ever. That with his battle to rival Artest as worst headcase means I think he should go. Behind him we have Danny Granger, who really belongs at PF as much as SF in this discussion because of where Rick plays him. I truly believe Danny will be our next star SF. He just has the talent, the right head on his shoulders, and the effort is there too. It's only a matter of time, but I'm very uneasy about Rick Carlisle being his coach at this stage in his career. I'm afraid we're seeing Tayshaun Prince Part II, and that bothers me considerably.

      Next we have PF.

      Jermaine O'Neal has been as good as he ever has been. He's blocking shots, he's putting forth as much effort as he ever has, he's always been an offensive monster, and though of late it's been waning, he's rebounding has been very good as well. He's even making an obvious effort to pass more often out of the block, and all that combined with him taking over the leader reigns makes me do nothing but applaud him. After him, depending on how you look at it, we have Granger, or Croshere. I'll leave what I said about Granger alone other than to say that I'm OK with him at 4, but I really believe the sooner we lock him into SF, the sooner he'll become something truly special for us. Croshere has been as good as ever, and once again he's getting screwed over by a coach who prefers to be submissive to his opponent night in and night out with matchups and strategies, rather than forcing his own to dominate.

      Finally we have the C position.

      Foster is deadweight right now. He's always been an offensive liability, but right now he's not healthy and/or in shape enough to even bring his trademark hustle, defense, and rebounding to the table enough to make him worthy of playing time. He should be in street clothes right now, spending his free time working out hard to get back in game shape. Scot Pollard looked good last night, but he's being used even less than before by Rick because of his infatuation with playing small ball. He is what he is, and I don't have an issue with him really. David Harrison is a tease, I think. He looks like he'll be better than he really is. Bad rebounder, so-so defender, a limited offensive game, but I do love the space he takes up on the floor when he's in there. But when that's your biggest strength, simply "being big", and you've also shown signs of being yet another headcase on a team that collects them, you don't play, nor should you unless it's absolutely necessary.

      I'm also going to comment on coaching.

      Rick is frustrating me. I like him. I have liked him before, but his style is wearing thin. I can't stand the idea of always playing to our opponent's strengths, rather than forcing our own style. We don't even have a style aside from ultra-conservative offense, and good team defense. Beyond that, we play as small as the other team wants, rather than using what we have to our advantage. I'd rather decide what I like best, and play that and the other team be damned. Extreme situations call for big adjustments, but Rick just conceded immediately to the whim of the other coach. Always, always, always worried more about the defensive mismatch than the offensive mismatch, to the detriment of an already poor offense. This is the reason he plays AJ instead of Sarunas at the PG, but I'll say right here and now that it's better to give up defense from playing Sarunas at the 1 than it is to give up his offense by playing him at the 2. Absolutely. What he'd doing now is taking 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards.

      I also wish he'd throw Danny out there at the 3 and let him learn. We are not contenders. We are not going to be contenders. When that is the case, you let your rookie who has a boat load of talent learn as much as possible as quickly as possibly against the best competition he can face. Especially when the kid is already capable of guarding whomever he's matched up with, and brings intangibles to the floor.

      Excellent post & I agree with most of it.

      I've highlighted a part though that I want to focus on for a min. & say this. Exchange the name Danny & insert the name David & see if you don't still agree with what you've typed.

      I do. We will never know what Harrison is actually capable of doing with the way that Carlisle is playing him.


      Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

        Originally posted by Peck
        Please please please explain to me why haveing a powerfull small foward allows you to have a weak center?

        Sorry I'm not UB, but my thoughts, speaking purely from an offensive perspective...

        I think to spread the defense you need the threat of scoring in the low post by ideally two guys and also two perimeter threats IMO, with one or two of them being able to get dribble penetration.

        Most teams don't have a small forward who can seal off defenders and demand a double team in the post. The Pacers did. Because of this, in the we didn't miss the fact that Foster brings no offense. The fact that his opponent always left him to double on Ron or Jermaine made him an effective offensive rebounder (not blocked out). He could set picks, just react to the ball, and be somewhat effective without ever having a semblance of an offensive move.

        Now only Jermaine has any desire or ability to post up anybody at all. I have a pipe dream that DH might someday be the second post-up threat, but that seems mighty iffy.
        The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

          Originally posted by Peck
          Excellent post & I agree with most of it.

          I've highlighted a part though that I want to focus on for a min. & say this. Exchange the name Danny & insert the name David & see if you don't still agree with what you've typed.

          I do. We will never know what Harrison is actually capable of doing with the way that Carlisle is playing him.
          So far DH has looked bad, but I think he needs to be on the floor anyway. Primoz was given an opportunity and look what he has done. IMO DH has shown more than Primoz at this stage of his career.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

            I don't buy for a second that Rick is holding DH back, DH is doing it to himself. That is enough about him. I hope he's traded along with Ron, Jax and Tinsley as I said 12/13.


            Hicks your post makes a lot of very good points, but I dont agree that Rick is holding DG back. He has played him at crunch time at on the road in two recent games. At NY and at Cleveland. Why doesn't he just start DG. Let's see what happens Friday night, I expect a change in the lineup and I'll be interested to see what changes are made.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

              I think there has been a bit of a perfect storm of mistakes and unfortunate circumstances...

              1) Trading Harrington for Jax was the first domino in my opinion. We thought were were getting a backup 2 - a guy who would be able to hit teh 3 and be a good SHOOTING guard - he is a scoring guard, not a good shooting guard. Choosing him as Reggie's successor was a mistake because not only did he not have Reggie's shot (no one does) but he does not have Reggie's head - he is a fraction of a player that Reggie was. We thought he was a viable replacement. And we thought we were getting a better piece to the puzzle than Al was... we were wrong. And you know what - we should have just told Al to suck it up, we are not trading you - you will be a free agent in 2 years... tough it out.

              2) Signing AJ 2 years ago still confounds me - if he has talent, I do not see it.

              3) Then we had the brawl and a few good games by Freddie made us think he was MUCH better than he really is. And we are relying on him now to be something he is not - a shooter.

              4) Reggie retires (I think because he was sick of the team more than anything at this point)

              5) Then signing Saras was a really good move - but that signing should have been accompanied by an AJ trade - just to force the rotation. BUT Sara can't hit the NBA 3 - maybe someday, but he can't do it now. So we are left with a team with no real threats to stretch the defense and open up the middle for all of are post and slashing players.

              6) And this offseason while we could have gone out and signed a vet shooter - we were too busy worrying about cost-cutting and letting people that could shoot (James Jones) go for nothing.

              7) Then we - for some unknown reason STILL had hope that Bender would contribute.

              8) Ron asks for trade

              So let's recap... we lost Al, Reggie, Bender, and Ron (I won't even count Brad
              Miller here)

              And gained Saras, Jax, and TBD in the past year and a half (our draft picks are nothing more than bit players right now - any person thinking other wise is kidding themself)

              Our other players have not progressed - in the least. Some have regressed.

              This team misses Ron because he could hit the outside shot more than anything. He was also our most consistent player outside of JO. But he wasn't enough from an outside shooting standpoint. Without him, we are left with role players playing the wrong roles because of the holes that Donnie-do-nothing/old buggeyes has allowed.

              I am quite pessimistic about this year as I think Donnie will make a trade that will disappoint even those of you who would take a bag of jock straps for Ron. Maybe he will prove me wrong - but if any trade is made that does not upgrade our shooting, you have to ask yourself - has Donnie lost his curveball... assuming (I am not) that he ever had one.
              Heywoode says... work hard man.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                Originally posted by Unclebuck
                I don't buy for a second that Rick is holding DH back, DH is doing it to himself. That is enough about him. I hope he's traded along with Ron, Jax and Tinsley as I said 12/13.


                Hicks your post makes a lot of very good points, but I dont agree that Rick is holding DG back. He has played him at crunch time at on the road in two recent games. At NY and at Cleveland. Why doesn't he just start DG. Let's see what happens Friday night, I expect a change in the lineup and I'll be interested to see what changes are made.
                Once again I find myself in the UB camp.

                Impact rookies - young players who will make an impact - make an impact right away - a consistent impact. Even DD had 10 plus rebounds a game his rookie year. Our rookies are just not that good.
                Heywoode says... work hard man.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                  I posted this in the "Rosen" thread, but I might as well copy it here and elaborate a bit, as I suspect this thread is going to "take off":

                  Start playing people at their natural positions and give them time to jell. That's probably hard to do considering the immenent roster changes.

                  PG: Tinsely - backed up by Saras
                  SG: Jackson - backed up by Fred
                  SF: Granger - backed up by Jax
                  PF: Austin - backed up by Foster
                  C: JO - backed up by David

                  Alternatively, start JO at PF and David at C. Backed up by Austin at PF and Foster at C.

                  And stick with it.

                  And while we're at it, get more freakin' movement on offense. I don't care if JO's got the ball in the post, if you're standing around, you'll be sitting down.

                  And rebound, dammit. Send at least one more guy to the boards.


                  I think a lot of that has already been said at least once. We've got both player problems and coaching problems. I think, though, that the best thing we can do right now is set a rotation, set positions, and execute. Work on playing "the right way". (I'm beginning to hate that phrase.) We'll lose some games, but we'll win some too and get better in the process.

                  I dunno, maybe Rick knows he's going to have to rethink everything after "the trade" and doesn't want to expend a lot of energy right now changing things only to have to change them again.
                  You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
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                  - Jimmy Buffett

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                  • #24
                    Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                    Originally posted by Unclebuck
                    Well if I haven't convinced you yet, I likely won't be able to now.

                    Let's look at offense first. Ron likes to dominate the ball and so does Tinsley, so the last thing we need is a center or power forward who even wants to touch the ball. Reggie fit well, because he worked without the ball. But you add Jax into the mix and we had what we had to begin the season. So Ron and Jeff just fit together. They did win 61 games together, two years ago.

                    On defense: They are great one-on-one defenders, J.O is a great help side defenders, so the frontline made an excellent (second only to the Pistons defensive front line. That is not just me saying this. Many experts where saying the Pacers were the 2nd best defensive frontline in the NBA after the 2004 season.

                    OK, maybe I haven't addressed your real question Peck. "how does having a strong small forward allow a weak center" that is your question. A team has to fit together, if you have a poor shooting small forward then you need a good shooting guard. If you have a shooting guard who is a horrible ball handler, then you better have a point guard who can really handle the ball.

                    If you have a weak rebounding power forward then you better have a center who can really rebound.

                    This all begs the question. Why must you choose to settle with having certain players who can't do certain things. Why can't you get a power forward and center who can rebound or a small forward and shooting guard who can really shoot. Well unless you have an allstar team you will always have players who have weaknesses, and therefore you must have players who help compensate for other players weaknsesses

                    So I guess my point is, sure I'd rather have Shaq then Jeff Foster, but having Ron at small forward helps offset the weaknesses that you see in Jeff or for that matter in J.O.

                    Hope that helps a little.
                    Actually believe it or not I agree with some of this & I'll address that in a min. but a couple of things firs.

                    1. Great defender & Jeff Foster do not go together. Servicable defender, mabye even good defender, but not great. Ben Wallace is great, P.J. Brown is great, yes (you knew this was coming) Dale Davis was great. Foster is not even in any of thier calibers.

                    2. While I understand that mixing parts work, I still don't see how a powerfull small forward stops a center? Forget Shaq, nobody can guard him, let's go for Eddy Curry. How does Ron Artest or some other powerfull small forward, stop Eddy Curry from beating Jeff Foster to death?

                    Now let's go to a mutal agreement. Mixing parts works.

                    We've seen this in the past. You wanna talk about Ron & Jeff & your magical 61 win season (BTW you often forget that Al played as many min. as Jeff did) & I will say I understand because Rik Smits & Dale Davis played for the NBA championship.

                    So this is where I wonder if you are not having some problems with either Walsh or Carlisle?

                    Let's put away both of our personnel feelings for Ron for a min. & admit one thing. There was always the possibility of something happening with him. Whether it was this or league suspension or something, there was always that possibility.

                    Why weren't we better prepared for it than this?

                    Now moving past that, why is Carlisle not mixing & matching players to fit each other a little better?

                    Why is Danny Granger playing out of position at the 4?

                    I understand & agree with you about Saras, Rick was defusing a controversy, but it's a failure & has been for awhile. So what about Fred Jones starting?

                    I guess I just don't understand why the Pacers actually ever thought this thing wouldn't blow up in their faces.


                    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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                    • #25
                      Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                      Originally posted by Peck
                      Excellent post & I agree with most of it.

                      I've highlighted a part though that I want to focus on for a min. & say this. Exchange the name Danny & insert the name David & see if you don't still agree with what you've typed.

                      I do. We will never know what Harrison is actually capable of doing with the way that Carlisle is playing him.
                      I don't know. I would have thought so more last year or early this year, but I'm suspecting he has an attitude problem, and beyond that I've only seen him use one post move. We all know about his rebounding and he still does tend to foul a lot. I agree that playing him more would let him sink or swim so we don't have to keep asking these questions again and again.

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                      • #26
                        Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                        I think this thread is a good idea, but perhaps 2-3 weeks premature. Does the "patience will right the ship" choice mean that we should "T.O." Artest and get nothing for him? Does the "one good trade" option include the Artest trade or not? I apologize if I too dense to realize that this was explained.

                        On to my thoughts of the team:

                        Globally:

                        Every great team at it's core needs 3 players of "impact" and at least 4 other players that know exactly what their job is and know how to do the job without fail. The (minimum) 3 central players are like a tripod. It's stable and strong. Take one leg away, and it doesn't stand up.

                        The team was rotten at the center the day we traded for Ron Artest. That's hindsight talking. In 02-03 I thought he was a knucklehead. In 03-04 I came around to like him until the post season stories came out. Then it all went to hell and we've suffered a year and a half without the proper foundation on our house.

                        On the dark side:

                        Jermaine Oneal cannot be our only star. Not even Shaq, Garnett or Duncan can pull that off, let alone JO. We need a major complimentary star, and we need one badly. It disappointed me to read today that Donnie does not want to do a mega-trade that includes 3-4 Pacers. That told me that he isn't going to bring in a talent the likes of which we need.

                        On the bright side:

                        I still think this is a 50 win team. The majority of NBA fans out there are fans of teams that will not reach that mark. For that reason, we are very lucky.

                        What I would do:

                        I would trade for a mid-carreer star, preferably a 2-guard, but I'll take a point guard also. Pick one, but it has to be a name. I would pay any price but Granger, Harrison, JO and Sarunas. I would also trade for a very high draft pick. That's right - two major trades.

                        Those four men listed above should be starting (or at least they should be getting HEAVY minutes) along with our new star shooting guard. Croshere coming off the bench with 20-24 minutes at PF is not a bad idea. I think that this can all happen without dropping below 45 games won. Those guys could clobber the weaker teams and steal wins from upper-level teams.

                        Then, over the summer, I would trade Jermaine O'Neal while he's still young, healthy and desirable and really start over. He's one more shoulder dislocation from becoming the next Alan Houston with that contract, and I fear our future with him more than I fear our future without him.
                        “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

                        “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

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                        • #27
                          Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                          Originally posted by pacertom
                          Sorry I'm not UB, but my thoughts, speaking purely from an offensive perspective...

                          I think to spread the defense you need the threat of scoring in the low post by ideally two guys and also two perimeter threats IMO, with one or two of them being able to get dribble penetration.

                          Most teams don't have a small forward who can seal off defenders and demand a double team in the post. The Pacers did. Because of this, in the we didn't miss the fact that Foster brings no offense. The fact that his opponent always left him to double on Ron or Jermaine made him an effective offensive rebounder (not blocked out). He could set picks, just react to the ball, and be somewhat effective without ever having a semblance of an offensive move.

                          Now only Jermaine has any desire or ability to post up anybody at all. I have a pipe dream that DH might someday be the second post-up threat, but that seems mighty iffy.
                          This is right on the money, and I will add one more think to what Tom and Buck have said abou this. Artest could usually guard the pf or center for the opponents for a possession here or there. As the defense had to rotate he gave us one more player that could body up with the power players on other teams. Obviously, this doesn't make Foster a better defender one on one, but it does limit the options the other team has for creating mismatches in their offense.

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                          • #28
                            Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                            Originally posted by Unclebuck
                            Hicks your post makes a lot of very good points, but I dont agree that Rick is holding DG back. He has played him at crunch time at on the road in two recent games. At NY and at Cleveland. Why doesn't he just start DG. Let's see what happens Friday night, I expect a change in the lineup and I'll be interested to see what changes are made.
                            I hope you're right that we do see a lineup change Friday, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll just be happy if we've gotten our new player(s) by then.

                            It's not that I feel he's holding DG back this second so much as I feel this is as far as Rick will go with Danny, and soon that won't be enough. I'm not happy with the idea that for the rest of this season he'll play 80% of his minutes at PF, and off the bench. Yes he can play there, but he'll be at his absolute best as a SF nightmare for everyone else, and he can play there just as well, but with more going in his favor. And I think for us to get the most out of him as quickly as possible, he needs the majority of his minutes at 3, and since we are not playing for a championship I'd rather he play those minutes against starters to up the learning curve I feel he's intelligent and mature enough to handle. Sure, he'll struggle, but he'll adjust as well as any high-prospect rookie has.

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                            • #29
                              Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                              Originally posted by Doug in OH
                              Once again I find myself in the UB camp.

                              Impact rookies - young players who will make an impact - make an impact right away - a consistent impact. Even DD had 10 plus rebounds a game his rookie year. Our rookies are just not that good.
                              Woah, woah, woah. You think Danny Granger is "just not that good"? What games have you been watching? He's at least as good as any rookie we've had in a decade. If you gave him starters minutes he'd probably contend with JO being the leading rebounder. He already can guard just about anybody thrown at him, and he's finding the shooting touch he had in college (44% from 3 his senior year). Combine that with his high basketball IQ, and already decent passing, and this kid has the goods.

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                              • #30
                                Re: An open honest discusion about the Pacers....

                                Originally posted by Hicks
                                Woah, woah, woah. You think Danny Granger is "just not that good"? What games have you been watching? He's at least as good as any rookie we've had in a decade. If you gave him starters minutes he'd probably contend with JO being the leading rebounder. He already can guard just about anybody thrown at him, and he's finding the shooting touch he had in college (44% from 3 his senior year). Combine that with his high basketball IQ, and already decent passing, and this kid has the goods.
                                Maybe my malaise with this team has tainted my view - I will take a step back from that comment - for now.

                                BUT saying he is our best rookie in a decade is not really saying that much
                                Heywoode says... work hard man.

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