Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

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"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

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

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

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.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

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

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

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.
See more
See less

Halfway through the season. 15-26.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

    Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
    Wow. Looks like I may have been wildly optimistic with my prediction of 36 wins.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

      Originally posted by Speed View Post
      Well, you have the whole team now, mostly, they have been almost there on almost every night. I still think they could really make a push to make the playoffs. They seem to get a little better every week.

      Two nice wins against Detroit and Toronto really are pretty big, imho.

      Also, I'll mention again about those last 14 games and how they are really set up to make a run. I think they'll go 10-4 those last 14, if healthy. That will be a big push for a playoff spot, if they do.

      I just look at where they were at to start the season and where they are now and it's a pretty big difference.

      Biggest positive changes.

      -Granger is your go to guy, no question. He's a top player in the league and worth every penny they are paying him. DG has been such a bright spot for this team; I shudder to think where they would be if he wasn't the gift.

      -The offense is fun to watch and effective. (really the whole NBA is much much more pleasant to watch, not because of the increased scoring, but the team play, period.)

      -Guys play unselfishly, you really get the feeling that they just want to win and the culture is clearly changed (even though Murphy can be a rebound vulture at times )

      -Dunleavy plays and makes others around him better without effecting Grangers scoring, so far.

      -I'm pleased with the youngsters for the future. I know many are down on them, but I really feel like all 3 have shown enough that they have a real baseline to improve on for next year and seasons after.

      -You know Nesto isn't more than what you thought. This is important because you can basically let him go without much regret, unless he'll play for what he is worth.

      -Marquis is a little more difficult, but I still think you let him drop off as well, since his team option is more than what he's worth.

      -You know what the teams needs and it is what you thought it was. A low post defensive player with some semblence of a low post game would be nice.

      -Murphy is nice to have around, he's really playing like I had hoped when they traded for him, now with the need for a low post guy it sounds like he needs to go, not at all. He's a unique type player who really has had a nice year.

      The Negatives so far.

      -TJ isn't the answer that I thought he would be, he's inconsistent and struggles to maintain his health with that size frame, imho.

      -Jarret isn't the answer he's hardnosed and been a nice defensive player, but not a stopper and a detriment more than a positive at the end of games.

      -Roy will never be a dominant defensive center (I knew this, but I had hoped for more in the future).

      -Beating a dead horse-the defense scheme sucks, I think we have enough evidence to say it that clearly.



      Overall, this first half of the season has been a really nice step towards getting better and finally turning the page on some of the darkest years in Pacers history. If you look at where they have came in the last 2 years, it's really impressive. If you just look at the record so far, it looks bad (by itself), but you really have to look at the whole picture.

      There are no easy fixes out there or there rarely is.

      For those of you who want to scrap the whole thing after every loss, I feel ya. But those are the type of things that cause problems, not fix them.
      I agree with most of this. I'm still not quite sure what to think of TJ Ford. he has looked great at times but his inconsistency is concerning, and this nagging back injury is the kind of thing that seems to linger. I would like to see him get healthy.

      I am fine with Jack as the backup but Obrien WAY overuses him, as far as Im concerned he should not be there late in games... he has a tendency to go 1 on 5 and throw up a horrendous shot or rediculous pass/turnover at the absolute worst times.

      If we make the playoffs it will be because the PG play picks up in quality. If that does not happen, as much as people harp about a PF, I would be looking at Ty Lawson in this draft... and we would probably be in range to get him...

      I think this team wins 35-41 games, and those extra 5 or 6 will be the key to making the playoffs if it is at all possible. 35 is probably most realistic.
      Last edited by Infinite MAN_force; 01-20-2009, 11:59 AM.
      "As a bearded man, i was very disappointed in Love. I am gathering other bearded men to discuss the status of Kevin Love's beard. I am motioning that it must be shaved."

      - ilive4sports

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

        We are 5-9 in games decided by three points or less. Which is about right considering our 15-26 record. That is one third of our games decided by three points or less. That is great basketball to watch. Even if we have come out on the losing end of too many close ones.

        I am hopeful that we can win 21 of our last 41, meaning that we are over .500 to end the year. I just want this team to define who are our core players over the rest of the season and put a priority on them progressing.
        "Your course, your path, is not going to be like mine," West says. "Everybody is not called to be a multimillionaire. Everybody's not called to be the president. Whatever your best work is, you do it. Do it well. … You cease your own greatness when you aspire to be someone else."

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

          I think, as hard as it is for those die-hard fans who frequent the Digest to understand, the most important thing about this season is that the city perceives the Pacers as a hard-nosed team full of guys who work at the game and conduct themselves properly. Yeah, they aren't that good, but they don't let it stop them.

          That doesn't immediately translate into attendance figures without adding wins, but it absolutely has changed the visibility (and, one would hope, the subsequent sale) of Pacers merchandise. It increases the perception of team support on the street. It builds fans who are beginning to see that the team is "fun to watch" and who are willing to show up once or twice.

          Like it or not, this season is accomplishing exactly what TPTB want - to work their way back into the hearts of the city. I have to say that, while the crowds may be smaller than desired, they are by far more into the game by the end of the 4th quarter than they have been in a long time.

          Playing the rookies lots of minutes would be somewhat counterproductive for that goal. If we were losing games by 15 instead of 2-3, would there be so much buzz about the team being "fun to watch"?

          Add to that the fact that I haven't seen anyone in this year's draft who is a "must have" for the Pacers, and I think we're going in the right direction.

          Put the best product for TODAY on the floor, look at our options at the deadline, make changes over the summer. Meanwhile, have fun and get the community involved.
          BillS

          A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
          Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

            Originally posted by BillS View Post
            I think, as hard as it is for those die-hard fans who frequent the Digest to understand, the most important thing about this season is that the city perceives the Pacers as a hard-nosed team full of guys who work at the game and conduct themselves properly. Yeah, they aren't that good, but they don't let it stop them.

            That doesn't immediately translate into attendance figures without adding wins, but it absolutely has changed the visibility (and, one would hope, the subsequent sale) of Pacers merchandise. It increases the perception of team support on the street. It builds fans who are beginning to see that the team is "fun to watch" and who are willing to show up once or twice.

            Like it or not, this season is accomplishing exactly what TPTB want - to work their way back into the hearts of the city. I have to say that, while the crowds may be smaller than desired, they are by far more into the game by the end of the 4th quarter than they have been in a long time.

            Playing the rookies lots of minutes would be somewhat counterproductive for that goal. If we were losing games by 15 instead of 2-3, would there be so much buzz about the team being "fun to watch"?

            Add to that the fact that I haven't seen anyone in this year's draft who is a "must have" for the Pacers, and I think we're going in the right direction.

            Put the best product for TODAY on the floor, look at our options at the deadline, make changes over the summer. Meanwhile, have fun and get the community involved.
            Gold. Well said.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

              Originally posted by pacergod2 View Post
              We are 5-9 in games decided by three points or less. Which is about right considering our 15-26 record. That is one third of our games decided by three points or less. That is great basketball to watch. Even if we have come out on the losing end of too many close ones.

              I am hopeful that we can win 21 of our last 41, meaning that we are over .500 to end the year. I just want this team to define who are our core players over the rest of the season and put a priority on them progressing.
              I'm not even worried about the close games the Pacers have lost to the good teams in the league. The disappointing thing about the 15-26 record are the losses to sub-.500 teams.

              We've lost close games to the Bucks, Heat, Clippers, Warriors, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Raptors. If we had just won 5 of those games our record would be 20-21. That's the major flaw in this team, IMO. They are competitive but they don't play any better against the lesser teams in the league.

              That worries me because in the last 41 games of this season they play 23 games against teams with sub-500 records. If they just take care of those teams they could end up with 38 wins by the end of the season. However, if they continue to play down to those teams of comparable talent, they could end up with less than 30 wins.

              They have a good opportunity to really show what they are made of the rest of the season. It should be interesting.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                Originally posted by pacergod2 View Post
                We are 5-9 in games decided by three points or less. Which is about right considering our 15-26 record. That is one third of our games decided by three points or less. That is great basketball to watch. Even if we have come out on the losing end of too many close ones.
                i disagree. seeing the team making stupid mistakes over and over again is nowhere near fun.

                halfway in the season and the only thing that makes me happy is having granger. this run n gun basketball is worthless and i hope at least we get rid of JOB at the end of the season. it is obvious we won't be going anywhere with this mentality.

                mike is good offensively but on defense he's like the rest of the team.

                tj is ok when healthy but he's too fragile and inconsistent.

                jack i don't even wanna talk about him.

                there's only one 'i go out and shoot 3's' big guy in nba that i like and his name isn't murphy. he's a great rebounder but defense is the question.

                quis and rasho won't be playing for us next year imo. i'm disappointed in rasho btw. i was expecting more from him.

                foster well he's still on this team because he's foster. he takes away much more than he brings.

                and the most depressing thing is we have two rookies that can't play even for a 15 win team like us and these guys are our future.

                i thought that we have a bright future and i still do but not that bright anymore i guess.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                  Originally posted by Infinite MAN_force View Post
                  ...I'm still not quite sure what to think of TJ Ford. he has looked great at times but his inconsistency is concerning, and this nagging back injury is the kind of thing that seems to linger. I would like to see him get healthy.

                  I am fine with Jack as the backup but Obrien WAY overuses him, as far as Im concerned he should not be there late in games... he has a tendency to go 1 on 5 and throw up a horrendous shot or rediculous pass/turnover at the absolute worst times.

                  If we make the playoffs it will be because the PG play picks up in quality.
                  I liked Speed's post as well.

                  I think you make a very good point regarding PG play. The biggest thing that I see is that our PGs probably try to force too much action and penetration in that last minute of play. Better decisions from our PGs would probably result in a few more wins.

                  TJ is inconsistent... sometimes his penetration works if he has a distinct quickness advantage over his opponent. But just as often, he (and Jack for that matter) find themselves trapped in the lane or on the baseline with nowhere to go. Even worse, Jack seems to get airborn without a plan. All of these problems seem to be even worse when we are in the last minute or two of play.

                  I agree with others that our defense sucks. We have problems with the defensive talent we have and we can't seem to get the important stops when we need them. Since we are one of the highest scoring teams, I conclude that it is our defense (or lack thereof) that is losing the close games for us.

                  Our talent level is not changing, so maybe we should mix up our defense a little to assure that all players are covered, at least over the last couple of minutes of games. This may expose us to mismatches, but at least all players will be covered. Since we are losing far more of the close games than we win, I don't see how mixing up our defensive schemes late in games can cause us to lose even more of the close games than we are already losing.
                  Last edited by beast23; 01-20-2009, 02:53 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                    Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                    Hey, good find. That's a very interesting read.

                    This is what I said, that I still think is realistic:

                    Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                    Wow. If we are above .500 at Christmas, I'll post youtube video of me eating my hat.

                    I expect us to be pretty rough until the ASB, with a late-season push for the playoffs (against tanking opponents) that gets us close to .500 by season's end.
                    This space for rent.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                      Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                      Hey, good find. That's a very interesting read.

                      This is what I said, that I still think is realistic:
                      Yeah but...
                      Was that with any thought to how many close games we'd lose and with a player sniffing on an All-Star appearance?

                      If it was... congratulations so far. If not (which I suspect is the case), then wouldn't you say there's a problem?

                      IMHO we've shown we are ahead of schedule in some aspects but have a critical flaw in others.

                      That flaw is of course Jim OBrien's reluctance or inability to emphasize defense 'first'...

                      "Offense put the O in OBrien"
                      -Bball
                      Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                      ------

                      "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                      -John Wooden

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                        Originally posted by Bball View Post
                        Yeah but...
                        Was that with any thought to how many close games we'd lose and with a player sniffing on an All-Star appearance?
                        Nope, it wasn't. Unlike your SportsCenter generation that only cares about individual accolades, my desire is to see the PACERS do well as a group. The whole should be better than the sum of its parts. The true measure of a good player isn't all-star appearances but number of games won.

                        In all honesty, I didn't expect Danny to be this good but I expected to have Dunleavy the whole season, so it probably averages out there. I expected our PG rotation to be better (I'm honestly not convinced that we'd be worse if Tinsley was starting and Ford was on IL). Foster's been what I expected, Murphy's been far better. Rasho's been worse. Dude is skilled but I'm shocked at how little gas he has left. Hibs is what I expected, Rush is underperforming (although I'm not nearly as down on his offense as some here are).

                        The "close games" thing actually undermines your point instead of reinforcing it. I expected us to get blown out far more often than we have. If we could just get a tiny bit better, we'd be winning a number of these close games.

                        If it was... congratulations so far. If not (which I suspect is the case), then wouldn't you say there's a problem?
                        Sure, but it's the same problem we had at the beginning of the year: a lack of talent at every position except SF (where we have Dunleavy and Granger), no post presence offensively or shot-blocking presence defensively, and a mess of a PG rotation. I expected us to struggle up through the ASB, even with Dunleavy. Without him? Fuhgetaboudit.

                        There's still time for us to put on a nice little run, especially if TPTB makes a move before the deadline. I'm not panicked yet.
                        This space for rent.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                          Originally posted by xtacy View Post
                          foster well he's still on this team because he's foster. he takes away much more than he brings.

                          Foster is a respected veteran & has earned his place in the fabric of Pacers' history but at this point he'd best serve the franchise by being part of a deal to a contender this year in order to alleviate more salary from the cap, acquire another cheap, young talent or future draft pick(s).

                          And I'd be happy for him to have a few more seasons to win a championship because it is not happening in Indy for at least 3 to 5 years.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                            Originally posted by Easy View Post
                            Foster is a respected veteran & has earned his place in the fabric of Pacers' history but at this point he'd best serve the franchise by being part of a deal to a contender this year in order to alleviate more salary from the cap, acquire another cheap, young talent or future draft pick(s).
                            If we wanted to trade him we shouldn't have extended him. He'd be a much more attractive bargaining chip.

                            Giving him the extension was basically guaranteeing that he'd finish his career as a Pacer.
                            This space for rent.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                              Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                              If we wanted to trade him we shouldn't have extended him. He'd be a much more attractive bargaining chip.

                              I completely agree. However, there is likely still plenty of interest in him. In his ESPN chat today, Chad Ford affirms this. So, even though he was extended, the salary & years are not too damaging for a team challenging for a championship--especially for a team whose window of opportunity extends to another year or two after this season. The top contenders--Spurs, Celtics, Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Hornets--all seem to fit this criteria & Foster could definately contribute to any of those teams very effectively in short bursts of 10 to 20 minutes in the playoffs.

                              Now, if Larry doesn't want to move him for a leadership or whatever, then, well, that's that, but to not use him in a trade of some kind is not taking advantage of an assest that's value will continue to diminish from this time going forward.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Halfway through the season. 15-26.

                                Originally posted by Bball View Post


                                That flaw is of course Jim OBrien's reluctance or inability to emphasize defense 'first'...

                                "Offense put the O in OBrien"
                                -Bball

                                Until he comes to grips his way isn't the ONLY way, or until Bird finally puts his foot down, nothing is going to change.

                                "There are none so blind as those who will not see!"

                                Refusal to admit his system is not right nor working, reminds me of our newly deposed leader..... O'Bush.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X