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

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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

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Author's Name
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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.

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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.

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Life After Granger? Looks familiar

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  • #1

    Life After Granger? Looks familiar

    Wrote this myself, so no link. Have plenty sitting on my computer, just trying to hook up a blog site to post them on. But basically, my viewpoint.

    Life After Granger Looks A Lot Like Life With Granger

    The Indiana Pacers entered the 2012-2013 season with a legitimate shot at winning the Central division. Since Derrick Rose was out indefinitely, their main competition for that spot was a bit hobbled. They brought in a few pieces to upgrade their bench (Gerald Green, DJ Augustin and Ian Mahimni) as that was the Achilles heel in plenty of their losses. Entering preseason without star Danny Granger, hopes were that it was just his usual preseason setback and we would be good to go by seasons start. Yet, on the eve of opening night, Danny Granger was declared OUT indefinitely, with a knee injury. The panic button started flashing red, waiting for Pacer fans to act accordingly. Five games in, the panic button has been smashed through the floor, but for the very wrong reasons.
    Don’t get me wrong, Danny Granger is and has been a huge part of the success Indiana had last year, and oftentimes the lone bright spot on some pretty terrible teams. But his loss isn’t the biggest problem, and if you look closely, through 5 games, the Pacers are suffering through the same exact problems that they faced last year. Grangers 18 point per game average isn’t exactly “easy” to replace. The Pacers, under Frank Vogel, normally ride the hot hand, and to be completely honest, running the offense through Granger wasn’t the most efficient option either. His guaranteed 15-20 points will be missed, but with West another year removed from his ACL tear, Roy Hibbert peaking, and Paul George looking to turn the corner, it’s realistic that a bump in all of their stats could help lessen the blow. So, not having Grangers 18 PPG still hurts a little, but I beg someone to tell me how Granger affects the following:

    In the game vs the Atlanta Hawks, the Pacers started well, but got down in the 3rd quarter. Down big, they stormed back, scoring 18 straight at one point to take a nice double digit lead going into the 4th. Just when all the fans, took a huge deep sigh of relief, the Atlanta Hawks stormed back in the 4th with an 18-0 run to match Indiana’s run in the 3rd quarter, holding Indiana to 9 points in the quarter. If anyone recalls last year’s Pacers team, with Danny Granger, a 5-7minute scoring drought in every game was almost a given and that has carried over into this year. The proof is in the pudding: Spurs game- Basket scored with 1:20 left in the 1st quarter, next basket scored with 6:52 left in the 2nd. Kings game- 2nd quarter bucket was scored at 7:20, next point scored at 3:05. As far as last year, pick a game out a hat, and there’s probably a big scoring drought. I think the points clear here. Whether in a blowout or a 1 pt game, a Pacers scoring drought is bound to happen; the only thing you could hope, as a Pacer and a Pacers fan, was that it didn’t happen at a crucial moment of the game.

    Defensively, the Pacers are one of the best and stingiest teams in the league, except when it comes to small, quick guards. With teams sending out smaller guards every year, it’s a huge mismatch for Indiana, even though one of their better defenders plays the SG. The problem? Paul George is now 6’10, maybe 6’11 and guarding someone that’s 6 to 7 inches shorter than you, is a huge mismatch when it comes to speed and quickness. Regardless of how good a defender, you’d have to be amazingly quick at 6‘10 to even keep up with them, which isn’t necessarily Paul George’s strength. So when you have guards like Kemba Walker (30 points), Marcus Thornton (26 points), Kyle Lowry (21 points) and Kyle Korver (13 points, but fueled the 4th quarter run), Indiana is at an automatic disadvantage. Now, I understand Lowry isn’t a 2 guard, and Korver’s not small and “quick” but they both fit the mold for the type of players Indiana has difficulty guarding. George Hill struggles guarding quicker PGs and everyone on the team struggles defending players running off screens. Outside of getting the run around by smaller guards this year, our pick and roll defense is by far the worst I’ve seen. It turned Glen Davis into a playoff star last year, and has almost been a guaranteed score against Indiana this year as well. The philosophy is common but the execution: poor. All of our big men are very slow footed, so when they have to show on pick and rolls, it takes them a split second too long to get back to their defender. I think this also has to do with our guards not being able to or not willing to fight through screens.

    Lastly, is the Pacers offensive execution. The final possession against Atlanta resembles Indiana every time they come up the court. With or without Granger, Indiana doesn’t make an attacking move until 10 or 11 seconds are left on the shot clock. Often time, it’s George Hill dribbling at the top of the key until the clock counts down to 11. Then it’s another three seconds of Indiana attempting an entry pass or multiple ball fakes to the post. We’ve now got Indiana, with only one pass in the possession, with 8 seconds left on the clock and absolutely nothing setup. This happened last year WITH Granger and the same exact things are happening without. I figured Brian Shaw would have more of an impact on the Pacers’ offense, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The stagnant offense and scoring droughts are tied directly to the Pacers inability or refusal, to start their offense earlier, which would give them better and more looks at the basket. This is also the reason why we have been, and are again, one of the worst assisting teams in the league. Assists are easy buckets, and easy buckets are what Indiana does not get. I also imagine a rise in assist numbers would minimize the scoring droughts.

    So sure, Danny Grangers out, and it’s a pretty big deal for Indiana. Is it a perfect chance for Paul George to step up? Sure is. Is it an opportunity for Hibbert to become dominant. Absolutely. Is there an open door to have a more flexible, less predictable offense? Without a doubt. But none of these things happening, yet. We have to keep in mind, Indiana is only 7 or 8 days removed from learning that Granger would be out for a long time. Give them some time to adjust and hit a groove, which I believe they will. But while people are talking about panicking because Granger is gone, you must ask: will he be able to defend smaller, quicker guards? Will he stop the scoring droughts that have been the norm since Frank Vogel took over? Will he get his team in more efficient offensive sets? The answer is no. These three problems are much more of an issue than missing Granger, because when Granger comes back, every single one of these issues, will still be an issue.

    Solutions? Very simple and probably unpopular. Move Paul George to the SF. It leaves for better matchups defensively, as he will be guarding wings more his size. He may be outweighed by some forwards, but that you deal with. Make a roster spot for free agent Delonte West. Sure, he’s a nutcase. But I’m of believe that every team needs at least one nutcase to keep them on edge; but that is besides the fact. Delonte West is an excellent defender, and can guard 1s, 2s and smaller threes. It would be a great addition from a basketball standpoint, allowing him, George Hill and DJ Augustin to rotate between the point and 2 guard spots. Gerald Green continues to come off the bench, where he is better suited. Lance Stephenson has been a pleasant surprise, providing a spark in games for Indiana, making great passes and attacking the basket. In my scenario, Delonte would step in as the starting 2 guard once he is acclimated enough with the defense. There’s nothing to learn on the offensive side, so he won’t be far behind there either. Delonte isn’t a player that can put a team over the top, but he improves a glaring area of weakness, immediately, and with the Central division up for grabs, I make the move.
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  • #2
    Re: Life After Granger? Looks familiar

    Solutions? Trade for this Collison guy from Dallas.





    Sorry to annoy you...not very helpful, but I'm pissed to say the least.

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    • #3
      Re: Life After Granger? Looks familiar

      Nice article PG-24.

      Not sure about the last paragragh. I'd rather see if Lance can step up then take a risk on Delonte. Lance has more upside and possibly less headcase issues

      This paragraph is excellent. I truly don't understand why we don't start our offense more quickly.
      Often time, it’s George Hill dribbling at the top of the key until the clock counts down to 11. Then it’s another three seconds of Indiana attempting an entry pass or multiple ball fakes to the post. We’ve now got Indiana, with only one pass in the possession, with 8 seconds left on the clock and absolutely nothing setup. This happened last year WITH Granger and the same exact things are happening without. I figured Brian Shaw would have more of an impact on the Pacers’ offense, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The stagnant offense and scoring droughts are tied directly to the Pacers inability or refusal, to start their offense earlier, which would give them better and more looks at the basket.
      "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Life After Granger? Looks familiar

        Interesting thoughts but I'm not sure I agree with your analysis

        Your contention I think is that the Pacers' struggles are 1) due to getting killed by quick guards; and 2) stagnant offense, and that Danny Granger couldn't have helped with either. On the first point, the Pacers' defense seems just fine in the macro sense (we're actually 6th in the league in defensive efficiency - 9th if you're looking at opponent PPG), and I'd blame Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker going off more on George Hill's bad hip than anything else. Thornton and Korver, on the other hand, shot poor percentages, so it was ok for the Pacers' defense to let them shoot.

        The real problem is that the Pacers haven't been able to score, which brings us to your second point. Our offense looks ugly true, but it was that way last year too, when our offensive efficiency was 7th in the league. In short, our offense was ugly but effective last year. This year though, our offensive efficiency has plummeted to 27th (out of 30). In other words, our offense is just plain ugly now.

        So the question to ask is, what made our offense effective last year but changed this year? I'd point to 2 indicators - turnovers and FT rate. Last year, our offense was built on getting to the line, offensive rebounding, and protecting the ball. It shouldn't surprise that we ranked 2nd, 5th, and 7th respectively, at FT ratio, offensive rebounding, and turnovers. This year, we're still a strong o-reb team (6th in the league), but our FT ratio and turnovers have fallen off precipitously (20th and 28th, respectively). And yes, we're still a bad shooting team.

        On turnovers, part of it is because we have 7 new players on the roster. If you dive deeper in the numbers though, you'd see that a huge chunk of turnovers are coming from Paul George (4.2 TO/game) and Gerald Green (2.4 TO/game). For reference, Danny averaged 1.8 TOs last year, and Paul himself averaged just 1.8 too in a lesser role. Clearly this is an effect of Danny's absence - George and Green are being force-fed Danny's role, and they are totally unprepared for it.

        Free throws are another issue. Granger has a reputation of being a shooter, but he actually has a very nice FTA rate, averaging 4.7 FTA last year. In comparison, George and Green are each averaging 1.6 FTA/game. It doesn't help that Roy Hibbert's rate has also fallen. The Pacers aren't getting to the line, and IMO this means less pressure on the defense, and I think that's why our 3P% is so bad right now.

        So sorry, I don't see how Delonte is going to help much. What we really need IMO is another player who can be lead scorer and who can get to the line. Unfortunately, these guys tend to be stars or quasi-stars (think guys like Gallo or Monta Ellis), so it won't be easy to acquire them. The Pistons' Stuckey actually fits this description as well - with Detroit's bad start, he could become available should Detroit decide to go full tanking mode. I wouldn't count on it though. Hoping for Lance to improve seems as good a plan as any, along with hoping Paul George starts turning into a player more like Granger on offense.
        Last edited by wintermute; 11-09-2012, 11:24 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: Life After Granger? Looks familiar

          Delonte West is not the solution. Hes far from it.

          We deal with what we have. Dallas is doing fine without their star player...we got to do the same.
          "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


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