Sorry to hijack my own thread here. But I have to. Just have to. Mods, if this needs to be moved/merged, so be it. I just have to say what I have to say here.
The cardinal flaw of this Pacers squad, in my view, isn't their inconsistency. It's not their (lack of) mental fortitude. It's not a misplaced identity, it's not a stubborn coach or wayward GM direction, and it's not max contract players shrinking in the spotlight.
In my view, the cardinal flaw of this Pacers squad is that they're just hard to root for.
Now, I was raised a Pacers fan before any other allegiance. Sure, I would become a Colts fan, an IU fan, a US mens soccer fan, etc. But the Pacers were my first team. I've followed them closely since I was a little kid. Where my fandom varies for other teams, it's always been diehard for the Pacers, even in the uglier years.
And I have to admit: it's just really hard to root for this team.
Where to begin? The lazy passing that never gets corrected? The woe-is-me, dejected look of so many players who have bad moments and let that define their night/week/month? The selfish ballhogging, or worse, the get-it-out-of-my-hands-and-please-don't-pass-it-to-me-again passiveness? The lack of offense? The lack of pride on defense? The tough guy persona that's proven a sheep in wolf's clothing when it matters most?
I could root for the post-Brawl, Fred Jones-led Pacers with ease. Hell, I could root for the Murphleavy trey-spamming JOB squads with ease, because at least where they failed, it was systemic, it was logical, it was just due to a lack of talent.
This is the most talented Pacers squad I've ever seen. Maybe the most talented they've had; maybe the most talented they will have. And it is full of players who need incentivized to play even remotely respectable basketball.
Seriously. I've never seen a group of guys (much less All Stars, or would-be All Stars, or max contract players, or well-paid players in general) need more hand-holding, more incentive, more direction on what to do, and why they need to do it, than this group of guys who just go through the motions more often than not.
This season will end in Game 5 or Game 6. I don't know. I don't even really care anymore; does it matter? Everything is just a formality at this stage. And we can guess at the futures of all involved -- if this team was built to beat the Heat, and can't, does that reflect on players, coaches, management, and how much for each? -- but when it comes down to it, I'm just left with a feeling of resentment toward a team I didn't feel put it all on the line in a year where they had to.
I just don't see a team you can really root for going forward, as it's currently composed. I'm supposed to get behind a team that has proven they can't get it done, or worse, just don't have the fire/stones for it? I'm supposed to recognize Hibbert as a face of the franchise, when he gives half a season's effort and exhausts most of his energy lamenting himself? I'm supposed to applaud Hill, who sometimes shows up, but mostly doesn't, and is shoehorned into a bad role? I'm supposed to keep waiting on Paul George to finally play like the superstar he's paid to be? I'm supposed to keep waiting for a bench to show up? For Vogel to recognize and address his own flaws?
I did see a team, that expired (with any consistency) around February, that I could root for. But that team quit. And they quit for dumb reasons. Petty disputes, contract concerns, boo-hoo bad spells, whatever. They gave up, collectively, only to tease here and there because they were too talented not to.
Look, the Heat may well just be a better team. And that's fine, but you can clearly see where one guy just doesn't close out with any purpose, another doesn't rotate, another three just stand waiting for someone else to be the solution. There isn't any leadership on this team. No accountability. No real heart. Nothing. Just a bunch of guys earning money to go out there and not fulfill their potential.
I'm not giving up on the franchise by any means. But I just feel it needs to be said: this is the most disappointing team in franchise history, and frankly, if Pacers management should take anything out of this season of alarm, at least from my account, it's that they've simply put together a team that's very difficult to root for.
EDIT: Should add that I wrote this before Paul George's comments. Just when I think this team can't get any more embarrassing...
The cardinal flaw of this Pacers squad, in my view, isn't their inconsistency. It's not their (lack of) mental fortitude. It's not a misplaced identity, it's not a stubborn coach or wayward GM direction, and it's not max contract players shrinking in the spotlight.
In my view, the cardinal flaw of this Pacers squad is that they're just hard to root for.
Now, I was raised a Pacers fan before any other allegiance. Sure, I would become a Colts fan, an IU fan, a US mens soccer fan, etc. But the Pacers were my first team. I've followed them closely since I was a little kid. Where my fandom varies for other teams, it's always been diehard for the Pacers, even in the uglier years.
And I have to admit: it's just really hard to root for this team.
Where to begin? The lazy passing that never gets corrected? The woe-is-me, dejected look of so many players who have bad moments and let that define their night/week/month? The selfish ballhogging, or worse, the get-it-out-of-my-hands-and-please-don't-pass-it-to-me-again passiveness? The lack of offense? The lack of pride on defense? The tough guy persona that's proven a sheep in wolf's clothing when it matters most?
I could root for the post-Brawl, Fred Jones-led Pacers with ease. Hell, I could root for the Murphleavy trey-spamming JOB squads with ease, because at least where they failed, it was systemic, it was logical, it was just due to a lack of talent.
This is the most talented Pacers squad I've ever seen. Maybe the most talented they've had; maybe the most talented they will have. And it is full of players who need incentivized to play even remotely respectable basketball.
Seriously. I've never seen a group of guys (much less All Stars, or would-be All Stars, or max contract players, or well-paid players in general) need more hand-holding, more incentive, more direction on what to do, and why they need to do it, than this group of guys who just go through the motions more often than not.
This season will end in Game 5 or Game 6. I don't know. I don't even really care anymore; does it matter? Everything is just a formality at this stage. And we can guess at the futures of all involved -- if this team was built to beat the Heat, and can't, does that reflect on players, coaches, management, and how much for each? -- but when it comes down to it, I'm just left with a feeling of resentment toward a team I didn't feel put it all on the line in a year where they had to.
I just don't see a team you can really root for going forward, as it's currently composed. I'm supposed to get behind a team that has proven they can't get it done, or worse, just don't have the fire/stones for it? I'm supposed to recognize Hibbert as a face of the franchise, when he gives half a season's effort and exhausts most of his energy lamenting himself? I'm supposed to applaud Hill, who sometimes shows up, but mostly doesn't, and is shoehorned into a bad role? I'm supposed to keep waiting on Paul George to finally play like the superstar he's paid to be? I'm supposed to keep waiting for a bench to show up? For Vogel to recognize and address his own flaws?
I did see a team, that expired (with any consistency) around February, that I could root for. But that team quit. And they quit for dumb reasons. Petty disputes, contract concerns, boo-hoo bad spells, whatever. They gave up, collectively, only to tease here and there because they were too talented not to.
Look, the Heat may well just be a better team. And that's fine, but you can clearly see where one guy just doesn't close out with any purpose, another doesn't rotate, another three just stand waiting for someone else to be the solution. There isn't any leadership on this team. No accountability. No real heart. Nothing. Just a bunch of guys earning money to go out there and not fulfill their potential.
I'm not giving up on the franchise by any means. But I just feel it needs to be said: this is the most disappointing team in franchise history, and frankly, if Pacers management should take anything out of this season of alarm, at least from my account, it's that they've simply put together a team that's very difficult to root for.
EDIT: Should add that I wrote this before Paul George's comments. Just when I think this team can't get any more embarrassing...
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