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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:

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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.

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

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Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

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  • #16
    Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

    Great stat of the day, AJ Price is shooting an amazing .167% from the field and Tyler Hansbrough is shooting a better percentage than Danny for the year at .380% to Danny's .377%
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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    • #17
      Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

      Yeah, starters weren't getting it done, and I think most of us knew that the heavy minutes they played the previous day were going to hinder than. Glad the bench showed up tonight. Thought the bench should have played more. I also think Pends should have gotten into the game. If you have fresh legs, you have to use them!

      I figured last night would be a loss, but we forced 24 TOs...that should have resulted in a win. Just couldn't get a damn shot to go in (shot 34%!).

      At least the Pacers have a couple of days off.
      First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

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      • #18
        Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

        I'm not too concerned about last night. We were clearly gassed and it showed. We still fought to the end and had several chances to pull it out.

        I hate losing to the Magic because they remind me of the terrible team we used to be. The big difference is that they have Howard (for now).

        And like you, Peck, I can't stand Ryan "Murphy" Anderson. Was there any doubt he was going to hit those clutch free throws with all the slop he had going in last night?

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        • #19
          Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

          To be honest, both teams played horribly. It just so happens that the magic were hitting their 3's. I don't know whether to be discouraged because we lost to another good team (out of our losses this yr, most have come against good teams that we are battling with for playoff seeding--the magic twice, heat, celtics, and the 76ers) now the positive fan in me tells me that we just ended a 4 game winning streak, and we can't win them all. Maybe we should be encouraged that we fought so hard to get a win and actually had a chance to pull it off. I'm not sure, just a tough L--at home nonetheless.

          If tonight wasn't the best example of the fact that we really could use another scoring option, I dont know what else LB needs to see. I'm not looking for wholesale changes by anymeans, but we definitely need to try and be active and see who we could pick up.

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          • #20
            Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

            We have another scoring option, he's just out injured at the moment.

            Probably wouldn't hurt to rent one for the rest of the season, though. Who's available?

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            • #21
              Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

              Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
              Great stat of the day, AJ Price is shooting an amazing .167% from the field and Tyler Hansbrough is shooting a better percentage than Danny for the year at .380% to Danny's .377%
              AJ pisses me off for as much as he shoots the ball and doesn't hit ****. If only Lance was as aggressive at finding his own shot, but he probably realizes he's not a good shooter. At least one plays within themselves.
              First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

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              • #22
                Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                Lou has been great, I no longer doubt he belongs in the NBA. The fact he was holding his own against Dwight Howard was very impressive. Actually, he was getting the better of Dwight on the 4 or 5 times he had to guard him. Plus he was making shots and making good rebounds on the other end. What more can you ask for than that?

                Our guys turned up the D to a fevered level in the middle of the 4th, but the energy went out after missing all those open looks. The airball 3 by Granger especially hurt the effort they were showing. That is disconcerting, but expected.

                AJ is just playing awful. I'm all for sticking Lance out there as the back up PG.

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                • #23
                  Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                  There's a chance Hill will make it back before the all star game this month.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                    See, this is why I stick up for AJ.

                    He didn't play bad last night. He ran the offense (IE, made sure the ball got to Tyler in good spots) and played solid defense.

                    There's no need to make excuses for his shooting percentage, he's obviously been bad. But for whatever reason, no matter what he does, he tends to be the whipping boy.

                    Criticisms of "Jeez, I wish AJ would make a shot" are fine, but he's not Tyler. He does other things when he's not scoring. And the criticisms aren't even logical at this point.

                    He got blamed for not "running an offense" against Dallas. Really? I know he shot (and missed, which is everyone's real problem with him.) but that's not what I saw. We were going against a zone. Price made sure to get the ball inside of the zone pretty much every possession, whether it was getting the ball to Tyler or West, or driving in himself. He made quite a few nice plays. It wasn't going to look pretty. Until we play Hill and Price together, the bench won't look pretty.

                    Last night, he ran the bench offense well, in the sense that he made sure to get the ball to Tyler in spots he wanted. Which, I think was probably the right play. He did what everyone wanted, stopped looking for his shot almost completely, and people are still *****ing because he didn't score.

                    That's why I stick up for AJ, and why I do for DC, because there are certain players who don't ever get any slack for anything for whatever reason. And if there's any player on this roster that deserves some slack, it's AJ.

                    I'm an AJ fan, trust me, it sucks to watch this. But it sucks for different reasons. It sucks to watch a once borderline arrogant basketball player look completely unsure of himself. And it sucks to watch someone who was once a pretty good shooter, not be able to hit a shot. It sucks to watch a kid, who was once one of the best point guards I've seen at balancing between "when to score" and "when to shoot" struggle between knowing either, and end up going from one extreme to the other. All of this stuff sucks to watch, but it's all not completely his fault either. And he's consistently defending pretty well (although not nearly as well as he did against Charlotte.) He's also consistently making pretty good decisions. The offense is obviously not going to flow very well, but he's been getting the ball in the inside, and attempting to play inside out the entire time. Which I'd assume is what he's supposed to be doing.

                    He hasn't gotten to play much, and when he did, he got to play with a much different second unit. It's significantly easier to sit back and run an offense and play defense with Hill and Foster in the lineup, rather than Lance and Lou. Now he's got to figure out how to play with this group as well as all the above stuff he's struggling with. As I said, he deserves some slack. Price has been nothing but hardworking, tough minded, resilient, and professional here. From returning from a knee injury that kept Blake Griffin out for a year, in four months; to still even when baited by interviewers, not saying a negative thing about Jim O'brien..and keeping his mouth shut and cheering for this team every year he's been here, even when he deserved to get the backup point minutes-every year he's been here. You would have thought he'd earn a little bit of slack from the fanbase, not turn into the team whipping boy.

                    And on a side not, I completely disagree with Lance being on the "Bad" side too. Him (and AJ) were among the reasons the team made a run in the second quarter, and got the team back into the game. They're both struggling to score. Okay, sometimes people shoot badly, or simply can't shoot. But they contributed, and got the team back in the game regardless.
                    Last edited by Sookie; 02-05-2012, 03:09 PM.

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                    • #25
                      Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                      Despite the bad and the ugly of this game, the March 11 game at Orlando is shaping up to be HUGE. If we win that game, it could well be the difference between a 4 and a 5 seed, b/c I think we will end up with a better conference record than the Magic.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                        Originally posted by spazzxb View Post
                        Where did I say that?




                        First, aside from tonight Lance really hasn't gotten additional minutes. Those minutes went to AJ and DJ.

                        When you said they can't do something, I counter with they don't. Reguardless the bolded part is what I was expanding on.

                        Think about this, can you remember a time when DJ passed Lance the ball? PG and Lance are young, everyone else on this team are at least 3 years older than them. When I say vets I mean most of the team. When we had GH playing with Lance he actually shared the ball handling with him. GH also has the status to keep DJ on a leash(limit his urge to dominate the ball. I won't speculate as to why but I just feel both DJ and AJ freeze Lance out of the offense.
                        I hope you are not missing out on your life's calling of being a lawyer or politician. You were able to twist my words of observing an issue that I felt was present on court into a psychological issue of trust and selfishness. Very subtle and skilled on your part.

                        It is obvious that Frank does not run many plays for the guards, I think he expects them to get their shots in transition and off of the passing game. So whoever is playing the two spot is probably nightly not going to get deep into the offense without creating it for themselves.

                        However it still does not take away the fact that he doesn't confidently step into a shot when he gets the ball from either the mid range or perimeter.

                        I like Lance, he had a couple of shaky games but that is to be expected. Also I've said before that I think Lance best position is point guard because he has the handles and the passing to play there and because he doesn't have the ability to excell at playing off of the ball.

                        But that is just my opinion on the matter.


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

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                        • #27
                          Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                          Originally posted by Shade View Post
                          We have another scoring option, he's just out injured at the moment.

                          Probably wouldn't hurt to rent one for the rest of the season, though. Who's available?
                          Well J.R. Smith should become available soon, I do believe the Chinese league he is playing for is having their playoffs right now. Whenever that's over he becomes available as a unrestricted free agent. I really hope we make a run at him.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                            AJ is valuable when he plays pass-first. When he looks for his offense every time down, however, he becomes a detriment.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                              Originally posted by Peck View Post
                              Tyler Hansbrough: Please for the love of God, build on this. He took it right to the Magic all night long.
                              Have rock, Will score! 14.33 PPG if he gets into double digits attempts, and when he scores he gets boards as he's getting 8.33 rebounds a game over those 6 games.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Odd Thoughts: Smoke & Mirrors (or is it Magic)

                                I am confident in George, Granger, West, and Hibbert moving forward. But Collison is not an adequate starter on this team because his role is too big for his output and style of play. He needs to distribute the damn ball and not hold it for 12 seconds in the shot clock and make us scramble in every half court set. He's a great guy to plug in for 24 minutes a game to add speed, quickness, and offensive ability... But we absolutely need a distributor who knows his role at the one if we want consistent offense. If Danny and Paul are too fatigued to get lift on their jumpers, then don't count on them to be the offense when we could play in the post or run pick and rolls.

                                And I love what Darren has done for us this year... He is a very good player who has won games for us. His game is just not his role, however... He needs more time but we can win now as in make a run for the title if we get the right point guard who can boost the offense.

                                It seemed like every time we needed something to happen to go on a run, Darren would do the opposite of what needed to be done. He isn't like this all of the time, but no team is going to win a lot of games with this much fatigue on top of non-logical decision making.

                                AJ is just bad as a backup point guard, he doesn't bring anything that a minimum salary point guard can't bring.

                                I feel like we are capable of making the second round as of right now and pushing a team like Chicago or Miami to 5-6 games, but in order to take the next step we need

                                1) Paul George and Roy Hibbert to continue to blossom, which will obviously happen.
                                2) A bench that is a good fit with each other. Hill, Tyler (Assuming he's just been in a little slump), and Dahntay are all good/great pieces for the bench and Lou is a great 5th big. But we need a backup point guard and a skilled back up center as an option to run the offense through. Maybe a shooter too, even though Hill can fill that role.
                                3) A point guard that can be consistent, similar to the way David West brings consistency. Keep Darren if you can, but if we want to be serious either Darren consistently becomes the 13 and 9 he puts up on occasion without disappearing or we look for someone who can.

                                Until these things are addressed one way or another we will be a very good team, but not a team that can out-execute Miami or Chicago in the finals. And we can absolutely do it with our cap space and pieces we already have if we play our cards right.

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