Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

[Peck]

He's a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....no wait, he's gone.

Sorry David West but due to a combination of lack of time here and in some cases the way he left, Mr. West has left the building.

I'll be blunt, starting the game I think that this is somewhat of an upset. But not totally because of his lack of time on the team.

Either way, we are starting to approach some sacred cows. This should be fun.

Round 4.

Begin.

[sav]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

JO should have already been gone. I'm going to keep voting for him until he is off the list.

Over rated...over paid.

[BlueCollarColts]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I went with Mark Jackson

[PacersHomer]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

So stupid if JO is voted out.

[Eleazar]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

So stupid if JO is voted out.

Why?

[PacersHomer]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

Nice to see JO is still unfairly taking the blame for a disastrous situation that he didn't control.

[Trader Joe]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

This is a tough one. My initial reaction was Jackson but it's tough to disagree his impact on those mid-late 90's squads clearly they lost something without him during the year of shame.

Based on team success alone during their stretches Danny might take the bullet here but that's also unfair because of injuries, though JO suffered much of the same fate. Interesting choice.

[Pacergeek]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I voted Dale Davis, every other person on that list were better players for the Pacers

[beast23]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

Why vote for JO? Because it's too damn hard to vote for one of the other five. Yes Peck, all five are sacred to me.

I'm sure DD will be going soon. But, just to continue a conversation from the last round, I'd like to mention a few things about Dale that some seem to forget. He is one of the few players that justify throwing statistics completely out the window. Consider the following:
- You absolutely have to have a rebound in the last couple of minutes, Dale was our man.
- Protect the rim and the paint, Dale was our man.
- Give John Starks some pay back after a rough foul or dirty play on Reggie, Dale was our man.
- Need a bone-jarring screen under the basket to help Reggie break free, Dale was our man.
- Need to intimidate an opponent, just let Dale give him his old stink-eye stare.

Without Dale, the 90s would have been far less enjoyable for all of us who call ourselves Pacers fans.

Dale's livelihood was never bagging statistics. His purpose was to anchor our defense and to use any means possible to facilitate his teammates on offense. He did that better than most. So eventually, he will be voted out. All I ask is that when his time comes, do so respectfully. If you happen to have a tear in your eye, that would help, too.

[Trader Joe]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I actually think I have to go Dale here as painful as it is to say.

[PacersHomer]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

Why?

Because he was great while he was here. Finished 3rd in the 04 MVP voting, was the best player on a team that won 60 games and went to the Conference Finals, made 6 All-Star games and 3 All-NBA teams. In 02-03 he finished 20th in PPG, 4th in RPG, and 7th in BPG. He had one of the best PERs and WSs that season as well. That was the start of his run of good seasons too. In 03-04, he had way too much pressure on him and he still performed great. He carried that team to a 60 win season. He did the same thing when he got back from his ridiculous suspension after the Brawl. He led the league in usage % and helped get that team, that should have collapsed completely, to the 2nd round. Yeah, he declined in his last year here and he suffered from injuries, but that doesn't change that he earned his huge contract and was an incredible player while he was here. He had nothing to do with the off-the-court problems. He didn't do anything wrong in the brawl. Pacers fans have completely taken for granted having a player like JO here because he is associated with a dark time for the franchise.

It sucks that he couldn't shoot 50% in 03-04 when he was the only guy scoring consistently for that team. We can blast him for whatever lack of defense we want to claim, but he was a part of that incredible defense that Artest did not create by himself.

[Jay@Section12]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I give up.

The irrational JO-hating is never going to stop.

I hope he gets his jersey retired soon.

[beast23]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I give up.

The irrational JO-hating is never going to stop.

I hope he gets his jersey retired soon.

I'm sure that his jersey is already retired. It's probably hanging in JO's den as we speak.

[PacersHomer]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

I give up.

The irrational JO-hating is never going to stop.

I hope he gets his jersey retired soon.

One of the few times I've ever 100% agreed with you. I don't like to become attached to players because they come and go and I root for the team above all, but JO is one of the few guys who I really loved on and off the court. I'm frustrated that we can brush over his All-NBA seasons because he wasn't perfect and didn't play 82 games a year.

[beast23]

Re: Pacers Knock Out game: Round 4

The reason I voted for JO is that my perspective of him was that he was more about himself and getting his than any of the other remaining players. I appreciated what he helped the Pacers accomplish, but he just wasn't a player nor a personality that I could identify with. I appreciated the other players in ways that I could not with JO.