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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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.

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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.
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2004-02-25

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  • 2004-02-25

    Nets' Frank enjoying the moment
    By Terry Brown
    NBA Insider
    Wednesday, February 25
    Updated: February 25
    9:58 AM ET

    Apparently, winning every single game isn't quite enough for the New
    Jersey Nets' front office.

    Since taking over as head coach of the team, Lawrence Frank has gone
    13-0, winning by an average of 12.7 points per game as the Nets have
    gone from a mediocre 22-20 to 35-20 and second-place in the Eastern
    Conference.

    They are, no doubt, the hottest team in the NBA, an almost certain
    playoff contender and, perhaps, the favorite to return to the NBA
    Finals for the third year in a row.

    The problem, though, is that Frank is still listed as the "interim"
    head coach and does not have a contract that extends beyond this
    season.

    "I don't have any concern about that," said Frank in the New York
    Daily News. "The only concern that we have is the team. We're not
    concerned about contracts, whatever. It's totally irrelevant to what
    we're trying to get done."

    But ESPN understands the magnitude of the 13-0 streak, the longest
    in professional sports history by a new coach. They sent their
    Outside The Lines crew over to the Nets' locker room to get the
    story. CNBC was already there, as was CNN.

    Perhaps they've forgotten that they are, indeed, the New Jersey
    Nets, proud owners of a 903-1,279 franchise record. In their 27
    years as an NBA club, they've had only nine winning seasons. An
    average season has them finishing at 34-48.

    They almost lost Jason Kidd to free agency last year. They could
    lose Kenyon Martin the free agency next year.

    This year, they are on course to go 53-29, which would be the best
    season record in franchise history.

    Or maybe they've forgotten that Frank's best friend is Andy Miller.
    You might not know him from Adam, but Kevin Garnett does. He's the
    agent who got KG the highest salary in NBA history, a contract that
    will pay the Timberwolves forward $28 million this season alone.
    More than Shaq. More than Tim Duncan. More than anyone else in the
    entire NBA.

    Maybe you haven't heard that, as an 11-year-old, Frank saved up his
    paper route money to buy a video recorder to tape Knicks games so
    that he could sketch out plays. Or, as the Baltimore Sun continues,
    he coached the local Catholic Youth team despite being Jewish. Or
    that he was his high school's assistant coach despite being cut
    three times from the team. Or that he went to Indiana not to play
    but to learn coaching from Bobby Knight.

    This guy was born to coach. All he wants to do is coach. You get the
    distinct feeling that he would be just as happy to coach a pee wee
    team as any NBA team so long as it was basketball.

    How about the Hawks? Or the Celtics? Or the Sixers? Or the Bulls? Or
    the Magic?

    And that's just the Eastern Conference jobs that will be available
    this summer.

    So, the problem isn't that Frank looks perfectly at peace with
    himself and his situation. The problem, for Nets fans, anyway, is
    that the Nets' front office also looks at peace despite the
    situation.

    "That will take care of itself," Nets CEO Rod Thorn said.
    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
    And life itself, rushing over me
    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you


  • #2
    Re: 2004-02-25

    Cavs, Celtcis Trading Places

    By Greg Anthony
    ESPN Insider

    How can the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, teams with almost identical
    records, be heading in such dramatically opposite directions?

    The Cavaliers, after three very impressive wins over San Antonio, New York, and
    New Orleans, are doing it in a variety of ways. They have depth, size and the
    ability to score inside and out. While there was, and still is, talk of trading
    Zydrunas Ilgauskas, his improved play is one of the main reasons this team is on

    When you can consistently score in the paint, it takes a great deal of pressure
    off your perimeter game by giving your role players rhythm shots and driving
    angles on the perimeter. A productive big man puts teams on the defensive. They
    either have to double team him or be in a constant state of help. Either way it
    creates opportunities, and the Cavaliers have been effective of late in
    converting.

    Cleveland's depth is really paying big dividends, as well. Carlos Boozer is
    developing into an All-Star caliber power forward who teams now have to find a
    way to stop. Jeff McInnis is providing solid play at the point, and other guys
    continue to step up when given a chance. The most recent example is Jason
    Kapono, who contributed 19 big points off the bench in Monday's thrilling
    comeback against the Hornets.

    Not only have the Cavaliers won three in a row, but look at the quality of their
    opponents during this stretch. This team is gaining confidence every time it
    takes the floor, and each player seems to have an understanding of what his
    individual role is and what it takes to win consistently in this league.

    The scary thing is these guys will only get better with more experience, and yet
    I still see them making the playoffs this season. That would be quite an
    accomplishment for a team that, at the start of the season, looked like it would
    be fighting for the top pick in the draft again.

    Not coincidentally, Cleveland's rise -- and Boston's fall -- started shortly
    after the December trade that sent guard Ricky Davis to the Celtics. Cleveland
    was only 6-18 at that point, and Boston was 12-13. Since the trade, the
    Cavaliers have gone 17-16, while the Celtics have won only 11 times in 32 games.

    Which is why the outlook is not quite as rosy in Boston, where the frustration
    is starting to set in. Paul Pierce is publicly complaining about the state of
    the team's roster and the fact that this is a team not unlike the Orlando Magic
    -- a team with some talent but no direction nor confidence. And Pierce knows
    that once you get on a losing bandwagon it's hard to get off.

    The Celtics have a lot of issues. Losing Raef LaFrentz for the season was a huge
    setback, as was the Vin Baker debacle. But the plan is to rebuild through the
    draft, and Boston has three picks in the first round this June. The problem is
    that while there is some young talent in the draft, there don't appear to be any
    impact players, which could lead to a long and frustrating rebuilding process.

    I'm sure Danny Ainge has a method to his madness. I'm just not sure if the
    Boston fans have the patience to sit by while it develops. This team is probably
    three years away from contending again. Do you think Paul Pierce wants to be a
    part of that type of transition?

    There is some hope that a favorable ruling in the Vin Baker case could give them
    a chance to participate in the free-agent market this July. Plus they will have
    the mid-level exception to use, and perhaps some of their young players can
    start to show some consistency over the season's final months. But the hardest
    thing to do in sports is win, and guys that they are counting on -- Chris Mihm,
    Davis, Jiri Welsch and Marcus Banks -- have not had that experience yet. Getting
    it can be very difficult.

    Is it possible for the lowly Magic to actually catch the C's in number of wins?
    Most people never saw the Magic's demise coming. Remember, Orlando almost
    knocked the Pistons out of the playoffs last year, and it appeared entering this
    season that their roster had improved. But you lose a few games, your confidence
    starts to erode, and suddenly you look up and find you have the worst record in
    the league.

    This stretch will test the Celtics' toughness and character. Remember, they are
    going through this without a coach who can offer stability, so things could get
    far worse before they get better. I'm not saying rebuilding is wrong in Boston,
    but it sure can be painful. And it sometimes takes a lot longer than expected.

    Greg Anthony, a veteran of 11 NBA seasons, is a regular contributor to ESPN
    Insider.
    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
    And life itself, rushing over me
    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

    Comment


    • #3
      Hilarious Jalen Rose comment at the end. And I like Jalen

      The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink
      Terry Brown
      Monday, February 23
      Updated: February 23
      2:13 PM ET

      Still can't figure out how the Orlando Magic can give up 127 points
      to the Bucks on Tuesday and then only 77 to Jazz on Wednesday as
      Tracy McGrady hangs 84 on the scoreboard in less than 24 hours.

      The Good
      Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

      Week's work: 4-0, 33.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 7.5 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.7
      bpg, 59.7% shooting

      With court dates, fuzzy injuries and a free-agent agenda, the Lakers
      knew all along that they weren't going to be getting Kobe in
      quantity this season. Last week, they certainly got him in quality
      and there wasn't anything Warriors, Sixers or Suns could do about
      it. Now, let's see what kind of drama awaits with the Kings and Nets
      on back-to-back nights this week.

      Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers

      Week's work: 2-1 record, 29.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2 spg, 4.6
      bpg, 55.7% shooting

      If this were the Major Leagues, this guy would be an MVP candidate
      and fitted for pinstripes already.

      Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

      Week's work: 3-0, 27 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3 apg, 0.6 spg, 1 bpg, 59.1%
      shooting

      At halftime of last Saturday's game against the Nuggets, Wade had
      already chalked up 12 points when the Miami scoreboard flashed a
      commentator saying how much better Wade was than Carmelo Anthony.
      Twenty-four minutes of game time later, Wade scored another 16
      points on 8-for-14 shooting in the second half and Kevin Frazier was
      booking a flight for Vegas.

      James Posey, Memphis Grizzlies

      Week's work: 3-0, 21.3 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg, 2.3 spg, 0.6 bpg, 56.2%
      shooting

      You don't make the playoffs in the Western Conference without a bona
      fide superstar unless you've got seven guys nearly averaging
      double-digits. And you don't get within two games of home-court
      advantage unless one of those guys just so happens to be your
      defensive stopper as your team goes on an 8-1 February tear.

      The Bad

      Steve Francis, Houston Rockets


      Weak work: 2-1 record, 11 ppg, 6 rpg, 7.3 apg, 2 spg, 0 bpg,
      30.2% shooting

      Sure, the Rockets won two games last week but you can thank Yao
      Ming, Cuttino Mobley and Clutch the Bear before patting Francis on
      the back. In their first win against the Wizards, he was the
      fourth-highest scorer on the team with five buckets to go along with
      four turnovers. In their second win against the Hawks, he was the
      fifth-best scorer after going 1-for-10 from long range. And, believe
      it or not, it gets worse. In their one loss this week, Francis
      finished with six points in 38 minutes.

      Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons

      Weak work: 1-3 record, 5.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.7 bpg,
      21.2% shooting

      The only reason this kid made it back into the starting rotation was
      because the guy supposedly putting heat on him, Darvin Ham, spent 44
      minutes on the floor in three games and scored a total of two
      points, which makes Prince's 7-for-33 week a bonus. But that was
      before the Pistons picked up a pair of Air Force Ones that could
      play both forward positions as well as center.

      Antonio Davis, Chicago Bulls

      Weak work: 1-2 record, 3.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.6 bpg,
      17.8% shooting

      His Chicago numbers are nearly identical to those in Toronto this
      season, but not the expression on his face and it's showing.

      Carlos Arroyo, Utah Jazz

      Weak work: 1-3 record, 9.7 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.5 spg, 0 bpg,
      32.5% shooting

      Two years ago, as a rookie, this kid scored a total of 30 points all
      season. The fact that he scored 39 points last week alone and still
      make the bad side of this list is, perhaps, a bigger compliment than
      if we were to ever place him on the good side for nearly averaging
      double-digits.

      The Ugly

      The Denver Nuggets just lost to the Orlando Magic, the worst team in
      the NBA, by four and then the Miami Heat, a team seven games under
      .500, by 16. And that was the easy part of their schedule.

      Their next seven games are all against teams that are currently
      playoff qualified, including the defending champion Spurs,
      Eastern-leading Pacers, red-hot Nets, Lakers and Pistons. And right
      after that, six of their next seven games are on the road.

      Currently, the Nuggets are the eighth-seeded team in the West and
      are five games ahead of the Blazers and Jazz in the win column. It
      gets real ugly, though, when you consider that the both of those
      teams are fighting to reserve playoff runs that extend to 21 and 20
      seasons, respectively.

      The Kitchen Sink

      RETURN OF THE KING

      Everybody's been watching Sacramento's Brad Miller while waiting for
      Chris Webber that we almost missed Vlade Divac coming within three
      measly rebounds of averaging a triple-double in last week's
      four-game set.

      And if the 41 points, 37 rebounds and 40 assists weren't enough to
      get your attention, then the eight blocks and six steals should have
      been. For the year, the 36-year-old who blew out candles on Feb. 2
      is averaging a career-high 5.9 assists a game (14th in the league)
      to lead the Kings and all non-guards in the NBA.

      For the month, he is averaging 8.3 assists per game which, extended
      out over an entire season, would place him third overall in the NBA
      behind only Jason Kidd (9.7 apg) and Stephon Marbury (8.6 apg).

      FAST EDDIE

      Recently released Eddie Griffin didn't play a split second for the
      New Jersey Nets but still collected a $125,000 check from them
      because back on Dec. 4 of 2000, he recorded the first triple-double
      in Seton Hall history against Norfolk State and we can't get the
      thought of a 6-foot-10 kid who also averages more than an NBA
      3-pointer a game out of our heads.

      AINGE INQUISITION

      We know new Celtic general manager Danny Ainge is trying. But for
      which team? Since deciding that Boston needed to be a more
      offensive-orientated team, Ainge has made several trades and chased
      off former head coach Jim O'Brien. The result has been a definite
      increase in point production. Before the purging, a typical Celtic
      game consisted of about 190 points on the scoreboard with the
      Celtics losing by an average of 1.2 points after scoring 94.2.

      Now, a typical Celtic game consists of about 199 points. The
      problem, though, is that Boston's average margin of defeat is now a
      whopping 7.7 points per game after scoring 95.5. And that's because
      Ainge's new team is giving up an astonishing 103.2 points per game
      over the last eight under interim head coach John Carroll.

      Last week alone, they gave up 442 points in four losses and that was
      after surrendering 107 points to a Chicago team that averages 89.5.
      And in those four most recent losses, the opposing teams shot a
      combined 50.3 percent from the field. To put that in perspective,
      the Minnesota Timberwolves are currently leading the league in that
      category at 46.8 percent.

      A-B-Z

      Paul Silas tried to make it as simple as possible for his center,
      Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Play better defense and play more minutes. Well,
      prior to the month of February, Z averaged about 1.9 blocks per
      game. In February, he's averaged a hefty 3.3 blocks per game to
      bring his season average to 2.2 and 10th in the league.

      And Silas has made good on his promise. After averaging 27 minutes
      per game in January, Z is now at 36 for February. And in the Cavs
      last two games, he played 82 minutes, scoring 47 points and grabbing
      27 rebounds on 60 percent shooting. And not so coincidently, he also
      tallied five blocks and two steals in those wins against the Spurs
      and Knicks.

      AN APPLE A DAY

      The New York Knicks are currently the sixth-seeded team in the
      Eastern Conference, one game ahead of the Miami Heat and 1½ games
      ahead of the Toronto Raptors. Just behind them are the Sixers (2½
      back of NY), Celtics (3½ back of NY) and Cavs (4 back of NY). The
      scary thing for New Yorkers, though, is that 15 of their remaining
      25 games are on the road. Miami and Boston have only 11. Philly has
      12 while Toronto and Cleveland have 13.

      SNUBBED

      Stephon Jackson, since the All Star Break
      24 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 48.5% shooting

      Ricky Davis, since the All Star Break
      19.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 58.3% shooting

      EN FUEGO SPECIAL

      New Jersey Nets (34-20) versus Minnesota Timberwolves (40-16)
      Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004 in Minneapolis at 8 pm EST on NBALP
      The Nets, currently the hottest team in the league, should be on a
      14-0 run by the time they touch down at the Target Center where the
      Timberwolves, formerly the hottest team in the league, will still be
      smarting from that two-point loss at home to the Spurs.

      The End

      "There's a plate and a couple of screws -- they took the screws out
      of my head and put them in my hand."

      Jalen Rose after finding out he had four broken bones in his left
      hand but still not sure if his career-low 38 percent shooting this
      season is a mental or physical problem.
      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
      And life itself, rushing over me
      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

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