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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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So we are slightly more than a week away from the regular season, what is your excitement level for the upcoming season?

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  • #46
    After watching Duarte and Jackson get significant minutes in the preseason, I'm more hopeful than I was. At least we feel like we nailed both of those picks which has changed our trajectory a bit. I sitll feel the team needs to make a big move roster wise.


    Comment


    • #47
      Originally posted by dal9 View Post

      plus raffle off a chance to kick an injured pacer in the ***
      You are on a roll today

      Comment


      • #48
        Originally posted by OneMoreYear View Post
        H

        Say what you will about Irsay & Grigson but you can't question their passion. Failure is not tolerated & results in changes. I was briefly surprised by the willingness to fire Bork & bring in Rick, that IMO was a move that had some stones, but it's not enough to convince me that ANYONE with clout in that office is p*ssed about where this team is at, as they ought to be. I don't see that fire, either in words nor in actions aside from the coaching change.

        We shall see.
        Your point is better than you realize, because Grigson was canned for underperforming and replaced by Ballard.
        Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

        ------

        "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

        -John Wooden

        Comment


        • #49
          Originally posted by Eleazar View Post

          That would be because there are no in between option between missing the playoffs and advancing to the second round.
          This

          I think it's probably another first round exit. But not all first round exits are the same.

          I think we'll start slow but will pick up steam as the season goes on. I think some of our youngsters will make a good impression. National media talking heads will start saying "don't forget about the Pacers!" as if they've discovered some sort of secret. There will be no play-in, we're going straight in. We'll put up a good fight and lose to a superior team in the first round in 5 or 6 games.

          BUT, we'll feel a bit happier about it than usual, and there will be optimism for 2022-23. And part of that will be because, call me crazy, but I think somebody in our starting lineup is going to be moved before the end of the season, and there will be a palpable feeling that there has been a changing of the guard.

          There's too much smoke for there to be no fire, and I detect a certain antsy-ness in the front office.

          Comment


          • #50
            https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/10/...na-pacers.html
            2021 NBA Offseason In Review: Indiana Pacers


            October 14th 2021 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

            Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2021 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s offseason moves, examine what still needs to be done before opening night, and look ahead to what the 2021/22 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Indiana Pacers.
            Free agent signings:


            Note: Exhibit 9 and 10 deals aren’t included here.Trades:
            • Acquired the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick) from the Bucks in exchange for the draft rights to Sandro Mamukelashvili (No. 54 pick), the draft rights to Georgios Kalaitzakis (No. 60 pick), either the Pacers’, Cavaliers, or Jazz’s 2024 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable).
              • Note: If the Cavaliers’ and Jazz’s 2024 second-round picks are the two most favorable of the three, the Bucks would acquire the least favorable of those two picks.
            • Acquired the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22 pick; from Lakers) in a five-team trade in exchange for Aaron Holiday, the draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31 pick), and cash ($1MM).
              • Note: All of the Pacers’ outgoing assets were sent to the Wizards.
            • Acquired the Spurs’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected) in exchange for Doug McDermott (sign-and-trade), the Pacers’ 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and the right to swap their own 2026 second-round pick for either the Pacers’ or the Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
              • Note: The Pacers created a $7,333,333 trade exception in the deal.
            • Acquired the draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet from the Nets in exchange for Edmond Sumner and the Heat’s 2025 second-round pick (top-37 protected).
            Draft picks:
            • 1-13: Chris Duarte
              • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $17,704,528).
            • 1-22: Isaiah Jackson
              • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $12,156,661).
            Contract extensions:
            • None
            Departing players:Other offseason news:
            • Hired Rick Carlisle as head coach to replace Nate Bjorkgren.
            • Hired Lloyd Pierce, Ronald Nored, Mike Weinar, Jenny Boucek, and Jannero Pargo as assistant coaches; lost assistant coaches Kaleb Canales and Greg Foster.
            • T.J. Warren remains sidelined indefinitely while recovering from his left foot injury and is expected to miss the start of the season.
            • Caris LeVert is dealing with a stress fracture in his back and is expected to miss the start of the season.
            Salary cap situation:
            • Remained over the cap and below the tax line.
            • Carrying approximately $133.5MM in salary.
            • $4,657,951 of non-taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($4,878,049 used on Torrey Craig).
            • Full bi-annual exception ($3,732,000) still available.
            • Four traded player exceptions available, including one worth $7.3MM.
            Lingering preseason issues:
            • The Pacers have 12 players on guaranteed contracts, with six – including Kelan Martin, Oshae Brissett, and Brad Wanamaker – on non-guaranteed deals. The Pacers could retain three of those non-guaranteed players or just two if they want to keep their 15th roster spot open.
            • Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, and Myles Turner are eligible for veteran contract extensions until October 18.
            • T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb are eligible for veteran contract extensions all season.

            The Pacers’ offseason:


            It was a disastrous 2020/21 season in Indiana, where the Pacers – who cited former head coach Nate McMillan‘s lack of postseason success when they let him go – underperformed to such an extent that they didn’t even make the playoffs under new coach Nate Bjorkgren, losing a play-in game to Washington to end their season.

            Injuries could be blamed at least in part for the Pacers’ letdown of a year. Key players like Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and Malcolm Brogdon all missed double-digit games. T.J. Warren was sidelined for nearly the entire season. And Caris LeVert, acquired in the four-team trade that sent Victor Oladipo to Houston, was forced out of action when he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney following what was supposed to be a routine physical.

            Still, Bjorkgren, a veteran assistant coach, didn’t adjust well to the top job, rubbing those in the organization the wrong way with an abrasive approach to leadership. The Pacers parted ways with him after just one year, with president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard acknowledging he made the wrong call in last year’s head coaching search.

            This time around, the coaching search was far narrower in its scope, as the Pacers zeroed in quickly on a familiar face. Rick Carlisle, who coached the team from 2003-07, has returned to Indiana and will try to get a team that had five consecutive playoff appearances prior to 2021 back on track.

            The Pacers appear to be betting heavily on Carlisle’s ability to get more out of the team’s core players than Bjorkgren did last season. Despite some rumblings that the front office would consider trading Turner, Brogdon, or another one of Indiana’s other starters, the club actually had a fairly quiet offseason in terms of player movement.

            The biggest name to be traded was Aaron Holiday, who never gained the sort of role he wanted in Indiana and had been the subject of trade rumors for a while. The Pacers sent him to Washington in a deal for the No. 22 pick, which was used on Kentucky center Isaiah Jackson.

            Unlike No. 13 overall pick Chris Duarte, Jackson probably isn’t ready for regular minutes as a rookie. While the Pacers raved about the big man’s energy and athleticism during training camp, he’s still just 19 years old, nearly five full years younger than Duarte, who was viewed as one of the most NBA-ready players in the 2021 draft class. There’s no reason the former Oregon sharpshooter can’t become a fixture in Indiana’s rotation immediately, and he should provide a boost to a team that ranked in the middle of the pack in three-point attempts and percentage last season.

            Duarte’s ability to hit outside shots and space the floor will be crucial, since Indiana lost Doug McDermott, one of the NBA’s top marksmen. McDermott had a career year in 2020/21, but entering the free agent period, there was a sense that his price tag would be too high for the Pacers, who were expected to prioritize re-signing point guard T.J. McConnell. That turned out to be the case — while Indiana got McConnell back on a deal that pays him $8.4MM annually, McDermott signed for nearly $14MM per year in San Antonio.

            The Pacers will miss McDermott’s shooting, but if Duarte proves he’s ready to contribute immediately, the drop-off shouldn’t be too significant, and the team was able to re-sign McConnell and add free agent wing Torrey Craig for a lesser combined cap hit than McDermott’s. McConnell and Craig are tough veterans who will help stabilize a defensive unit that experienced a dip in production last season after back-to-back top-six finishes.
            The Pacers’ upcoming season:


            Indiana is counting on Carlisle’s influence and some better injury luck to fuel a bounce-back year in 2021/22. Even if they’re right about Carlisle’s potential impact, there are early signs that the injury bug that plagued the Pacers a year ago isn’t done with the team yet.

            LeVert and T.J. Warren aren’t expected to be ready for the start of the season, Brogdon is banged up, and underrated wing Edmond Sumner sustained an Achilles tear that prompted the club to trade him in a salary-dump deal in order to create some extra breathing room below the tax line.

            There’s enough talent on the Pacers’ roster that a return to the postseason in 2022 is a very realistic goal, especially if Carlisle can get more out of the Turner/Domantas Sabonis frontcourt pairing than his predecessors did. But Indiana’s offensive upside is limited if Warren and/or LeVert aren’t at 100%, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that some personnel changes may be required to unlock the full potential of the roster.

            Comment


            • #51
              While I selected the second choice (from the top), think that somewhere between the second and third choice is more realistic. Am predicting a 43W-39L season which will be better than play-in tourney, but not quite to the point of advancing against established top tier teams. Anything can happen though, so as always, am hoping they beat the odds and surprise everyone.

              Comment


              • #52
                This is sort of odd but I am more excited about next season than this season. I have very little hope in this group becoming anything more than a first round exit.

                Guys who seem on the way out are Brogdon, Turner and Warren. I would much rather see a pg be brought in and rookies get playing time than see guys who are not in the future plans get trotted out like some cheap 90s cover band that no one wants to see.

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by Eleazar View Post

                  I honestly think his offense was overrated. It was better than McMillian's offense, but it was still very meh. According to BBref ratings we actually ranked better defensively (13th) than offensively (14th) last season.
                  That 14th ranked offense was the 2nd best the team has finished in the last decade. Our points per possession was the highest in franchise history. Granted offenses across the league exploded last season, it's still highly impressive given the obstacles Nate B had to overcome. Nearly every player on the roster performed better offensively than the year prior. By any statistical measure it was a big step up from the futile offenses the organization traditionally runs out there. Some of us had been begging for a more modern offense and Nate B brought it.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by CJ Jones View Post

                    That 14th ranked offense was the 2nd best the team has finished in the last decade. Our points per possession was the highest in franchise history. Granted offenses across the league exploded last season, it's still highly impressive given the obstacles Nate B had to overcome. Nearly every player on the roster performed better offensively than the year prior. By any statistical measure it was a big step up from the futile offenses the organization traditionally runs out there. Some of us had been begging for a more modern offense and Nate B brought it.
                    I said it was better than McMillian's offense.

                    Comment

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