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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

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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2021-22 Pacers twenty game review

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  • #1

    2021-22 Pacers twenty game review

    As we hit the 20 game mark the Pacers currently set at 13th spot in the east with a 8-12 record. Every team in the top 10 in the East right now has a winning record with the 10th seed Celtics sitting at 10-9. The West is not as good this year as only the top 6 teams have winning records and 7-10 all sit at .500

    The Raptors and the Cavs both are above the Pacers but each also has a losing record, both at 9-10. As it stand the Pacers are currently 3.5 games behind the Bucks for the final non play in spot. As the season goes on I would expect that the Bucks will not be down in the 6th spot but someone else will occupy that position.

    Now the question is, will the team that occupies that position or any position above that be the Indiana Pacers?

    My very simple answer to that is no.

    I'll try and do a breakdown of players further down but I'll just cut to the chase and say that I see nothing in the first 20 games that makes me change my mind that we will once again, as we have for the past several seasons, be a low level team that might make the play in or maybe even get to the actual playoffs (I'm not sure either way on this part) but if we do we will be absolute fodder for whoever the upper tier teams are.

    At the Digest gathering earlier this summer I think some of the people confused what I was saying and maybe even some have confused what I say now. But let me try and clarify this as best as I can.

    I do NOT believe we are a bad team. However I do not believe we are a good team. At best we are mediocre team and our talent level is really not that great.

    Nothing has changed my mind on that. We have won some big games against some really good teams. We've lost some winnable games against really lousy teams.

    This is really nothing more than the mark of mediocrity.

    Look we have admittedly had a rough schedule to begin the season with, which we all knew we had coming. So honestly I think as the season plays out we will be closer to .500 and possibly even a few games above (not likely but not impossible either) as the season ends.

    BillS is absolutely correct when he says that as the season ends we have a stretch where we would almost have to mail in a forfeit to lose several games and yes, if we are suffering from a devastatingly bad record at the time we will jump up in the record and yes there will be several people howling because they had fully bought into the tank and this will take us out of the top 5 they are hoping for. Yes, this also means that there is a very good chance we will land once again right outside of the playoffs and right outside of the lottery. Purgatory, where Pacers fans live.

    Now if you have read all of this I assume you are filled with my doom and despair and think that this is just another in a long line of lost seasons. Well, this year that is not exactly 100% true. I'm not thrilled with where I think we are headed and I do not like the direction or construction of the roster.

    However what is different this year, IMO anyway, is two fold.

    1. We actually have rookies (yes I said that in plural) who I think actually will contribute going forward.

    2. I honestly believe that Rick Carlisle has the juice with Herb Simon that if he walks in and tells him that this team is capped out at where it is at and that he can not win with them that we can actually make changes going forward to improve the team.

    Which for the record I believe that Rick is evaluating the team, more so that trying to get them to win every single game. I think that both he and Pritchard know that this is not now nor will this current iteration of the team ever be contenders. I believe they are trying to figure out what they have and how best to proceed going forward.

    At least that is what I desperately hope anyway.

    With that in mind let's look at the team and this time we are going to start in reverse and deal with the coach up front.

    As I said above, I believe he is experimenting, mixing and matching, building towards the post season and maybe even seeing what he has to get there with. It's either that or he is totally burnt out and is just cashing checks till he can retire altogether. Because he has had massive changes to the structure on offense going from little to no play calling, to him calling multiple plays from the sidelines to now him back to not calling plays. Our defensive philosophy seems to change by the week as well. Sometimes we pressure the ball, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we fight through picks other times we go under them.

    The one thing that you can say about his coaching after he left our club was that there really is no style of play that defines him. In a way he can adapt to almost any style or caliber of player that he has available to him and honestly that is a good thing. Much better than system coach's who can not adapt to the players they have. However the downside of that is that often times his teams have no real identity and I think it's safe to say that if there is a real complaint about our team (besides the lack of top grade talent) is that we totally lack any real identity. Are we and offensive power house who teams fear because of the massive runs we will go on? Clearly our typical 4-5 minute droughts that occur in almost every single second half of a game say's no. Are we a slap the floor defensive team that will get up in the other teams grill and make their lives miserable? I would also say no. Are we a physical team who dominates the opponent with our strength and power? Well we are rebounding significantly better this year but once again I don't think there is a team in the league who fears our physical play.

    Another nice thing about Rick this season is that since he is experimenting he has allowed players to play themselves into and out of the lineup, but almost everyone has had a chance to get on the floor.

    Overall I have been very pleased with what he has done because like him, I'm not really looking at this season. I want post season success and better futures going forward. But I know that some have not been happy with him and I'll just say this, if he's not doing what I hope he's doing, you would be right to not be happy.

    Jumping to the players now.

    Chris Duarte: The single biggest reason why I have any hope going forward. I don't believe he is ever going to be a superstar or a franchise cornerstone but I do believe he is probably going to be an all-star someday and he will average 18-22 ppg for the majority of his career.

    First and foremost, he is not afraid. He's not afraid of the moment and he doesn't fear other players. This frankly is an invaluable tool that can't be taught and will only get better with time. More than once this season the final shot of the game has been designed to go to him. Which for the Pacers anyway is unheard of for a rookie. At present he is shooting 42% from the floor and 39% from threes, both are good numbers for a rookie. however he is only shooting 68% from the free throw line. To be a great player he is going to have to increase his numbers from the free throw line in both quantity and % of makes. In 18 games he's only shot 21, which isn't great.

    He is a deceptively good passer, often making pocket passes and interior passes to Domas with high degree's of both difficulty and success.

    All of this and we still haven't talked about one of his better attributes. His defense. He already defends the wing position better than anyone on our team other than Justin Holiday and he's only going to get better. I could go on and on about Duarte because he is that good. He is absolutely one of the building blocks going forward.

    Malcolm Brogdon: Offensively he is typically our best scorer. Defensively he is sometimes the other teams best scorer. Try as he might, and I'm not really sure how hard he tries, he just can not stay in front of any guard who has any type of quickness. Now he is good at defending bigger wings, as well saw during the Lakers game he did not embarrass himself when he had to guard LeBron. He's not the best distributor of the ball but he has been making more of an effort to be a willing passer. He has really been a good reason why our overall team rebounding has improved as right now he is averaging a career best 6 rbg and of course he has already missed 5 games this season with a variety of illnesses and injuries. The season is still young so you can count on that at least doubling going forwards. It really doesn't matter what you think of him, love him hate him or anything in between, because due to his contract extension he isn't going anywhere this season.

    Domantas Sabonis: His numbers are down mostly across the board, his assist numbers are dramatically down. Not having a bad season per se but not having a great one either. Not sure the offense we run really allows him to shine like it did under the previous Nate's. Not having his pick and roll buddy McDermott doesn't help him either. Teams are leaving him alone when he is shooting three's from the top of the line around to the angles and for whatever reason he doesn't seem to be able to get to the corner three all that often. He's done an admirable job of attempting to play perimeter defense, logging some of the highest mileage in the NBA. However he is not and never will be a rim protector. He can block shots but he scares nobody away. That being said he is an absolute beast down on the blocks himself and it takes either a concerted team effort (like the Raptors did) or have a very long shot blocker like Gobert to stop him. Really would like to see him give up the ball more running the floor as I would prefer he get himself on the block but he is capable of doing it so I guess he's going to.

    Myles Turner: Scoring is exactly what it has been his entire career, which honestly surprised me a little as I thought he was scoring more a game than what he is. Rebounding is a career high 7.5 a game, which rounding up to 8 is pretty much acceptable. I mean he has shown he certainly can rebound when he focuses on it but with him it is always a matter of focus. Look I try and stay out of the debates between them anymore because as long as he isn't starting over Domas I'm ok. But while I believe he is having more good games than bad I just won't buy into the "he's turned the corner on his career" until I get months and I mean months worth of solid play. Which, he has not done. He has good games and bad. He always protect the rim and is probably the best shot blocker we have ever had on the team. As long as he can give us 8 rebounds a game to go with it, we're good.

    Caris LeVert: Basically has been absolutely miserable on the floor. The injury he suffered either the pre-season or off season, I'm not sure which, is devastating because to me that is going to be a career altering injury where he is going to have chronic back pain and will need to set out games often. I believe it is affecting his shooting right now and while he has never been confused with a good defensive player, he hasn't been this bad in the past. He does a lot of what I consider unnecessary herky-jerky motions that will just contribute to his back pains going forward. That being said he's a decent and willing passer. Unless there is dramatic improvement here if we are looking to make a move I would suggest that we start here.

    Justin Holiday: Man did he have a miserable stretch to begin the season from the floor. But of late has been hitting at a far higher clip. He is not being forced to play the four as often this year so that has helped defensively and over the past week or so it seems like he is trying to get to the basket a little more which I think helps his overall game because teams can't just guard him for the three point shot when he drives. Still probably asked to do to much here. Ideally he is at best a 6th man (maybe even 7th or 8th) but because of injury and lack of depth he is often called on to start. You could do a lot worse than him, but that seems to be the Pacers motto about all of our players.

    Torrey Craig: Probably playing more minutes than expected and well frankly with the injury to Jackson and Brissett being a huge flop he is your next best versatile big, well sort of big he's only 6'7" so you would ideally like to play him against bigger wings however he has shown a knack in guarding 4's as well. Offensively I wasn't sure what to expect out of him and I still have no idea what to expect. There are games where he looks like he could be a solid contributor and then there are nights he doesn't shoot the ball more than 2-3 times. Solid pickup for the team and good deep bench guy to have.

    Kelan Martin: The single biggest surprise of the season. I mean Duarte was a high first round pick so while we are pleased it can't come as a total shock he was good. This guy on the other hand has transformed himself into a defender who will earn time on the floor because of the way he goes at it night after night. What is so funny about him is that in the first half of last season I didn't even see him as an NBA level player. Second half of the season he started to develop some form of offensive rhythm but this year he has been a virtual pit bull on defense. Still think he is a deep bench level player but nothing would please me more than having to admit I was wrong because he has worked his way up. I love his size as well. This guy is listed at 6'5" but I don't believe it, I think he's about 6'7" but he is built like a tank. Rick paid him the compliment of calling him a fighter and well that was more than enough to perk my interest in him. I look forward to his growth.

    T.J. McConnell: Career high 9ppg, which after the rough start to the season he had i was wondering if he would ever get an offensive groove going. He's a good distributor but until he can routinely shoot something outside of 8-10' teams are just going to back off of him and dare him to shoot cutting off any driving lanes and playing hell in the passing lanes. However he is almost 30, don't think he will change much if at all. Good backup point guard. I know there are people who want him to start but the reality is he's just not good enough to do it and frankly if we do have any form of playoff run he likely will be neutralized as teams will just pack the middle on him and cause him to be very ineffective.

    I'm not going to bother with the others, Goga has good games here and there but obviously he is not a priority for Carlisle. Brissett was given chances and other than one game early on has sucked sucked sucked. Jackson being injured early on blew as he went from what I had hoped would be at least routine appearances to now typical rookie blowout games.

    In closing I'll say this. We are not a healthy T.J. Warren away from being a contender. Does he make us better? Probably, although let's be blunt its going to take him months, if not longer, to get into game shape. But at the end of the day contrary to what Pritchard said last year, this guy is not the second coming of Kevin Durrant. He's just a good player who will play with other good players to form a good team who will win just enough to not be bad. Sadly they are playing in a league where great players play on great teams and have actual hope of competing for playoff advancement.




    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13
    Tags: None
    • 10 likes
  • #2
    Sooooo depressing....not good enough.... not bad enough....not even triple doubles (they will be coming tho)....as the most famous political leader in US history use to say....Sad!

    Comment

    • #3
      Excellent slightly-odd thoughts as usual, Peck, though you might consider throwing a bone to Myles Turner's improved rebounding (for the most part). Another angle worth covering is the immediate improvement in the offense when run at a faster tempo. Doing so sustainably may require Carlisle to continue to use most of the bench.

      At the same time, one can't help but wonder whether adding speed & athleticism to the roster would pay dividends, both on offense and defense. Regrettable that Ed Sumner is in a longer recovery, and that neither of our attempts to develop top-flight athletes from last year's squad--Cassius Stanley, or Jalen Lecque--bore any fruit. Questions about the team's defense have been met with responses like, "It's a priority. We're working on it." To your main point, the question lingers: Have we topped out with this roster? Or might a mid-season addition of one athletic player as well as a healthy-by-season's-end TJ Warren bump us to the next level?


      HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL! Special thanks to Able, for keeping this online show running. Whether you praise the Pacers or curse them (or both ... within the span of 60 seconds), we at PD have much to be thankful for.


      "He’s no shrinking violet when it comes to that kind of stuff."

      - Rick Carlisle on how Kevin Pritchard responds to needed roster changes.
      • 3 likes

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      • #4
        Great post, Peck.

        I agree with almost all of this, though I think LeVert may start to look better once we're out of this brutal stretch of games (only 3 teams have played 20 games so far and I'd swear we were near the top of away/home back-to-backs, never mind the opponent quality.)

        I also think that Carlisle is doing exactly what KP asked Nate B to do last year, which is to work the roster in the early part of the season rather than set a rotation to guarantee wins. How much of that has been forced by injuries I don't know, but it is something many here would never have expected Carlisle to do, especially if it meant playing rookies.

        I have been amused by the parallels in record, play, and fan reaction to the 1993-94 season (our record now is currently 1 win fewer than where we were at the same number of games, but there was that horrible December-January chunk of losses yet to come.) I don't seriously see us with a ring-bearing FA acquisition, though I think we might get a point guard shakeup at some point, so I doubt we'll have the .500 record at the All-Star break and subsequent big push through the playoffs, but it makes for interesting thoughts.

        Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

        BillS

        A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
        Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...
        • 1 like

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        • #5
          I agree. This team is a mediocre team but it isn’t one of those mediocre teams with multiple exciting young players that have good potential. Memphis, Toronto, Atlanta ( they’ll go a streak soon), Timberwolves, and Cleveland. If this team is 8 or so games away from a play-in spot by the trade deadline, I hope they start moving players to go towards a rebuild

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          • #6
            Posted this stat about 10 games ago (it ended up on the pre-game show later that day) and it is actually better after 20 games. The Sabonis and Turner combo have a net rating of +9.6 which is the best of any combo with 300 or more minutes. They also have a defensive rating of 95 also best on the team of any combo over 300 minutes.

            I think Carlisle may have the how, when and how long to play Turbonis together figured out pretty well. It is the mix of each one of them on their own that appears elusive. Alone both of them show pretty well with just about any combination of Brogdon, Levert & Duarte but clearly injuries have (and likely will continue) to limit those options.
            • 1 like

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Peck View Post
              Malcolm Brogdon: Offensively he is typically our best scorer. Defensively he is sometimes the other teams best scorer.
              Lance says hello ......
              Last edited by PacerDude; 11-25-2021, 01:08 PM.
              • 2 likes

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              • #8
                What Peck is ultimately getting at is that looking across 20 games, one can likely surmise that we may or we may not be a tough out.
                "I mean, you'd walk into our dressing room and run into Mel Daniels holding a .45 -- it makes you wonder."

                Bob Netolicky
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                • #9
                  In my opinion, the Pacers had their first good draft in a few seasons. It was after we hired Carlisle. I don’t think that was a coincidence. While I don’t think Carlisle had a lot of input on the draft, I think he had some. I am also in the camp with Peck in hoping that Carlisle will have enough impact with Pritchard and Simon to make some adjustments to the personnel.

                  As it stands, I think we will finish somewhere around .500. We are not known for mid season deals so I would be surprised if any significant moves were made this season.

                  What I am most looking forward to the rest of the season is to see how much Duarte and Jackson develop. I also enjoy watching Myles block shots.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by sav View Post
                    In my opinion, the Pacers had their first good draft in a few seasons. It was after we hired Carlisle. I don’t think that was a coincidence. While I don’t think Carlisle had a lot of input on the draft, I think he had some. I am also in the camp with Peck in hoping that Carlisle will have enough impact with Pritchard and Simon to make some adjustments to the personnel.

                    As it stands, I think we will finish somewhere around .500. We are not known for mid season deals so I would be surprised if any significant moves were made this season.

                    What I am most looking forward to the rest of the season is to see how much Duarte and Jackson develop. I also enjoy watching Myles block shots.
                    It was also their first draft where they weren't picking in the 20s since Myles Turner.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by youOk View Post

                      It was also their first draft where they weren't picking in the 20s since Myles Turner.
                      They had the 18th pick in 2017 and 2019. TJ Leaf and Goga

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                      • #12
                        My analysis:

                        We suck

                        Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

                        Lifelong pacers fan

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                        • #13
                          I predicted in another thread before the season started that the Pacers would win around 36 games this year. I would love for them to make the playoffs, but I just don't see it happening. I hope Carlisle gives Jackson some playing time soon to develope. He is the most athletic player they have, well actually to only long athletic player. We can only hope someone convince Herb to allow KP to shake this team up and make some changes this year.

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                          • #14
                            Here's what I said in the other thread:

                            I thought we'd be mediocre to poor. Thus far, we're mediocre to poor.

                            Long way to go, but not at all confident the coaching change will significantly alter our trajectory from last season. Bad news if not, because we'll miss out on top tier draft pick and still be stymied as a play-in or worse team in the East.

                            Shouldn't be that surprising really. It's the exact same team minus Duarte, Craig, and Wannamaker.

                            Now, pull off the next two challenging games at home and keep my attention/hope of more than mediocre, which may only be 1st round exit, but at least it's improvement.

                            I don't see how Brogdon/Levert, Turbonis, etc. is the answer. Maybe Carlisle will make me eat my words. But there's only so much you can do with a overabundance of solid but unspectacular players.
                            I'd rather die standing up than live on my knees.

                            -Emiliano Zapata
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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by DrFife View Post
                              Another angle worth covering is the immediate improvement in the offense when run at a faster tempo. Doing so sustainably may require Carlisle to continue to use most of the bench.

                              At the same time, one can't help but wonder whether adding speed & athleticism to the roster would pay dividends, both on offense and defense. Regrettable that Ed Sumner is in a longer recovery, and that neither of our attempts to develop top-flight athletes from last year's squad--Cassius Stanley, or Jalen Lecque--bore any fruit.
                              While completely acknowledging that Brissett has fully sucked this season, I can’t help but wonder if playing at a faster tempo with more ball movement and less iso will do anything to help him regain his form from last season.

                              I don’t expect him to be a starter by any means, but if that playing style caters more to his game and he can get some legitimate minutes, he might be able to carve out a consistent role for himself in the rotation.
                              I think KP is a Captain Planet fan. He believes that the collective will of five decent starters can outweigh the power of top-level talent. Too bad Herb won't cut the check for their Planeteer rings.

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