Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

[kellogg]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

At this point I could care less if they make the playoffs...this is not a championship-caliber team, this is not a playoff team (anywhere other than the Eastern conference). This is a lottery-quality team whose idiot GM picks up a guy (Murray) who chucks up shots and will help us eek into the playoffs...as a consequence we will trade the 8th pick for the 8th seed. And what will be just priceless here? Murray will end up signing with another team at the end of the season.

I'm still shell-shocked that the Simons, who are clearly brilliant business people, have left the one person in charge who is destroying this team.

If they are not careful, they will end up being the James Dolans of the Pacers. They will stick with their man until he completely ruins the team and it's reputation.

Here's predicting that under Bird's "one voice" we have even lower attendance figures than this year.

[FrenchConnection]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

Unfortantely there's an NBA.com pool up that asks which team is most likely to land the 8 seed.

Out of Pacers, Bulls, Nets, and Hawks, we're last with 4%. Way to stay under the radar boys!

We're also the smallest market with a mostly disinterested fan base.

[pwee31]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

Unfortantely there's an NBA.com poll up that asks which team is most likely to land the 8 seed.

Out of Pacers, Bulls, Nets, and Hawks, we're last with 4%. Way to stay under the radar boys!

[duke dynamite]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

If PAcers play Boston in the first round. ..they are gonna play hard. WHY, cause this team always plays hard when they face contenders. If it's a sweep, it won't be an easy sweep IMO

Yeah, we will show a little fight. May not be enough to win more than one game if we do poorly, but it will give us some motivation for next season.

Murphy's avg 16.8 and 8.2 ... since all-star break. Doesn't seem so overpaid now. Shooting pct is way up also. Flip has made a difference with his penetration. If JO plays with the second unit for a couple weeks I could see us being real solid and making the 8th seed. A couple playoff games would help the franchise financially. Who knows maybe we even get a third.

Murph and Dun are worth the money paid the way they are playing atm.

Just because a team wins 4 straight doesn't mean it was easy. Plus anyone of those Big 3 can go down. I mean, Cleveland won 4 straight on a depleted Washington team last year, but they never blew them out any of the games. most of them, they barely won. I was referring to something similar like that.

Just like Golden State vs. Dallas last year. "Where amazing happens." Gotta hand it to GS, Jax, BD and Al for pulling something like that off. I kind of feel like we could be that dark horse and maybe win a couple of games in a series against Boston.

[BillS]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

Even if the playoffs themselves lead to 4 quick losses, ending the year on a strong note can't be anything but good for the franchise.

I don't care if we tank to the bottom - the Knicks will get the first pick and the players left when it gets to us won't do any good for a couple of years anyway.

If the team ends the season strong and upbeat, that's a better lead-in to next season than a whole crop of PR ads.

[Unclebuck]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

i'M NOT a negative type poster, generally, but I really want all of the people who are excited to make an 8th seed back on here to hear how they feel after getting trounced/sweep by Boston.

I will root and watch every minute of it, but its fools gold to make the playoffs, imo.

I'm not excited about the playoffs at all. I'm excited to see the team play some decent ball right now. I'm excited to see Murphy, Dunleavy, Granger, Foster, and even Williams and Diener play some good ball.

[Speed]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

i'M NOT a negative type poster, generally, but I really want all of the people who are excited to make an 8th seed back on here to hear how they feel after getting trounced/sweep by Boston.

I will root and watch every minute of it, but its fools gold to make the playoffs, imo.

[DgR]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

The thing that made me feel good about this win streak is that Murphy is finally showing he's not worthless and gives us a 3rd option on offense- i think he's been the difference maker. if Murph, Dun and DG all score around 20ppg + JO coming back- this team can be a little dangerous.

That win against Chicago shows there has been growth in the team because even though the bulls have a horrible season- they're still miles more talented than us+ they played at home+ they led by 13 late in the game+ they really needed to win that game too. this win was very out of character for us. I am really happy our ex- warriors are stepping up their game and showing the trade wasn't bad for us even though it was amazing for GS.

[DgR]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

I also think detroit will beat Bos in the east finals- if they face them. i think a team first has to fail in order to eventualy succeed. i dont think this Boston team can be transformed from the weakest in the league to a champion in the span of a year. of course they will get the usual contribution from their big 3 who have some (not too much) experience in the PO- the real question is how are the rest of the players going to react? is Rondo going to be able to step up to the level of lets say... Billups or Nash or Kidd or Parker??
the length of their run is up to those guys too. who knows maybe Sam will be their man...

[NuffSaid]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

UB,

The 4-game win streak should act as a confidence booster for both the team and the fans coming into this game against the Hornets. Just imagine how pumped everyone will be if JO does return tomorrow and the Pacers actually win. The Pacers beat them earlier in the season w/o JO. Both Murphy and Harrison had good games. And seeing that both of these players - especially Murphy - have really stepped up of late, I see no reason why the Pacers couldn't beat them again.

There's nothing worse for a visiting team than to come up against a scrappy team and face the home team w/momentum on their side.

[Anthem]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

But also keep in mind that if the pacers didn't win the previous 3 games - no way dpo they have the confidence to come from behind after trailing by 13 pts on the road. As I often say the more you win the more you win.

A good point. A very good point. Which is why I'd much rather get a #15 pick and have the team close the regular season on a good note than get a #12 pick and lose all the way there.

[McKeyFan]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

What is comforting however, is that I am pretty confident that appropriate changes will be made in the offseason. In fact, if they don't, I can't even tell you how mad I will be.

Is this a current post, or is it a year old?

Just checking.

[Unclebuck]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

Couple of points. Genrally speaking I can deal with the pacers losing to obviously superior teams - they simply don't have the talent and the intangibles to beat such teams as the Celtics, Pistons, and 7 or 8 teams out west. But I can deal with that - but what is different about winning 4 straight is that THEY WON 4 STRAIGHT. That means somehting - I don't care who we are playing.

But also keep in mind that if the pacers didn't win the previous 3 games - no way dpo they have the confidence to come from behind after trailing by 13 pts on the road. As I often say the more you win the more you win.

[Peck]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

Your acting like I'm saying the PAcers are going to win the series. I'm saying The PAcers are not going to play SOFT against Boston. Your someone who obviously under values JErmaine O'neal. Yeah he's been hurt so what, the only thing the injury really effected was his offense. He was still a major factor on defense, and that's what the pacers need, a big boost on D. And you think if Jermaine went against KG IN THE PLAYOFFS, you think he's gonna play soft? lol.

Oh if you only knew the irony of that part.

Other than actually calling himself Shade07 I'm not sure how you could find a much bigger O'neal fan.

Shade, you've just been called out.

[imawhat]

Re: Why did it only take 4 wins in a row....

The Cs have beat Detroit two out of three times. Their one loss came on the final play of the game.

Boston also just swept Texas on the road.

And they are playing .800 ball for the season.

I'd say that's something to suggest it could be at least close.

I understand that's a great list of regular season accomplishments, but that was Detroit's list last season (minus the Texas sweep) and they died out in the playoffs against a one-man team in six games.

I think that was a result of peaking too early, inexperience, and burning players out before the playoffs. I had a hunch they would lose sooner than they did, and I feel the same way about the Celtics (even with their recent play).