Announcement

Collapse

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.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

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.
See more
See less

[Star] Defend the paint

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • [Star] Defend the paint

    Unclebuck, thunderbird, et al, we get our first taste of the changes in the defense this year.

    http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../1088/SPORTS04

    October 1, 2008

    Defend the paint

    That's the rallying cry for Indiana's defense

    By Jeff Rabjohns
    jeff.rabjohns@indystar.com

    Early Tuesday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien stopped the action and walked near the free throw line.

    "The entire point of the drill," he emphasized, "is keeping the basketball out of the paint."

    It was only the first training camp practice, but the Pacers were at work on what they feel is a key component behind their offseason overhaul.

    After a year in which their inability to stop dribble penetration led to a variety of defensive breakdowns, the Pacers acquired point guards T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack in trades, drafted a defensive center in Roy Hibbert and a forward in Brandon Rush who often guarded the opponent's best wing player in college.

    While O'Brien is tweaking the defensive system, he has emphasized better defensive play at the point will be a key.

    Ford is the likely starter, with Jack the backup and Travis Diener the third point guard.

    "It all starts with the ability to keep your man in front of you. We couldn't do that last year," O'Brien said. "T.J. is pretty good at doing that. Jarrett Jack is just a tough-minded guy who keeps the ball in front, will hit people, take charges, get on the ground for loose balls, is the type of individual that will help our team own our defense.

    "I thought Travis got much, much better defensively and grew as a defensive player in a number of areas. We're just significantly better just if you start at the point of attack."

    The Pacers allowed the fifth-most points per game last year (105.4) and tied with Washington as the worst team against the 3-pointer, allowing teams to shoot 38.6 percent.

    With a fast-break offense, O'Brien expects the Pacers to be among the league's top five teams in scoring. The difference in wins and losses -- or making the playoffs and watching from home -- likely will come down to stops. O'Brien reminded the Pacers that they allowed 1.5 more points than they scored last season, and each possession is worth potentially six points.

    "All the good teams keep the ball out of the middle and contest shots," said Ford, acquired from Toronto in the Jermaine O'Neal trade. "In order for us to be a good team, those are two areas we have to master."

    The most significant change in approach is on pick-and-rolls. Instead of pushing the player with the ball toward the free throw line, the Pacers will try to steer the player toward the baseline.

    The intent is to shorten the distance in defensive rotations
    , which could help Hibbert, a 7-2 rookie from Georgetown.

    "As any 7-footer, you have to block up the middle," Hibbert said. "I have to do my part and own the paint and make sure if any guys get beat from the middle of the baseline to the paint, I'm there to help out as much as possible.

    "These guys are going to have to rely on me as the second line of defense, so I'm going to have to do my part."

    Hibbert has been blocking shots but is working on staying on his feet so he doesn't get pump-faked into foul trouble. Tuesday's first practice revealed glimpses of the potential and the problems. He'll also be facing more physical post players than in college, but he said he's looking forward to that.

    "I like it a lot, actually," he said. "They let you bang in the post here. In college, I go up against 6-8 centers most of the time. Just to get a chance to be physical and bang in there is enticing."

    Hibbert will battle Jeff Foster and Rasho Nesterovic for minutes. O'Brien made it clear Monday during media day and again in practice Tuesday that whoever wins the starting position will be a physical presence, particularly on defense.

    "I want there to be daily wars at that position," O'Brien said. "I want to see people getting their lips cut and their noses bloodied because then whoever earns the majority of the playing time will be toughened by his teammates. I think it will evolve just like every other position."



    Defensive details: Rookie Roy Hibbert defends the lane after Pacers defenders force Danny Granger (33) to the baseline in practice Tuesday. A change from last year is that the Pacers want to force opposing players to the baseline instead of the free throw line. - MATT DIAL / The Star



    Listen up: Pacers coach Jim O'Brien offers instructions. O'Brien wants better defensive play at point guard this season.

    -------------------

    I think this is a good move. It should also mean less of what appeared in '08 to be, "force them down the lane and pray to draw a charge."

  • #2
    Re: [Star] Defend the paint

    Maybe it's just the slant in the article....but it seems that Hibbert is expected to be a key piece of this team.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: [Star] Defend the paint

      ^^is he not supposed to be? the way i see it, regardless of how he actually performs this year (we all know w/o even playing a single game he's an improvement over Harrison), the best thing for us in the long run is getting him consistent minutes. I expect to see him at at least 15 mins every night.

      Good read again. I haven't been this excited since the Reggie days, this is fantastic
      Reggie Miller is a God. Period.

      Passion. Pride. Pacers.

      It's ALWAYS Miller Time.
      #31 & Only

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: [Star] Defend the paint

        I like pushing the dribbler to the baseline. Seems like more and more teams are defending pick and rolls that way. Phil Jackson has been doing it that way for years, first as the Bulls coach and then as Lakers coach. Of course you can't do that all the time especially on the pick and roll that starts at the top of the key which is becoming the most popular pick and roll - ever since the defensive rules were changed which made side pick and rolls easier to defend.

        Pushing baseline will keep the Pacers big guy from having to run such a long distance first to trap and then to either get back to his own man or someone elses man. Another advantage is that there is simply less room to work in the corners, fewer angles. Certain players though you just can't do it this way, Iverson is one, he loves the baseline, Kobe is another one - well actually he is great everywhere,

        Overall I like the change. But most of all I just hpe we are aggressive in the rotations and aggressive in the ball pressure - Jack should help a lot - he's probably the best defender of that sort since Erick Strickland
        Last edited by Unclebuck; 10-01-2008, 08:41 AM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: [Star] Defend the paint

          Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
          Pushing baseline will keep the Pacers big guy from having to run such a long distance first to trap and then to either get back to his own man or someone elses man.

          Overall I like the change.

          I understand the value of controlling the interior, and of shortening the distance any player has to go to help or cover an open man. I also understand how the sidelines can work like a 6th defender.

          What are we giving up to do this? What is the down side?
          And I won't be here to see the day
          It all dries up and blows away
          I'd hang around just to see
          But they never had much use for me
          In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: [Star] Defend the paint

            It's a good question, and I don't know the answer. I'd like to think it's just an improvement we can afford to do with having two point guards who can pressure and having a big center who can defend the paint. Mainly the improvement at PG.

            I think making our help run less distance is a big deal.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: [Star] Defend the paint

              I just hope that Hibbert will not spend most of his time on the bench with foul trouble due to ticky-tacky fouls

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                In my book, there is not downside to forcing players to the baseline. IMHO, it's the best way to defend the pick and roll. I think that's why the Spurs tend to run so many from the top of the key. Harder to force the offensive player to a particular side.

                Although I'm glad O'Brian is opting to force P&O to the sideline, what is most important is HOW we defend it. Are we going to try and slide through the pick...switch off...trap? THAT is what is most important.

                I like what UB had to say about it, especially how certain players LIKE being forced to the baseline, like Kobe and Iverson.

                This is going to take some smart interior defense to make this work. Hibbert, Foster and Rado are really going to have to recognize what is happening with the pick man, along with how and when he's going to roll to the basket.

                The one possible downside I see is that we can set ourselves up for a nasty backdoor cut from the weakside as we force the play to the baseline.
                Hey! What're you kicking me for? You want me to ask? All right, I'll ask! Ma'am, where do the high school girls hang out in this town?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                  Originally posted by bellisimo View Post
                  I just hope that Hibbert will not spend most of his time on the bench with foul trouble due to ticky-tacky fouls
                  That's probably inevitable at first, but the question is how quickly will he learn to stay on his feet. And how quickly will the refs stop treating him like a rookie. Honestly, on that front the most important thing is that Roy DOES NOT complain to the refs. He might a little, but if I were him I'd be telling myself to do it less than whomever I consider to be a moderate/mild complainer. If he gets on the refs' **** list like Harrison did, it's over.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                    Skaut, I went ahead and emailed that question about defending the PnR to Mike Wells, asking him to ask Jim O'Brien about it. We'll see if it shows up this week in a blog or article.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                      The downside is that it does allow the picker (usually the big guy setting the pick) to get open shots - as it is very difficult to get out to him in that situation. When you force the dribbler baseline the big guy setting the pick will veer to the outside near the top of the key area and if you have a shooter like Sheed or even KG he will get a lot of pretty good open 20 ft shots. Of course yuou can always pre-rotate and get out to the shooter.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                        It looks like Mike is going to help us out. His response to my email:

                        Originally posted by Mike Wells
                        I'll try to do a blog on it today. If not, I'll definitely do something on it tomorrow.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                          Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                          The downside is that it does allow the picker (usually the big guy setting the pick) to get open shots - as it is very difficult to get out to him in that situation. When you force the dribbler baseline the big guy setting the pick will veer to the outside near the top of the key area and if you have a shooter like Sheed or even KG he will get a lot of pretty good open 20 ft shots. Of course yuou can always pre-rotate and get out to the shooter.
                          That's the kind of weakness I like. You always have to give something up to multi-dimensional players, and I'd rather it be a 20 foot shot than something closer and/or attacking the basket.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                            Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                            Erick Strickland
                            That seems like two lifetimes ago.
                            "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: [Star] Defend the paint

                              Originally posted by McKeyFan View Post
                              That seems like two lifetimes ago.
                              And thank God for that. Makes me long for the Tim Hardaway days.

                              = = = = = = = = = =

                              Phyiscal post defense? I'm pretty sure that is even less of the "front the post" garbage. Foster is trade bait, and with the roster changes is expendable. Out of all six PFs/Cs, he's the least physical and most reliant on speed/ jumping.
                              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

                              Working...
                              X