Patrolling the Paint [The Front Page]

[RoboHicks]

Patrolling the Paint
Written by Peck

Link

Welcome to the inaugural post of a new feature I want to try here that will be much different from my “Odd Thoughts” postings.

I guess we are calling these columns “blogs” although I have never really thought of them as such.

When Hicks approached me all those many months ago about adding the front page and changing up how I did my posting style my big concern was that I never considered myself a writer or an opinion maker (God knows I have no problem giving an opinion though). I just always considered the posts as more of a conversation starter and to this day that is how I still feel.

I want interaction on both of these features the first of which you are familiar with is the “Odd thoughts” which is exactly what the name implies that it is. They are my odd thoughts about many different topics, and usually I go all over the board with them.

This new blog is different in that these are not my thoughts at all. This is going to be a place where I talk with different people to get their ideas, views, perspectives, etc. For now until I get better at doing this I am starting off with a list of 10 questions that I am asking people. In fact I was going to call this blog “10 questions” but I didn’t want to limit myself for future opportunities that may present themselves also that format could get old real fast. Besides I had to talk myself out of always making question # 10 Dale Davis great player or greatest player?

So for now I am going with “Patrolling the Paint” for the name of this blog, although I will freely admit that I am not completely married to that name and if somebody comes up with something better I would be willing to change.

I am hoping that in the future I can snag some personalities that are in and around the team or even around the NBA but I am going to start off with taking a look at some of us, the fans.* If you guys have any suggestions for people to try and interview or better yet questions you would like to see answered please let me know.

So with that in mind for my first quasi interview I figured why not start with a person who is kind of important to the daily operations of Pacers Digest.

Bow down in reverence and show your love to the founder of the Digest.

* Hicks.

1. How long have you been a Pacers fan and is there any one player, game, series, etc. that caused you to become a fan?

I was interested since the mid 90′s, I liked Reggie Miller, but I didn’t really know much about him or the Pacers, and I didn’t consider myself a real fan until Larry Bird became the coach of the team.

Bird made me a fan of basketball after my parents bought me the NBA documentary about him on VHS. It’s out on DVD now, “Larry Bird, a Basketball Legend”.

Anyway, I idolized him as a kid, so when he became the coach of the Pacers, I was drawn to them like I never had been before.

I’d catch regular season games when I could, but it was the playoffs where I got really excited to watch the Pacers, and of course everyone remembers that great Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and the Bulls, including one of Reggie’s greatest moments where he drilled that 3 to save the day at Market Square Arena.

It became obvious I was hooked permanently once I stuck around for the Isaiah Thomas era and never once thought about abandoning ship. I’ve stuck with the team ever since.

2. When you watch the team play what do you look for to see if the team is going to be successful?

*I suppose the first/main thing I look for or notice is the scoring runs made by the Pacers and their opponents.

3. Who is your favorite player and why?

Anymore, I can’t say that I have a favorite player. I like some players more than others, and some less than others, but there’s no one guy that I point to as my favorite.

The closest thing to a straight answer I could give you is to mention which player on the current roster I most enjoy watching play their game, and that’s probably Tyler Hansbrough because I love his relentlessness.

4. Do you prefer a good momentum swinging three point shot or a thunderous rim rocking dunk?

I love both/either of them when they’re part of a Pacer scoring run.

5. What has been the high point in your life of watching the Pacers play?

Any time the team was playing well during the 2000 NBA Finals.

6. What has been the low point in your life of watching the Pacers play?

There are various stretches that come to mind, including the collapse in 2002-03, the slide in 2006-07, and most of 2009-10. 09-10 was probably the worst.

7. What value do you place on statistics such as plus/minus, per, etc?

They have their place. Personally, how much I value a given set of statistics varies. There are times when I’m in the mood to really dig through the stats for key insights, and then other times when I just care if I’m enjoying how the players are performing and if the team is winning.

8. Why did you feel the need to create Pacers Digest?

I was dissatisfied with how the Indy Star Pacers board was moderated, I felt I could do a better job than the invisible hands that were operating there, and I decided to give it a try.

9. What is the most challenging aspect of running the site?

Managing the variety of personalities, backgrounds, and ages that make up the forum’s population.

10. What is the most rewarding part of running the site?

Seeing how much it’s grown since the beginning both in terms of quality and popularity.

[McKeyFan]

Re: Patrolling the Paint [The Front Page]

I've got some more questions:

- Do you think the job of moderating PD has caused you to grow up a little faster than you would have otherwise?

- What has moderating PD taught you about human nature? As in, what has made you cynical, what has been a pleasant surprise? Any other surprises?

- How many hours a week do you think PD takes of your time?

- We always speculate, but how much do YOU think players and TPTB look at PD?

- Do you know of any other forums, sports or non-sports, where regular visceral discussion takes place like on PD?