It’s just really hard to do these anymore because when things are going this well honestly what is there to say? If I could figure out how to get that damn dog smoking the cigar to post on here without it showing up as just an image I would just post it and say that’s that. But for whatever reason I can’t get it to post right.
So I’ll just have to try and come up with something objective.
I guess if we need to critically evaluate something I’ll just say this and see where it goes.
Lance Stephenson is going to get paid. I don’t know how much or by whom but he is going to get paid. Those of you thinking that he is in the George Hill range better think again, some team is going to back the truck up to him.
Now are the Pacers that team? I hope so, but depending on how high we are talking. Every game he plays this good he is putting himself higher and higher on the pay scale and if he makes the all-star team?
But that’s for the brass upstairs to figure out and right now we don’t have to concern ourselves with it and just hope that we can harness all of his good mojo to take us over the top this summer.
Should we look critically at David West’s elbow to Blake Griffin’s head? I vote no. In fact if anything we should chastise him for getting tossed without getting in a better shot than that. Look Griffin and Jordan both flail their arms about freely when they jump and it’s a little disgusting that the refs. let them get by with it as much as they do, Jordan in particular. Also I’m never opposed to a player standing up for himself so IMO let the good times roll.
Now do I think it will cost West a game? My honest opinion is no, this was nothing and ended up with not harm to anyone. Now of course after the game BillS was convinced that Stern will want to give a parting shot to the Pacers so he was ranging between 2-5 games. I’m still of the belief that he will get off with time served.
I was saying a few games ago that we were struggling because our best player was struggling and felt that once he got back online our struggles would end.
He struggles no more and thus the constant pounding we have been giving opponents at home. Paul was just on absolute fire and I felt like he could have had someone come out and hold the ball on a T like for a field goal in football and Paul could have kicked the ball in.
Not to mention that dunk. I’m not going to comment on it because everyone else has but I want to make this one point about it. The Clippers as a team make the highlight reel because of their dunks and Jordan would have had the dunk of the game with that high flyer he put in from Griffin. However thanks to Paul George’s dunk anything the Clippers did will be in absolute obscurity and I have a feeling that Paul did that on purpose.
I’m really remiss in putting this down this low but Roy starting off the game with 5 blocks in 8 minutes actually set the tone for the entire game and made the Clippers guards and wings pull up for jumpers and had their big men looking over their shoulders the rest of the night. In other words all by himself Roy changed that game in the first quarter.
But to make matters even more precarious for the Clippers when Paul & Roy went to the bench, they not only could not make any in roads they actually dug a bigger deficit. Between Stephenson, Watson, Scola & Granger the Clippers second unit had no chance and in fact had to play Griffin & Jordan more min. than I think they normally play in the 2nd quarter.
Okay a statement and then a hypothetical question.
Statement. Doc Rivers is over rated as a coach. Before Ainge built the big 3 in Boston Rivers was just another former player who had a pedestrian record as a coach. It was not horrid mind you but it was certainly not the winning % he would be known for once he got Garnett, Pierce & Allen. I’m not saying he is a bad coach btw, I’m just saying his reputation exceeds his results, but that’s just my opinion.
Question. Now your going to have to go with me on this and let your mind let loose negative possibilities. For the sake of this question you have to allow yourself to pretend that we will win a title and next season we will compete for another title (whether we win next year is not important).
If the Pacers win a title this year and are once again one of the top teams all of next season and get to the finals does David West have his number retired as a Pacer?
Again don’t argue if we do or don’t win, for this question let’s say we do.
BTW, full disclosure this question was Diamond Dave’s question.
Let’s do some Grades.
Paul George: A+++
MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP!!!!!
David West: C
The pro: was a man
The Con’s: If you’re going to go out for God’s sake go out on something more than that
Pro Tip: He’s a Baaaaaaaaaad Man
Roy Hibbert: A
Don’t get me wrong in truth he really didn’t have a great game, he got out played by Jordan for the most part and nobody is really talking about his 2-11 shooting. All of that would normally make him have a much lower score. But his rim defense to start the game was just monstrous and that alone merits this high of a grade.
Lance Stephenson: A
Mark Boyle tweeted it best tonight when he said employee # 1 is the human equivalent of Tobasco Sauce. I know that many people don’t like his antics and I’m sure that Uncle Buck shakes his head in disapproval several times a game but dang it he’s fun. He’s fun to watch, he’s fun to root for and most of all he’s just that good of a player. People getting on him for talking and acting out better not be the same people who cheered on Uncle Reggie over the years because I can tell you flat out that whatever Lance has done Reggie did it before but he probably did it louder and with more flair.
George Hill: B+
Great defense all game long however I would like to see him get up more shots in a game than 5. But on a team like ours it’s just impossible for everyone to get equal touches and someone is always going to sacrifice and George is really good about doing this. He’s usually ready when we need him.
Luis Scola: B+
Got into some foul trouble and had a little bit of a hard time guarding Griffin due to Blake’s flailing. But did hit his free throws (just like the rest of the team) and did okay on the glass. It’s a really nice thing to know that when West goes out that Scola is the next man up, Blake just isn’t the best match up for him.
Danny Granger: B+
If only he didn’t miss so many shots. Where Roy Hibbert started the game off closing out the Clippers I think Danny actually put the nail in the coffin because once Luis went to the bench they thought that getting Griffin in the post on Granger was going to be money. Well they wrote a check they couldn’t cash. Blake could not back Danny down and once Danny slapped the ball out of bounds on a post up, Doc called a timeout and went ballistic on his team and from there on it just seemed they kind of packed it in for the night. Danny is much stronger than he looks and playing 4 is not new to him. I just wish he could get his shot to drop at a higher %. Also did you see he now has played another game without a turnover?
C.J. Watson: A
As backup point guards go he is about ideal. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again he is the best point guard we have had on our team other than for George Hill since Jamaal Tinsley was a rookie. In other words if Hill wasn’t here he would be a our starting point and he would be better than any of our other point guards since 01.
Ian Mahinmi: B
Didn’t take a shot but still had an impact on the game.
Everybody else played garbage min and did what you would expect them to do.
As I said it is very hard to write anything of substance when the team is playing at this level and right now there is no doubt in my mind that as of this very moment we are the best team in the league.
I want Portland & OKC to come here right now so we can see how real their first wins were.
Enjoy it folks, we lived in purgatory for a few years to get here.
In honor of David West I present you Pantera.
So I’ll just have to try and come up with something objective.
I guess if we need to critically evaluate something I’ll just say this and see where it goes.
Lance Stephenson is going to get paid. I don’t know how much or by whom but he is going to get paid. Those of you thinking that he is in the George Hill range better think again, some team is going to back the truck up to him.
Now are the Pacers that team? I hope so, but depending on how high we are talking. Every game he plays this good he is putting himself higher and higher on the pay scale and if he makes the all-star team?
But that’s for the brass upstairs to figure out and right now we don’t have to concern ourselves with it and just hope that we can harness all of his good mojo to take us over the top this summer.
Should we look critically at David West’s elbow to Blake Griffin’s head? I vote no. In fact if anything we should chastise him for getting tossed without getting in a better shot than that. Look Griffin and Jordan both flail their arms about freely when they jump and it’s a little disgusting that the refs. let them get by with it as much as they do, Jordan in particular. Also I’m never opposed to a player standing up for himself so IMO let the good times roll.
Now do I think it will cost West a game? My honest opinion is no, this was nothing and ended up with not harm to anyone. Now of course after the game BillS was convinced that Stern will want to give a parting shot to the Pacers so he was ranging between 2-5 games. I’m still of the belief that he will get off with time served.
I was saying a few games ago that we were struggling because our best player was struggling and felt that once he got back online our struggles would end.
He struggles no more and thus the constant pounding we have been giving opponents at home. Paul was just on absolute fire and I felt like he could have had someone come out and hold the ball on a T like for a field goal in football and Paul could have kicked the ball in.
Not to mention that dunk. I’m not going to comment on it because everyone else has but I want to make this one point about it. The Clippers as a team make the highlight reel because of their dunks and Jordan would have had the dunk of the game with that high flyer he put in from Griffin. However thanks to Paul George’s dunk anything the Clippers did will be in absolute obscurity and I have a feeling that Paul did that on purpose.
I’m really remiss in putting this down this low but Roy starting off the game with 5 blocks in 8 minutes actually set the tone for the entire game and made the Clippers guards and wings pull up for jumpers and had their big men looking over their shoulders the rest of the night. In other words all by himself Roy changed that game in the first quarter.
But to make matters even more precarious for the Clippers when Paul & Roy went to the bench, they not only could not make any in roads they actually dug a bigger deficit. Between Stephenson, Watson, Scola & Granger the Clippers second unit had no chance and in fact had to play Griffin & Jordan more min. than I think they normally play in the 2nd quarter.
Okay a statement and then a hypothetical question.
Statement. Doc Rivers is over rated as a coach. Before Ainge built the big 3 in Boston Rivers was just another former player who had a pedestrian record as a coach. It was not horrid mind you but it was certainly not the winning % he would be known for once he got Garnett, Pierce & Allen. I’m not saying he is a bad coach btw, I’m just saying his reputation exceeds his results, but that’s just my opinion.
Question. Now your going to have to go with me on this and let your mind let loose negative possibilities. For the sake of this question you have to allow yourself to pretend that we will win a title and next season we will compete for another title (whether we win next year is not important).
If the Pacers win a title this year and are once again one of the top teams all of next season and get to the finals does David West have his number retired as a Pacer?
Again don’t argue if we do or don’t win, for this question let’s say we do.
BTW, full disclosure this question was Diamond Dave’s question.
Let’s do some Grades.
Paul George: A+++
MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP!!!!!
David West: C
The pro: was a man
The Con’s: If you’re going to go out for God’s sake go out on something more than that
Pro Tip: He’s a Baaaaaaaaaad Man
Roy Hibbert: A
Don’t get me wrong in truth he really didn’t have a great game, he got out played by Jordan for the most part and nobody is really talking about his 2-11 shooting. All of that would normally make him have a much lower score. But his rim defense to start the game was just monstrous and that alone merits this high of a grade.
Lance Stephenson: A
Mark Boyle tweeted it best tonight when he said employee # 1 is the human equivalent of Tobasco Sauce. I know that many people don’t like his antics and I’m sure that Uncle Buck shakes his head in disapproval several times a game but dang it he’s fun. He’s fun to watch, he’s fun to root for and most of all he’s just that good of a player. People getting on him for talking and acting out better not be the same people who cheered on Uncle Reggie over the years because I can tell you flat out that whatever Lance has done Reggie did it before but he probably did it louder and with more flair.
George Hill: B+
Great defense all game long however I would like to see him get up more shots in a game than 5. But on a team like ours it’s just impossible for everyone to get equal touches and someone is always going to sacrifice and George is really good about doing this. He’s usually ready when we need him.
Luis Scola: B+
Got into some foul trouble and had a little bit of a hard time guarding Griffin due to Blake’s flailing. But did hit his free throws (just like the rest of the team) and did okay on the glass. It’s a really nice thing to know that when West goes out that Scola is the next man up, Blake just isn’t the best match up for him.
Danny Granger: B+
If only he didn’t miss so many shots. Where Roy Hibbert started the game off closing out the Clippers I think Danny actually put the nail in the coffin because once Luis went to the bench they thought that getting Griffin in the post on Granger was going to be money. Well they wrote a check they couldn’t cash. Blake could not back Danny down and once Danny slapped the ball out of bounds on a post up, Doc called a timeout and went ballistic on his team and from there on it just seemed they kind of packed it in for the night. Danny is much stronger than he looks and playing 4 is not new to him. I just wish he could get his shot to drop at a higher %. Also did you see he now has played another game without a turnover?
C.J. Watson: A
As backup point guards go he is about ideal. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again he is the best point guard we have had on our team other than for George Hill since Jamaal Tinsley was a rookie. In other words if Hill wasn’t here he would be a our starting point and he would be better than any of our other point guards since 01.
Ian Mahinmi: B
Didn’t take a shot but still had an impact on the game.
Everybody else played garbage min and did what you would expect them to do.
As I said it is very hard to write anything of substance when the team is playing at this level and right now there is no doubt in my mind that as of this very moment we are the best team in the league.
I want Portland & OKC to come here right now so we can see how real their first wins were.
Enjoy it folks, we lived in purgatory for a few years to get here.
In honor of David West I present you Pantera.
Comment