This team is very unpredictable.  It blows big leads to teams it should beat then goes out there tonight and doubles up in the 4th Quarter on arguably the best team in the NBA.  They never played well down the stretch until this game.  After dropping 2 in a row and looking like a team that might slip into the lower tier of the Eastern Conference again, they resurrect thoughts of being a possible playoff team. 

This team beats Boston, Houston and the Lakers but can’t beat Charlotte and blows a 26 point lead against the 76ers. 

They took care of the ball giving up only 13 turnovers.  They had great ball movement dishing out 27 total assists.  And they rebounded the ball well having a 50-41 edge over LA.  That is how you take care of business while getting out shot percentage wise. 

Next Episode:

Is This a building block on which to tryo to get through this tough stretch for the Pacers or just another fluke win.

Are the Pacers still a playoff team?

Jeff Foster’s words summing up this team perfectly

Golden State Shipping Al Harrington to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford:

At first it looks like the Warriors get the better of the deal especially since Crawford has been shooting the ball better this year.  But then you take a look at the positions each one fills.  This trade is actually bad for both teams in my mind.  Golden State is stacked on the wings at the 2& 3 and they trade what could have been a starting 4 for another 2-guard.  This means they have Stephen Jackson, Anthony Murrow (who’s been the most surprising rookie with how well he can score), Marco Bellinelli (can’t give up on because he’s only 22), Corey Magette, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph and now Jamal Crawford.  That’s 7 guys fighting for PT at 2 spots.  Compared to only Brandan Wright, Richard Hendrix and Rob Kurz (all young & inexperienced) at the PF spot. 

The knicks have the same problem.  They already have enough post players.  They need wings.  Now technically they only have one shooting guard in Mardy Collins.  I’m sure Quentin Richardson can play the 2 while Wilson Chandler plays the 3.  The only other option would be starting 2 point guards with Duhon and Robinson. 

The only reason this move makes since is because Harrington and Don Nelson were not getting along well enough to get him playing well on the court.  It worked well for the Knicks because he has 2 years less on his contract than does Crawford.  They get cap room a little bit sooner than they expected, which is that the Knicks franchise needs to get rid of all the overpaid players currently on that team.

Orlando Preview:

TJ Ford v. Jameer Nelson

TJ Ford has the advantage in the stats columns and on the court.  He is quicker.  He sees the floor better.  Can penetrate better than Jameer.  He has a better all around game compared to Nelson.  The one thing Nelson does have on Ford (just like every other PG in the NBA) is size.  Nelson isn’t much taller but he is much stronger.  I doubt he’ll post up much just because Dwight Howard will always be down there, but that could be the way to take advantage of TJ’s lack of size.  This matchup should go to Ford.

Marquis Daniels v. Mickael Pietrus

This matchup also leans the Pacers way.  Daniels might actually play Turkoglu on D purely because of his tenacity on the defensive end but this is the position matchup so we’ll stick to that for this analysis.  Mickael has fit in well with the Magic’s system purely because he played the exact same way before he got there.  Shooting threes.  Marquis does a much better job on the defensive end as well as having a better all-around game.  He gets people involved better than Pietrus.  He’s also averaging 6 boards a game, which is very good coming from the 2-guard.

Danny Granger v. Hedo Turkoglu

The Pacers are 3-0 after this matchup.  Granger gets the edge because he has the ability and at times has shown the drive to take over games.  He needs to do exaclty what MJ and Kobe do: get teammates involved early on and take over late.  He must be the go to guy at anytime during the game and especially late in games.  In addition he must try to facilitate a little more.  Turkoglu actually has the advantage 4.2-2.0 in assists per game.  Danny must up his numbers in that category not just in this game but throughout the season.  Despit all the criticism on Granger, it does go to him especially when you consider defensive skills.

Troy Murphy v. Rashard Lewis

Now we’re getting into the part where it’s not even a competition anymore.  This clearly leans to Orlando.  Though he isn’t worth the high price tag the Magic paid for him, Rashard is the much better player.  I would consider Murphy to have a size advantage but it doesn’t really help him since he plays along the perimeter on offense.  Lewis is long enough to prevent Murphy from getting open threes and definitely quick enough to keep up with Troy when he goes off the dribble.  On the other end, Troy will have his hands full if he is matched up against Rashard because Rashard is a 3 with the length and athleticism of a 4.  The one place Troy does get the edge is crashing the boards.  He’s leading this Pacers squad in rebounds and is almost averaging a double-double. 

Dwight Howard v. Rasho Nesterovic

This of course goes to Superman and Orlando, but this matchup is quite deceiving.  On the offensive end Dwight Howard will be unstoppable.  (See Amare Stoudemire) There is not matchup for Howard especially when it is a defender who is slow and has no vertical.  I don’t think Howard will have as big a presence on the defensive end as he does against other teams.  The Pacers have done a good job of using Rasho and Troy at the top of the key as facilitators to people cutting to the basket.  I expect them to do this again to draw Howard away from the basket and free up lanes for Danny, Marquis and TJ. 

Pacers Bench v. Magic Bench

This one definitely goes to the Pacers.  The Pacers have 8 players averaging at least 6 points compared to the Magic’s only 6.  The Pacers will goe deeper with much better talent off the bench.  This is the aspect where they must take advantage of because Orlando’s starting lineup has a good chance of out performing the starting 5 for the Pacers.

Overall:

I gave Orlando the advantage in only 2 starting spots but the differences within those 2 positions are huge!! That’s a full tilt toward Orlando.  That could be enough to swing things in there favor.  The Pacers must (yet again) take care of the ball and try to create fouls while not fouling themselves.  They should be able to use a deep bench in order to try to get Orlando tired. 

In my mind, this Pacers squad matches up really well with Orlando.  Against the magic, they can put any 5 on the court.  Danny can easily play the 4 against Rashard to free up a spot for Brandon or Jarrett.  I actually expect them to play Danny quite a bit at the 4 just because it is a much easier matchup on the defensive side of the ball.  Danyn and Rashard are similar players and will be a great matchup to watch.

Sorry for being late with this.  If you haven’t heard, the SU football coach Greg Robinson was fired Sunday, so most of my attention has been shifted to covering that for the time being, but the next podcast will be up tonight.  It is already done and only needs a little bit of editing. 

Don’t forget to email me at hosts@pacerscast.com or comment on the blog to get your thoughts in.

This team has 2 big games comign up this weekend in my mind.  They must pull out at least 1 preferably 2.  They have this 5 game stretch against playoff calibre teams and they must show that they can compete at the same level as these teams.  They proved they weren’t quite on the elite level (obviously) by going 1-3 to begin the year against Detroit, Boston, Phoenix and Cleveland.  They then proved they were a lower tier team by beating New Jersey twice and OKC stuck between the to games v. NJ.  Now they’re in the middle of a 5 game stretch against soldi playoff teams.  The way they perform in the two games this weekend will give everybody a better picture of how good (or bad) this team really is. 

They need good defensive performances from Danny and Marquis/Brandon tomorrow against the Magic to try to shut down Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu.  They must come up big against those two and hope to contain Dwight Howard.  More pregame analysis for Pacers v. Magic will be coming on the blog tomorrow.

Right when I say this team is back to a respectable team in the Eastern Conference and something to be proud of…they do this:  Blow a 26 point lead to a Sixer team that has not shown that much chemistry and good play all year.  Come on now guys.  That was the same Pacers ball we saw last year.  That was not the team of this year. 

That left me more disappointed than if they came out that way at the beginning of the year.  Daniel posted on the last blog post and said it perfectly.  Right when you think this team is turning the corner they play like this.  Granger has played well and showed the Kobe/MJ instinct of taking over late in games until tonight.  They need better play.

Next Episode coming Tomorrow:

-Everything in the previous blog post (see below)

-Another much needed Pacers rant (sadly

The Pacers have now reeled off 3 straight wins that they needed.  They needed these to stay in competition within the division and the conference for a playoff spot.  They also needed these to prove they are more than a bottom tier team that some people though they were coming into the year.

These wins have all been impressive because not one of them have they had all of their starters while most of them they have had multiple guys out.  Tonight was even mor impressive than before.  They were missing last year’s top three scorers and three of their top four offensive threats this year and still pull off a win in New Jersey where the Nets were really never threatening the Pacers all game.  The game was always within reach for NJ but due to great play from unsung heros (Foster & Graham) the Pacers never had to worry.

4-3 is not a bad start at all with the teams they had to play.  If you were to tell me at the beginning of the year I could have the Pacers at 4-3 right now, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.  These next few games will be critical.  They have five straight games against potential Eastern Conference playoff teams (PHI, CHI, ATL, ORL, MIA).  This has finally gotten to the point where the Pacers talent will show where it belongs in this NBA season: right above the bottom tier teams or actually in the playoff hunt.

Next Episode:

I’ll tell you where I think the Pacers fit in the Eastern Conference playoff picture as well as give you the weaknesses and strengths of this team as of this point in the season.  I’ll also go into where I the Pacers could ship Jamaal Tinsley too.  All that along with my take on the biggest shake up in the Central Divison since the Pacers’ trade: AI to Detroit.

Hit me up at hosts@pacerscast.com or comment on this blog to get your thoughts in on the next Pacerscast.