NBA Franchise of the Year: Passion. Pride. Pacers.

[Jax]

Lol

"Time to invest in some hand sanitizer and Vitamin C," joked teammate Danny Granger.

[Deviant]

"Time to invest in some hand sanitizer and Vitamin C," joked teammate Danny Granger.

That's really the only thing keeping me from calling that the driest joke I've heard in a while.

I'm just playin'. Nice triple double for Hollywood. Good thing we booth smashed on the T'Wolves.

[mfbmike]

Granger Drops 49 And Game Winner To Lead Kaman-Less Pacers To Victory

Starting Lineups:
T.J. Ford PG Andre Miller
Wally Szczerbiak SG Andre Iguodala
Danny Granger SF Thaddeus Young
Chris Wilcox PF Elton Brand
Roy Hibbert C Samuel Dalambert

(24-25) 104 @ 102 (26-21)


The Sixers defense could not find a way to slow Danny Granger down as he picked apart their defense for a career high 49 points.


- Granger passes out to Ford, Ford back to Granger, double team comes, Granger manages to get the 18 foot jumper up in time, drops, PACERS WIN!

Top Performers:
Player Of The Game:

Danny Granger

Quote Of The Game:
"You have to prepare for Danny like you would prepare for Kobe or T-Mac. He's become that dangerous of a scorer out there. Hands in his face didn't work, double teams didn't work. He got into a flow early on and kept it going until that last buzzer went off." - Sixers Head Coach Maurice Cheeks

Next Game:

[Onez]

Damn, Granger is ballin'! Nice win

[The Messenger]

Granger's become one of the elite NBA players so quickly. It's amazing.

[LC AAU]

Hibbert putting up a double double, Granger raping. Keep it up.

You better have 2 save files for this

[mfbmike]

Awesome shot to win the game, you knew TJ wouldn't hit it or what? haha

I trust Granger with two guys covering him to take the jumper more than I do a wide open T.J. Ford. rofl, pretty fucked isn't it.

Thanks to everyone for following and the comments. I'm having tons of fun with this chise and glad you guys are enjoying it as well.

[mfbmike]

Win Or Lose, Close Games Offer Invaluable Lessons



If it seems like the Pacers have played a season's worth of close games in the past couple of weeks, there's a good reason for it. They have.

In eight straight games from Jan. 25 through Feb. 5, the Pacers went down to the wire each night. The widest margin in that stretch was a 120-112 win to the Bucks, but the Pacers didn't pull away until the final 2 minutes of regulation.

Games like those are the cauldron in which a young team can help forge its identity.

"I think it's great experience to be in a lot of close games, to be able to evaluate what you do well, what you do poorly and make sure you continue the positive things," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "And the things you haven't done and executed at the end of the game, you try to improve on by looking at it."

What are the Pacers learning from these experiences? That they have several players, including Danny Granger, T.J. Ford, Brandon Rush and Marquis Daniels, who don't hide from big shots. That they can come back and win when their defense comes up with a few key stops, and conversely that they can blow a lead when it does not. That clock management can determine the outcome. Or that it's important to trust themselves and their teammates to execute collectively, rather than trying to take things upon their shoulders individually.

The Pacers have had an unbelievable number of learning experiences in the past couple of weeks that could ultimately serve them well.

"It definitely gives us experience how to handle those situations because up to that point, we really hadn't been in too many of them," said Granger. "Two teams can play hand-in-hand with each other and the more battle-tested team is going to win the game."

And the Pacers have been in more than their share of battles.

[mfbmike]

Second Chance Opportunities/Free Throws Prove To Be Deciding Factor In Pacers Loss

Starting Lineups:
T.J. Ford PG Jameer Nelson
Wally Szczerbiak SG Courtney Lee
Danny Granger SF Hedo Turkoglu
Chris Wilcox PF Rashard Lewis
Roy Hibbert C Dwight Howard

(25-25) 117 @ 118 (24-24)


Danny Granger's game high 29 was not enough tonight. The Magic took a 2-1 lead in the season series with the Pacers.

Top Performers:
Player Of The Game:

Rashard Lewis

Quote Of The Game:
"We managed to keep Dwight in some foul trouble for most of the night but Rahard stepped up big, gobbling up rebounds and giving them a number of second chance opportunities. It's games like this when you realize how valuable a guy like Chris (Kaman) is to your team down there in the trenches." - Pacers Head Coach Jim O' Brien

Next Game:

[mfbmike]

Pacers Weekly Stats Update:

Starters:


Reserves:


(Red name denotes currently injured)



Players Of The Week:

Western Conference


Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference


Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers

Weekly Conference Standings Update:



1. (35-14)

2. (33-18)

3. (31-17)

4. (30-18)

5. (27-22)

6. (28-23)

7. (28-23)

8. (25-22)

9. (23-26)

10. (23-26)

11. (23-28)

12. (23-28)

13. (19-31)

14. (19-31)

15. (16-34)



1. (30-18)

2. (29-19)

3. (30-20)

4. (29-20)

5. (30-22)

6. (26-23)

7. (25-24)

8. (25-25)

9. (25-26)

10. (21-30)

11. (20-29)

12. (20-33)

13. (18-31)

14. (18-34)

15. (17-34)

[mfbmike]

Injuries:


Antawn Jamison has suffered a separated shoulder injury and will be forced to miss 21 days, including the Wizards upcoming game against the Pacers. The Wizards currently hold the number 8 spot in the East but only hold a half a game lead over the 9th place Pacers.

Trades:

<=====>
The Portland Trailblazers have parted ways with rookie Nicolas Batum in exchange for Adrian Griffin and the Bucks 2009 2nd round pick. Batum has not seen much playing time this season and was becoming disgruntled.

<=====>
The Heat traded center Mark Blount to the Grizzlies for Mouhamed Sene.

Other News:

- Lebron, Duncan highlight All-Star Starters
- Trade Deadline in 2 weeks; Will Marbury be traded?
- Dalambert to return from Flu
- CP3 scores 20 as Hornets down Raptors

[jags224]

tough loss shard gettin 28 and 13 if im right he went off last game you played them. i think you can get the 7 seed by the end of the year

[mfbmike]

Coaches Recognize Granger And Kaman As All Stars



With the All Star festivities in Phoenix only a week away, Danny Granger and Chris Kaman became the 10th and 11th Pacers to be selected to play in the All Star game as they were chosen as reserves for the East.

Granger and Kaman realize and appreciate being selected by the coaches because it shows how much they value their abilities.

"With the fans it comes down to a popularity contest," Granger said. "Coaches, you play against their teams multiple times throughout the year and they know the better players in the league. Being selected by them is a great honor."

Coaches Stan Van Gundy, Doc Rivers and Mike Brown have raved about Granger's improvement, including the ability to make big shots this season.

The fourth-year forward is second in the league in scoring (28.5), to go with his 6.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks, all career highs.

"Our whole franchise is so proud of Danny and Chris," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "It's a testament to their commitment, their work ethic throughout the year. Those guys have really separated themselves as players. We could not be any happier for them right now."

Chris Kaman, who was acquired from the Clippers earlier this season is also having a solid year with 15 and 10 averages to go along with 2.9 blocks, second only in the league to former teammate, Marcus Camby.

"Night in and night out, those guys have played at such a high level," Detroit coach Michael Curry told reporters. "They've given that team a chance, a chance to win. They've lost a lot of close games, which is sometimes part of a young team. But they've just played great."



2009 All Star Teams:

West:

Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
Tim Duncan
Yao Ming
Chauncey Billups
Brandon Roy
Rudy Gay
Pau Gasol
Marcus Camby
Deron Williams
Jason Kidd

East:

Gilbert Arenas
Dwyane Wade
Lebron James
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard
Danny Granger
Michael Redd
Caron Butler
Joe Johnson
Chris Bosh
Chris Kaman
Jose Calderon

[chazmaniandevil]

chris kaman =0

[mfbmike]

Pacers Outlast Jamison-less Wizards In Kaman's First Game Back From Flu

Starting Lineups:
T.J. Ford PG Gilbert Arenas
Wally Szczerbiak SG Nick Young
Danny Granger SF Caron Butler
Chris Wilcox PF Andray Blatche
Chris Kaman C Etan Thomas

(25-26) 112 @ 108 (25-25)


Danny Granger leads the break in the nation's capital. Granger finished one assist shy of his 3rd triple double of the season.

Top Performers:
Player Of The Game:

Danny Granger

Quote Of The Game:
"Chris and Danny are embracing their All-Star selections and you can see it out there on the floor. Both of them played like All-Stars tonight to help us get this much needed win." - T.J. Ford

Next Game: