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

[Vinsane]

Granger's Injury May Derail MVP Push



With the dropping of the ball in Times Square and the bringing in of the new year (2010), comes along the NBA's first release of the league's award races, but most importantly the race for the NBA's most talked-about acronym, MVP.

There are familar names atop this season's current MVP race; Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James. Even Brandon Roy of the red-hot Blazers is in the running. Rounding out the top 5 in the MVP voting so far this season is the Pacers very own Danny Granger.

However, Granger's strained achilles which will keep him out for close to a month might take him out of the running for MVP, but Granger seems ok with that.

"I feel like I get my fair share of notoriety," he said. "We're not one of those teams that's expected to be on top of the conference standings. Maybe it's a good thing. Hopefully this year we'll come to the playoffs and be a team that makes even more noise than we did last season."

"I mean, being in the MVP race is a lot of fun, all the hoopla about it. But I feel like I'm having a great year, regardless."

Granger believes his growth as a player on both ends of the floor has manifested in various ways, whether or not he's in the postseason award debate.

"I think going into every game right now, I feel like I can get any shot I want," he said. "And I think that on the defensive end, I'm more aware and more alert than ever before. I think this year I've played defense better than any other year since I've been in the league. I really take pride in not letting my man score. I really pay attention to that."

Even if not as much acronym attention is being paid to him when he returns.

:didntread:














Nah, just playing.

Your article is why we have the smilies.

You sir, deserve one.

[mfbmike]

Pacers Outlast Heat In Game 1 Of Doubleheader With Stingy Defense

Starting Lineups:
Jamal Crawford (80) PG (81) Mario Chalmers
Ricky Davis (78) SG (99) Dwyane Wade
Anthony Randolph (80) SF (85) Shawn Marion
Rasheed Wallace (85) PF (90) Michael Beasley
Chris Kaman (89) C (83) Jermaine O' Neal

(20-13) 106 vs 102 (24-8)


Gerald Green lets the Heat know who the basket belongs to after throwing one down over Jermaine O' Neal.

Top Performers:
Player Of The Game:

Chris Kaman

Quote Of The Game:
"They are the best team in the East right now. We are without Danny. That didn't stop us from being aggressive and playing hard. We controlled the boards and dominated them on the glass. We didn't shoot all that well from the free throw line but we'll take the win, especially knowing we are heading to Miami tomorrow night to face these same guys." - Pacers Head Coach Jim O' Brien

Next Game:

[mike3]

Thats a nice game, sheed and kaman really controlled the boards

[Justo]

nice win without granger

[mfbmike]

Pacers Weekly Stats Update:

Starters:



Reserves:



(Red denotes currently injured)



Players Of The Week:

Western Conference


Jason Kidd - Dallas Mavericks

Eastern Conference


Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers

Weekly Conference Standings Update:



1. (25-9)

2. (19-13)

3. (20-15)

4. (18-14)

5. (17-14)

6. (18-15)

7. (17-16)

8. (16-16)

9. (15-16)

10. (16-18)

11. (15-17)

12. (14-19)

13. (12-17)

14. (13-21)

15. (12-22)



1. (24-9)

2. (21-12)

3. (21-13)

4. (19-13)

5. (17-15)

6. (16-15)

7. (16-15)

8. (16-18)

9. (15-17)

10. (15-17)

11. (13-18)

12. (13-20)

13. (12-21)

14. (11-20)

15. (11-22)

[LC AAU]

Beat the Heat :jimshake:

Having some good games by the bench and starters.

[MRN]

I demand to see a spike in Brandon Rush's playing time.

[Vinsane]

:dito:

Like to see someone coming off the bench with 10.0ppg to be honest. That way you'd have a depth threat. Nice to see Crawford stepping up, Sheed and Kaman doing good things.

[Woy]

:dito:

Like to see someone coming off the bench with 10.0ppg to be honest. That way you'd have a depth threat. Nice to see Crawford stepping up, Sheed and Kaman doing good things.

Randolph's damn near close to 10.0 ppg; he might get it with Granger's injury.

Nice win mike.

[corbin]

Good to see your franchise still up and doing well. Keep up the good work Mike.

And yes I'm going to become a follower once again.

[mfbmike]

"Most Improved Player" Proves He's a Big Man



Wasn't Anthony Randolph supposed to have an attitude problem? Wasn't there talk of immaturity and a questionable work ethic from the Warriors' 19-year-old a season ago?

Well then, something doesn't quite add up because the Randolph you see on the court now and the Randolph you talk to these days sure doesn't seem like any kind of problem.

In fact, if you're talking Pacers, this kid looks like the solution.

"I could have gone a whole different route," Randolph said of his first season. "I could have been looked at as a bad kid, maybe even not be in the league when my first contract is up depending on how I dealt with it."

As it turns out, Randolph may very well be the other half of the Pacers big man tandem of the future alongside Sean Williams. His play is still far from consistent, but he's put an impressive imprint in games this season and his upside is undeniable.

He wanted it all right away last season though and that isn't uncommon for a young player.

Instead of force-feeding, Warriors coach Don Nelson chose the starvation diet for Randolph. That meant long stretches on the bench without a rhyme, reason or explanation.

To put it nicely, Nelson didn't make it easy on Randolph, and their troubles drew more than a few comparisons to Nelson's tumultuous relationship with Chris Webber from yesteryear.

And there's still a vocal segment of Warriors' fans who disagree with the way Nelson handled Randolph. As for Randolph, he's over that. Or at least says so. Bottom line is that Randolph handled everything Nelson threw at him and then some. The kid's been a trooper.

"I'm past all of that," Randolph said. "Every coach has a different way of coaching players and developing players. I think he decided that was the best way of dealing with me and I can't really go into the past and change that. All you can do is move forward with what's going on."

What's going on now is that Randolph is emerging this year with the Pacers and is atop the voting for this years Most Improved Player award. He's already a terrific rebounder and big-time shot-blocker. He's been averaging close to 10 points per game over this season, and that's without much of an offensive game at this point.

If Randolph can gain some consistency with a mid-range jumper and get a little stronger on the interior, he'll take a big step heading into the playoff stretch this season.

"Last season in Golden State taught me that things aren't given to you," Randolph said.

Randolph has not taken anything for granted in 2009-10. Not when you think about how tough 2008-09 was.

"Coming into last season, thinking after averaging 20 points per game in summer league, and doing all the things I did, I kind of expected that "OK, I'm going to come in and Coach (Nelson) is going to throw me out there and let me play." It was a little tough, but I think I made it through."

With flying colors, it turns out.

The only thing left now is to see how good Randolph will become. There are expectations, no doubt. And pressure, too. Lakers forward Lamar Odom, to whom Randolph has been compared, said the lanky lefty has Hall of Fame talent.

Said Randolph: "I want that. I like that pressure."

Give him credit, he sure has handled it.

[Maestro]

Man Mike you have great write ups.

[mfbmike]

Pacers Can't "Beat The Heat" After Miami Rallys Behind Home Crowd In 4th

Starting Lineups:
Jamal Crawford (80) PG (81) Mario Chalmers
Ricky Davis (78) SG (99) Dwyane Wade
Anthony Randolph (80) SF (85) Shawn Marion
Rasheed Wallace (85) PF (90) Michael Beasley
Chris Kaman (89) C (83) Jermaine O' Neal

(21-13) 108 @ 111 (24-9)


Chris Kaman soars above Jermaine O' Neal and Michael Beasley showing them white men CAN jump.

Top Performers:
Player Of The Game:

Shawn Marion

Quote Of The Game:
"We were getting lots of calls to go our way for the 1st 3 quarters. Getting them into foul trouble and living at the line. In the 4th, calls we were getting the whole game, the whistles just stopped blowing. Either way, we made lots of costly mistakes in the 4th and momentum swung their way fast, especially with a rowdy triple A crowd cheering behind them." - Jamal Crawford

Next Game:

[CB4]

Tough loss, I get pissed when I blow a huge lead in the fourth.

[LC AAU]

Marion, wtf, whats more important, playing that way in real life, or in a video game?

Video Game> Real life.