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

[SuperNova854]

Oh, so it was unrealistic when Kobe scored 81? Or when Wilt scored 100? Or when Kobe scored 61 at the Madison Square Garden? Or when LeBron recorded 52 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds at the MSG?

[mike3]

Oh, so it was unrealistic when Kobe scored 81? Or when Wilt scored 100? Or when Kobe scored 61 at the Madison Square Garden? Or when LeBron recorded 52 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds at the MSG?

ah.. no? i never said that.

i wouldnt put Granger in the category of LeBron, Kobe, and Wilt

Just yet anyways.. i mean yeh he's a great player but still

[Vinsane]

Oh, so it was unrealistic when Kobe scored 81? Or when Wilt scored 100? Or when Kobe scored 61 at the Madison Square Garden? Or when LeBron recorded 52 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds at the MSG?

Above, fixed.

I thought LC was bad with the Cheese Mike, that's some straight up Amish shit. One man building a barn in the Garden! Good win against the worst team in the East. I'd like to see you get the one seed but third will suffice.

[mfbmike]

Reasons For Celebration Plentiful In Indiana



Grangers Historic Night

Chris Kaman wasn't looking a couple of times when Danny Granger attempted a free throw. So when the Madison Square Garden fans cheered, Kaman assumed that meant his Indiana Pacers teammate missed.

But on this record-setting night, even the opposing crowd wanted to see history.

In the 42 years since the current Garden opened, no player has scored more points than Granger did Wednesday. He finished with 71, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark of 61 set only a season ago.

"When he came to the bench in the second quarter, he kind of had this dazed look on his face," teammate Jamal Crawford said. "Some call it the zone. He was just in another world. I don't think it probably mattered what shot he took or how he took it. It probably would've went in."

Granger is often mischievous when he has one of those in-the-zone nights, smiling after shots, joking with opponents. But in the Pacers first game since matching their win total from a season ago, Granger wasn't goofing around.

"I noticed that, too," coach Jim O' Brien said. "I noticed his mood was very determined, very somber about him."

Granger left to a standing ovation with 1:48 to go. The many Pacers fans in the building -- or maybe they're just Granger fans -- made their presence felt the whole night, chanting "MVP!" when he shot free throws.

Granger's night quickly became the talk of the league.

"I've never had a night like that," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade. "You could tell, just watching the highlights, he had a pep in his step and he was on a mission. With the playoffs right around the corner, he's going to have to do a little more, and I think he understands that. I mean, 71 points, that's Danny -- that's all you can say."

Hearing Wade, Heat sophomore Michael Beasley became wide-eyed.

"Danny scored 71?" he asked. "You serious?"

Win Total From A Season Ago Surpassed

With the Pacers 17 point win over the Knicks, they earned their 44th win of the season and have surpassed last year's win total.

Reaching the mark may not be a big surprise for this team, but with there still being 10 games left in the 2009/2010 season, it comes as a good indication of how far the Pacers have come from a year ago.

“We’ll take it,” O' Brien said. “I hope that we’re going to continue to find ways to get better and continue to play consistently at a high level.”

Playoff Berth Clinched

For the second consecutive year, the Pacers will be making noise in the playoffs as they clinched a playoff spot with their last win over the Knicks.

A season ago, the Pacers managed to squeeze into the final spot in the playoffs before catching fire to defeat the Heat and Sixers to advance all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers will look to make even more noise in the postseason this year as there is no doubting the improvement of this year's team compared to the Pacers of a season ago.

All in all, there's a whole lot of reasons for celebration in Indiana right now.

[mfbmike]

Damn 71 that is sick.
MVP for sure now

To be honest, Granger isn't in the MVP running in the game because of the month he missed with the separated shoulder. :yell:

a Mike who draft class would you recommend?

The one Heelsox posted that is stickied is the one I used.

[goDawgs1433]

I call CHEESE!

:P

[Archer]

Glad to see you killing it with Granger

Granger > All

Go Pacers

[James2Stapleton]

71!!!!

[mfbmike]

I call CHEESE!

:P

And I won't deny it. Tried to play into the fact that the Knicks just lost Mike D'Antoni and them being in the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Granger got hot early and was just running circles around Galinari. At that point, I figured, let's try to beat Kobe's 61.

[Gonzo]

That...article was very, very well written. Bravo!

I found myself halfway through believing it was real and swelling with pride for the Pacers, lmfao.

[SuperNova854]

You spelled Sophomore wrong in the article, other then that great read.

[Mit]

Josh Smith is laughing at Danny Granger's weak performance of 71 points. Try to beat 90?

[Woy]

Danny Granger FTW. 71 points is amazing.

[Justo]

Josh Smith is laughing at Danny Granger's weak performance of 71 points. Try to beat 90?

mike doesnt play on rookie....
































lol jk :yahootongue:

[Mit]

mike doesnt play on rookie....





























lol jk :yahootongue:

lawl