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

LC AAU · Apr 15, 2009

Beat the Heat :jimshake:

Having some good games by the bench and starters.

MRN · Apr 15, 2009

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

Vinsane · Apr 15, 2009

: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 · Apr 15, 2009

Vinsane said:
: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 · Apr 15, 2009

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 · Apr 15, 2009

"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 · Apr 15, 2009

Man Mike you have great write ups.

mfbmike · Apr 16, 2009

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.

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=30em"]|1|2|3|4|Final
IND|32|25|29|22|108
MIA|23|30|20|38|111[/table]

Top Performers:
[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk|FG-A|3PT-A|FT-A
C. Kaman|21|9|1|4|3|8-15|0-0|5-5
B. Rush|17|2|1|1|0|6-11|3-6|2-5
J. Crawford|16|2|8|0|1|3-9|0-1|10-11
R. Wallace|15|10|2|3|2|4-10|1-2|6-6
A. Randolph|12|7|2|1|2|4-10|1-2|3-4
S. Williams|12|6|1|2|3|5-8|0-0|2-4[/table]

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk|FG-A|3PT-A|FT-A
S. Marion|29|6|4|3|1|12-19|1-5|4-5
M. Chalmers|19|4|7|2|0|8-17|2-7|1-2
D. Wade|12|4|13|1|1|5-11|1-2|1-3
J, Jack|11|1|2|1|1|4-8|1-2|2-2
M. Beasley|10|9|3|3|2|5-11|0-0|0-0
M. Williams|10|5|2|1|0|4-6|0-0|2-2[/table]

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 · Apr 16, 2009

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

LC AAU · Apr 16, 2009

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

Video Game> Real life.

Maestro · Apr 16, 2009

How is Marion and O'Neal on Miami?

mfbmike · Apr 16, 2009

Maestro said:
How is Marion and O'Neal on Miami?

Marion/O'Neal trade took place.

Marion becomes FA after last season in Toronto.

Miami signed Marion out of FA this past offseason.

Toronto stuck with Marcus Banks for the remainder of his contract.

:rofl:

goDawgs1433 · Apr 16, 2009

Mike, I haven't been around here for a while, but are you actually a sports reporter for a living? May be a really dumb question, but just curious.

mfbmike · Apr 16, 2009

rofl, not at all. not sure why you would think that.

I have a degree in culinary arts, not journalism. I just have lots of free time at work. lol.

Maestro · Apr 16, 2009

mfbmike said:
Marion/O'Neal trade took place.

Marion becomes FA after last season in Toronto.

Miami signed Marion out of FA this past offseason.

Toronto stuck with Marcus Banks for the remainder of his contract.

:rofl:

Wow that is an odd bunch of coincidences.

goDawgs1433 · Apr 16, 2009

Lol, I wasn't sure. I'm studying journalism at Mizzou next fall so that's why.

mfbmike · Apr 16, 2009

Maestro said:
Wow that is an odd bunch of coincidences.

Tell me about it. When I saw Marion signed with them, I thought it was absolutely hilarious. They are currently #1 on the latest Power Rankings. Not a surprise. They have crazy depth but are a bit on the smaller side so I usually give them problems.

With them resigning Marion, I wonder if they will be able to resign Wade. lol, only time will tell I guess.

mike3 · Apr 16, 2009

Awesome side updates you do, they look good

nice game by Kaman

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

Video Game> Real life.

He played well in real life today

Stats Today
34 Points, 11 Rebounds (5 Offensive) ,

James2Stapleton · Apr 16, 2009

i just read through the last couple of pages and dam this is good. Too bad with granger

You should give Green more PT, he has a really nice high release on his jumper

mfbmike · Apr 16, 2009

Rush To Slide Into Pacers Starting Lineup

With Ricky Davis continuing to underacheive, including a dismal 3 point, 1 for 6 shooting display in the Pacers loss against the Heat lastnight, Indiana Pacers Head Coach JIm O' Brien has decided it's time for Brandon Rush to move into the Pacers starting lineup.

Coincidentally, Rush was a spark off the Pacers bench against the Heat, scoring 17 points in 23 minutes on 6 for 11 shooting from the field and 3 for 6 shooting from beyond the arch.

Rush has had an up-and-down season so far, adjusting to slightly less playing time but has recently turned the corner and will now be starting.

If Rush can turn into Danny Granger's running partner on the wing, then the Pacers have those two positions set for many years to come.

Ricky Davis was not available for comment regarding his relocation to the bench.

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

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