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

[mfbmike]

Pacers Injury Report: Crawford Returns Tonight

Jamal Crawford, who has sat out for the Pacers past 3 games with a bruised hip, is expected to play tonight against the Pistons.

While the Pacers did give up a win to the lowly Nets a couple of nights ago, they did manage to go 2-1 in Crawfords absence and more importantly, maintained their pole position in the race in the Central Division.

Brandon Rush averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds, and just over 4 assists over the past 3 games in which he started in place of Crawford. Gerald Green also produced incredibly well with the increased playing time that was a result of Crawford's injury.

The Pacers are now 39-25 and are 4 wins away from matching their win total from a season ago, with 18 games left to be played in the regular season.​

 

[Mit]

Good to see Crawford coming back.

 

[Vinsane]

I smell a Crawford beat down in the works. Your struggles against the Nets continue, at least you got Da bulls on their home court.

 

[mfbmike]

Injuries:

Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons has suffered a severe ankle sprain and is expected to be sidelined for close to a month. Prince will also miss the Pistons upcoming game against the Pacers.

Signings:

- The Pistons have signed Anderson Varejao to a 1yr/$2.73M deal.

Other News:

- Roy dishes 17 assists in Portland's win over Jazz
- Dirk cleared to play against Bobcats
- Parker optimistic about return to Spurs from back spasms
- Al Jefferson playing with Plantar Fascitis​

 

[CB4]

GG is such a beast in this game, nice win.

 

[mfbmike]

Undermanned Pistons Shock Pacers In Overtime Thriller At Auburn Hills

Starting Lineups:
Andre Miller (80) PG (81) Rodney Stuckey
Jamal Crawford (81) SG (91) Richard Hamilton
Danny Granger (90) SF (76) Bruce Bowen
Rasheed Wallace (85) PF (82) Tyler Hansbrough
Chris Kaman (89) C (83) Jason Maxiell

(39-25) 119

@

123 (25-37)

Danny Granger's late game heroics that sent the game into overtime were all in vain as the Pacers fell short in Motown.

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=30em"]|1|2|3|4|OT|Final
IND|22|27|27|30|13|119
DET|29|25|25|27|17|123[/table]

Top Performers:
[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk|FG-A|3PT-A|FT-A
D. Granger|36|6|5|3|2|13-24|2-2|8-10
J. Crawford|23|1|3|3|1|8-18|2-7|5-6
R. Wallace|10|11|4|2|4|3-10|2-3|2-2
C. Kaman|10|15|4|1|2|4-11|0-0|2-4[/table]

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk|FG-A|3PT-A|FT-A
R. Hamilton|34|9|3|5|0|14-28|1-3|5-5
M. Finley|25|5|3|1|1|10-21|1-6|4-6
T. Hansbrough|13|10|5|0|2|6-16|0-0|1-2
J. Maxiell|13|11|2|0|1|6-14|0-0|1-2
R. Stuckey|12|4|16|6|1|4-11|0-1|4-6[/table]

Player Of The Game:

Richard Hamilton

Quote Of The Game:
"Danny hit some clutch shots for us in the final minutes of regulation to allow us to push it into overtime but we just weren't getting it done tonight. We didn't box out very well, late to loose balls. Not to mention, Michael (Finley) game them a huge boost off the bench. People will say this is a "shocking" loss to us but in reality, it's hardly that. We know why we lost." - Pacers Head Coach Jim O' Brien

Next Game:

​

 

[Jax]

148 Pages holly!

 

[Mit]

Dang tough loss in OT.

 

[James2Stapleton]

i see the tanned hansbrough

 

[LC AAU]

Rip picture looks funny lol.

 

[mfbmike]

Are The Pacers Focused Enough To Contend?

When the Pacers traded for Andre Miller at the trade deadline, Pacer nation went wild. Talks of the Pacers instantly becoming finals contenders were rampant on message boards across the internet. "Pacermania" had struck the state of Indianpolis. But after losses to the lowly Nets and Pistons over the past week, the question has to be asked. Is this Pacers team really as good as fans are making them out to be?

The Pacers have gone 6-3 since acquiring Miller with losses coming from Portland, New Jersey, and Detroit. While the Pacers have had trouble with the up and coming Blazers who are currently #1 in the Western Conference, should the losses to the Pistons and Nets be cause for concern?

With Danny Granger's talents on call, these Pacers often don't play with the urgency reminiscent of traditional Finals contenders.

"You have a couple of off-nights and people are quick to say you aren't good enough to contend," Danny Granger said in a post-game interview after the loss to the Pistons.

"People are always going to have something to say," explained Pacer center Sean Williams. "You look at the injuries we've had, having to adjust with new guys joining the team. We are 3rd in the conference and not far out of the top spot."

The Pacers have also made it a habit of blowing late leads against some of the lesser talented teams in the league throught the season. Again, another cause for concern or merely a talented team growing bored with an opponent?

We are going to be wishy-washy and say a little bit of both. The Pacers identity is not that of a lockdown defensive team, like, say, the Spurs of yesteryear or even the Celtics of last season. So they don't pride themselves on 48 minutes of D . Right now, it's a matter of focus and follow-through.

The Pacers are also somewhat vulnerable to the mind-set of taking time off during games for two reasons: Jim O' Brien has been known to take his foot off the accelerator, and the thought that Granger will always bail them out of every jam is on everyone's collective back burner.

We can only hope that if the Pacers do reach the finals, they will be ready to step it up.​

 

[CB4]

Nice read

 

[SuperNova854]

nice read

 

[Vinsane]

Good read, but what the fuck? Doves?

 

[Woy]

Nice article mike, still the best.

 

[mfbmike]

Good read, but what the fuck? Doves?

I thought the pic would give off the idea of his head being "in the clouds". lol. Thought it fit in well with the message I was trying to convey in the article.

cslap:

 

[Vinsane]

I thought the pic would give off the idea of his head being "in the clouds". lol. Thought it fit in well with the message I was trying to convey in the article.

cslap:

Ohhhhh

 

[mfbmike]

Pacers Weekly Stats Update:

Starters:

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|PPG|RPG|APG|SPG|BPG|FG%|3PT%|FT%

A. Miller|13.5|3|7.6|1.5|0.1|.428|.205|.773
J. Crawford|17.8|2.3|5.3|2.2|0.7|.459|.432|.887
D. Granger|25.1|6.1|5.6|1.6|1.7|.460|.420|.843
R. Wallace|13.4|7.9|2.8|1.9|2.2|.460|.361|.763
C. Kaman|14.6|9.8|2.4|1.7|2.7|.514|.333|.808[/table]

Reserves:

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|PPG|RPG|APG|SPG|BPG|FG%|3PT%|FT%
A. Randolph|10.1|5.9|2.1|1.7|1.8|.498|.254|.728
S. Williams|8|5.9|1.3|1.1|1.6|.510|.333|.630
B. Rush|9.9|1.6|2.7|1.1|0.5|.451|.393|.828
G. Green|7.9|2.1|1.4|0.7|0.5|.463|.437|.801
J. Crittenton|4.7|1.1|1.6|0.5|0.2|.431|.405|.777
D. Jordan|1.9|2.1|0.4|0|0.4|.516|.000|.285
W. Sharpe|1.3|1|0.3|0.2|0.3|.388|.333|.500
Y. Diawara|1.4|0.8|0.6|0|0.2|.500|1.00|1.00
O. Pecherov|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Players Of The Week:

Western Conference

Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk
2/28 vs DEN|26|6|9|5|0
3/3 @ SAC|17|0|13|2|0
3/4 @ PHX|27|1|3|4|0[/table]

Eastern Conference

Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers

[table="head;autonumtitle=rank;width=50em"]|Pts|Reb|Ast|Stl|Blk
3/1 vs POR|30|9|5|5|0
3/3 @ GSW|23|12|10|0|0
3/4 @ UTA|19|7|4|2|2[/table]

Weekly Conference Standings Update:

1.

(41-22)

2.

(39-23)

3.

(37-24)

4.

(36-26)

5.

(35-27)

6.

(35-27)

7.

(33-27)

8.

(30-31)

9.

(30-31)

10.

(30-31)

11.

(29-31)

12.

(30-33)

13.

(26-36)

14.

(25-37)

15.

(24-38)

1.

(39-22)

2.

(39-23)

3.

(39-26)

4.

(34-25)

5.

(34-27)

6.

(34-30)

7.

(31-29)

8.

(29-34)

9.

(27-35)

10.

(26-37)

11.

(24-36)

12.

(24-38)

13.

(23-38)

14.

(23-39)

15.

(20-43)​

 

[mfbmike]

I just got robbed. Fuck this game! issed: issed: issed:

 

[Maestro]

7th place here Mike comes.

:youmad: