| Playing Against Themselves Authored by Andrew Perna - March 12, 2007 - 1:03 am
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Those Pacers put things together at the right time and won five of their last six games. That allowed them to finish 41-41, and qualify for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. A stretch run of that portion isn’t likely to occur this spring. Not with this Pacers team, and not in this Eastern Conference.
First of all, the East seems to have hit its stride. When it’s all said and done, by mid-April the top eight teams in the conference will likely all have winning records. As they currently stand, only Indiana and New York have losing records (they are in seventh and eighth respectively). The Knicks are playing pretty good basketball, and seem to be making a run towards the postseason. Of their nineteen remaining games, only six are against winning teams.
Orlando, which currently holds the ninth-best record in the conference, has a little bit tougher schedule than the Knicks, but could easily leapfrog the struggling Pacers for one of the East’s remaining playoff positions. There’s also New Jersey, currently a game back from the Knicks, who poses a serious threat to Indiana with their wealthy of talent and playoff experience.
Indiana shouldn’t bother looking up in the standings either. Miami, even without Dwyane Wade, has won seven straight. The rest of the East, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland, seem to be in a different league than the Pacers. It’s too bad the NCAA didn’t call up Donnie Walsh with an at-large bid in this week’s tournament. They might have had a better shot picking up a win against Jackson State or Albany, but then again – you never know.
I wondered for quite a while what these new Indiana Pacers were missing. It couldn’t have been Stephen Jackson’s erratic play, or Sarunas Jasikevicius’ suspect floor leadership. There’s no way it could have been having Al Harrington alongside Jermaine O’Neal. He seems to make a better best friend than interior partner. Maybe they need Josh Powell back?
What this team is really missing, and this was lost well before the Golden State trade, is a clear head. Teams that win titles and contend are talented, but above all else they are a team. The Indiana Pacers are not a basketball team. They are a group of millionaires who dribble a basketball in a Pacer uniform for a job. They seem more like fifteen individuals, then one team.
Worst of all, Coach Carlisle seems to be coaching an entirely defense roster.
Think about the players Indiana got rid of this summer. They traded Austin Croshere to Dallas for Marquis Daniels. A good swap, if Daniels had been able to remain on the court, out of the club, and off the trainer’s table. Marquis is a terrific asset on offense, with an ability to slash like none other, but Austin was part of the heart-and-soul of this team.
During his tenure in Indiana, all the team’s inspiring play seemed to involve the Providence alum. Remember when the Pacers played for the NBA title? Yeah, I know it seems like an eternity and an entire roster overhaul ago, but Croshere was the best part of the Los Angeles battle. It was nice to see Reggie compete on the game’s greatest stage, but that series was were Austin earned his lucrative deal.
What about the inspiring run the Pacers went on shortly after the Malice at the Palace? Again, that was Croshere. He put a team of young talent on his back and kept the team afloat despite all the water the suspensions and injuries were loading into Indiana’s ship. He played the role of Shane Battier. Often times it didn’t show up in the box score, but he was good for a handful of wins on heart alone.
Then there was Anthony Johnson, who they also dealt to Dallas. Johnson always picked up the pieces when Jamaal Tinsley was letting us down. Whether Tinsley was injured playing Xbox 360 or taking out the trash, AJ was a more than capable replacement. Who on this current team has the heart to put up forty points in an effort to keep Indiana’s season alive (as he did against New Jersey in the postseason last spring)?
And that’s not all the Pacers are missing.
Dare I say they miss the presence of Stephen Jackson? They surely don’t miss the off-court problems, but like Croshere (and slightly different in the same breath), Indiana misses his heart. During their recent nine game slide the team has looked lethargic, helpless, and at times – asleep. Jackson would have never stood for that. He’d have yelled, screamed, and maybe even fired off unnecessary shots to turn things around. No, I didn’t mean with his glock.
I’ve tried my hardest not to openly question the drive and determination of this current Pacer team, but that seems to be the indirect theme of this piece. Jermaine O’Neal has the ability to be, and often plays like, one of the game’s top fifteen talents. Danny Granger has about as much promise as you can find in a second year swingmen, and our basketball IQ has skyrocketed since the Warriors deal.
So what’s wrong?
Why are the Pacers dropping games at a Celtic-like rate?
No one knows for sure. Tanking seems like a unlikely explanation, with the Pacers first round pick this June going to the Hawks (from the Harrington deal) unless it lands in the top ten. I was talking with a friend, and diehard Pacer fan, a few nights ago and he pointed this out. Indiana may have a game lead over their competition for playoff seeding, but they are also less than two games from having one of the NBA’s ten worst records.
That would give them a surprise first-rounder in June. But would it really change anything?
In many minds Indiana’s season is lost as the sanity of Britney Spears, but there are a few things the Pacers can do to help themselves improve in both the short and long-term:
- Play the heck out of guys like Shawne Williams and Ike Diogu. Let’s see what their made of, and whether or not they deserve to remain in our future.
- Give more time to David Harrison. He looks healthy, but has seemingly earned a longer stay in Carlisle’s doghouse than Ron Artest or Jackson ever did. When he has played in recent weeks he’s been productive. (In 26 minutes this month he’s put up 17 points and seven boards).
- Develop a defensive mind. Only Jermaine scares people on both sides of the floor, and I think his teammates rely too heavily on him to keep the ball out of the basket. That could explain why in his recent absence teams are shooting a gazillion percent from the floor.
- Decide what the future looks like for Tinsley. Does he stick around for another year, or can Larry Bird for a suitor for him? I’ve always been a huge supporter, but enough is enough. If it’s not injuries, it’s ‘conduct detrimental to the team.’
- Find out if Jermaine still wants to be a part of this team. If he does, terrific. It not, deal him before we sink lower and his talent is wasted. It would hurt a lot, but you can’t keep a guy like him from succeeding in this league.
- Shop the contracts of Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Marquis Daniels. It’d be nice to get some future cap relief. Any deal that gives us financial flexibility and someone with a pulse should be considered.
- If Dunleavy suits up in blue-and-yellow next season make him into more of a scorer and less of an uber-streak shooter.
- Help Granger get his intensity back. He hasn’t been the same since he took that ugly fall against the Clippers in February.
Something needs to be done, and make it quick… Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
