| The Wheels Come Off Authored by Andrew Perna - December 29, 2008 - 10:32 am
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
 |
Maynor Using Utah’s Resources
Eric Maynor is an increasingly rare four-year, small college rookie. He sat down with RealGM to discuss how his first few weeks of NBA life has gone and what he has learned from Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.
|
 |
Why LeBron To The Clippers Makes Sense
LeBron James already plays for a perennial underdog in Cleveland, but moving to the Clippers would allow him to do so in a huge market and with a core that will immediately compete for championships while also having an encouraging long term outlook.
|
 |
‘Home-Heavy Schedule’ Brings Question Marks
The Heat have been plagued by inconsistencies, making it difficult to determine how good they really are this season.
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
After consecutive losing seasons and a summer that brought in a host of new players, expectations weren't overly optimistic.
With that said, an infusion of new talent and a renewed sense of determination in the locker room provided the team with both a fresh start and a legitimate, no matter how unexpected, chance to compete for one of the Eastern Conference's final postseason berths.
A tough opening schedule allowed for some patience in Indiana, but the team's recent blunders resemble a wayward train skidding off the tracks.
Through Dec. 2, the Pacers were a respectable 7-10 with wins over the Celtics and Lakers. A little less than a month later, they have fallen to 10-20. Included in their abysmal 3-10 run are losses to the Bucks, Clippers, Nets and Grizzles.
Two of those ten losses were in overtime (Boston and Los Angeles) and four others came by fewer than four points (Detroit, New Jersey, Memphis and New Orleans).
"There's no excuses. We're not as good as we want to be," team president Larry Bird said Saturday, according to the Indianapolis Star. "We're not where we want to be. Losing games down the stretch like we have been is very frustrating."
Against the Nets on Dec. 23, Danny Granger's jumper gave the Pacers a one-point lead with ten seconds left in regulation, but Devin Harris answered with a buzzer-beater that sent Indiana into the Christmas holiday with visions of their season hanging by a thread.
The yuletide nightmare continued with David West's game-winning on Sunday night.
There's no excuse for their mounting losses, but the viral infections that hampered Granger, Marquis Daniels and Troy Murphy for a combined nine games certainly didn't help things.
All three missed the overtime loss to the Clippers, while only Granger played against New Jersey last Tuesday night.
After failing to capitalize on a stretch of seven consecutive games against teams with losing records -- they went 3-4 in those games – their schedule gets difficult, including a five-game Western swing against four conference contenders in January.
Inexplicably, the Pacers have played better against good teams than poor ones this season, but it's hard to see them entering mid-January with a better winning percentage (.333) than they are currently posting.
If T.J. Ford (back) and Granger (concussion) are able to stay on the court, they could keep themselves in the playoff picture for the time-being. After Sunday's action, they were 3.5 games back of Milwaukee for the eighth seed, with five teams standing inbetween them and the Bucks.
Only the lowly Wizards (5-23) have a worse record in the East.
A solution to the on-going Jamaal Tinsley saga would certainly help as well. The point guard has been away from the team for so long that I highly doubt he's any sort of distraction, but acquiring some help in the paint offensively would help Indiana balance their offense.
Unfortunately, there is still no interest in the mercurial guard.
"We're going to try to do something," Bird told the Indianapolis Star recently. "We've talked to just about every team in the league. There were a lot of teams that were interested in him. You never know, they can say that all they want, but until something happens you never know if something is really going to happen."
The continued absence of Mike Dunleavy (knee) has put a damper on the successful seasons of Granger, Daniels and Murphy thus far.
Granger is posting career-highs in points (24.9), assists (3.2) and blocks (1.3), while Daniels has done the same in points (16.1) and rebounds (5.5).
Murphy, despite his recent absence in the lineup, is averaging 11.4 points and 11.4 rebounds through his first 25 games. That rebounding number is a career-mark, and he's posting a double-double for the first time since 2006 with Golden State.
I predicted 40 wins for the Pacers in mid-October, with a record of 13-18 through Dec. 30 -- when they are set to face the Hawks at Conseco Fieldhouse.
A win against Atlanta would bring them to within two wins of where I felt they needed to be, but would still send them in 2009 with some considerable ground to cover.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
