Indiana Pacers 2008-2009

[ploto]

You can't beat Pacers coach Jim O'Brien and the way he runs practices

O'Brien's the only coach I've covered in the NBA, albeit I've only covered three - Flip Saunders and Rick Carlisle were the other two - that allows the media see more than just free throws and individual drills at the end of practice.

O'Brien allows the media to watch scrimmages. He doesn't hold back voicing his unhappiness if he doesn't like what he sees.

No one should be shocked that the Pacers spent most of Tuesday's practice working on their defense. Jeff Rabjohns will have a story on their defense in Wednesday's paper.

One of the most surprising things I heard out of practice was O'Brien's glowing regard for Rasho Nesterovic's passing ability

O'Brien stopped a drill and told his players to look to give Nesterovic the ball. Not for his scoring, but for his passing.

"Rasho's a weapon," O'Brien said. "For the 15th time, if you pass him the ball something good will happen."

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2008/09/first_day_of_ca.html

[ploto]

Nobody is talking about this team at all, but if Ford can stay upright for 65 games or so, the Pacers are going to surprise a lot of people. Indiana was a decent team a year ago, even with the injuries, and should be better this year thanks to the offseason facelift. Ford is potentially a 20-10 point guard who should provide plenty of opportunities for Granger, Dunleavy and Murphy to fire away from long range, while the frontcourt will survive the loss of O'Neal with a mix of Foster, Hibbert, Murphy and Nesterovic.

Plus, the Pacers are deep. Rush, Jack, Murphy and Hibbert make for a strong second unit, while the end of the bench has useful talents like Baston, Diener, Williams and Marquis Daniels. The fact that one of these players won't even dress if everyone is healthy shows just how deep they go. And as fast as the Pacers play, they might all see action. Finally, remember that this analysis doesn't include whatever they might get in return for Tinsley, who presumably will bring back some kind of warm body if and when the Pacers eventually trade him.

Obviously Ford's health is the key; I projected him to play three-quarters of a season; Foster, the other injury-prone Pacer, is also important given his defensive value and the fact that O'Neal is gone. But Indiana is deep enough to survive their likely absences as long as they aren't gone for too long, and the combination of Ford's pace and the torrid outside shooting is going to knock a lot of opponents on their heels.

Between the trade for Ford and the cap space they have coming after the season, the Pacers seem ready for a bit of a rebirth. Emphasis on "a bit." No, they won't be reliving their glory days from earlier this decade, but it seems more likely than not that they'll return to the playoffs. And with any luck, that will be enough to get a few more fans back in Indy's seats.

Prediction: 41-41, 3rd in Central Division, 7th in Eastern Conference
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp08/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PacersForecast0809

[mystargtr34]

:lol

[Reggie Miller]

The only real success the Pacers have ever had came with an awkward white guy at center who passed well (Smits).

[ChuckD]

I'm anxiously waiting to see what team ploto will fall in love with next time her honey gets dumped again and she throws over the Pacers and loses all interest.

[JamStone]

Nobody is talking about this team at all, but if Ford can stay upright for 65 games or so, the Pacers are going to surprise a lot of people. Indiana was a decent team a year ago, even with the injuries, and should be better this year thanks to the offseason facelift. Ford is potentially a 20-10 point guard who should provide plenty of opportunities for Granger, Dunleavy and Murphy to fire away from long range, while the frontcourt will survive the loss of O'Neal with a mix of Foster, Hibbert, Murphy and Nesterovic.

TJ Ford is a 20-10 guard like Darius Miles is a 20/7/7 player.

Foster, Hibbert, Murphy, and Nesterovic do not make up for the loss of Jermaine O'Neal.
If the link wasn't to Hollinger's story, I would have thought a Pacers beat writer wrote this bullshit.


Plus, the Pacers are deep. Rush, Jack, Murphy and Hibbert make for a strong second unit, while the end of the bench has useful talents like Baston, Diener, Williams and Marquis Daniels. The fact that one of these players won't even dress if everyone is healthy shows just how deep they go.

No, that doesn't make for a strong second unit. And, the starting unit sucks, so having a decent second unit does nothing.


Hollinger, you're a couple pops short of a six pack, dude.

[Reggie Miller]

TJ Ford is a 20-10 guard like Darius Miles is a 20/7/7 player.

Foster, Hibbert, Murphy, and Nesterovic do not make up for the loss of Jermaine O'Neal.
If the link wasn't to Hollinger's story, I would have thought a Pacers beat writer wrote this bullshit.



No, that doesn't make for a strong second unit. And, the starting unit sucks, so having a decent second unit does nothing.


Hollinger, you're a couple pops short of a six pack, dude.

I can't really disagree with any of that, except that having a lot of mediocre players will give fans plenty of opportunities to bitch about playing time.

AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

[Indazone]

I think the Pacers make the playoffs this year. They still gotta get rid of Troy slow ass Murphy.

[Sissiborgo]

Good for pacers....:toast

[ploto]

I'm anxiously waiting to see what team ploto will fall in love with next time her honey gets dumped again and she throws over the Pacers and loses all interest.

I have never hidden the fact that I am a fan of players- not teams.

[Indazone]

I think the Pacers turn it around this year. O'Brien has a nice resume.


Jim O'Brien (born February 11 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_11), 1952 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952) in Philadelphia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia), Pennsylvania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania)) is the head coach of the Indiana Pacers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pacers) of the National Basketball Association (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association) (NBA).
Previously, O'Brien was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers) during the 2004-05 NBA season (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004-05_NBA_season). The 76ers made the playoffs in his one season as coach after missing the postseason the previous year, and although O'Brien had a multiyear contract, he was fired because general manager Billy King (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_King) wanted to hire Maurice Cheeks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Cheeks) as head coach after Cheeks was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Trail_Blazers).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_O'Brien_(basketball)#cite_note-0) The Sixers did not make the playoffs again until 2008.
Coaching the 76ers was a homecoming for O'Brien, a Philadelphia native who attended Roman Catholic High School (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_High_School) in his youth, and starred collegiately at St. Joseph's University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph%27s_University). Before his stint in Philadelphia, O'Brien was the head coach of the Boston Celtics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Celtics) from 2001 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001-02_NBA_season)-2004 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003-04_NBA_season), replacing Rick Pitino (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Pitino). He built a struggling Celtics team and took them twice into the playoffs. During the 2003-04 NBA season, however, O'Brien consistently fought with Celtics' general manager Danny Ainge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Ainge) over short-term versus long-term goals. Ainge was looking to completely redo the roster, and traded Eric Williams and Tony Battie, two of O'Brien's favorite hardworking players in December 2003. As a result of the conflict, O'Brien shocked everyone in the Celtics community by resigning in January 2004.
O'Brien was also head coach at Wheeling Jesuit University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeling_Jesuit_University) from 1982–87 and the University of Dayton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Dayton) from 1989–94. He led the Dayton Flyers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyers) to the second round of the NCAA Tournament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Championship) in his first season, after winning the Midwestern Collegiate Conference; however he led the Flyers to just 10 wins in his last two seasons at the school and was fired after the 1993-1994 season. O'Brien then served as an assistant coach to Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky from 1994 to 1997 and then with the Boston Celtics from 1997 to 2001.
He is the son-in-law of Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ramsay), and was coached at Saint Joseph's by another former NBA coach, Jack McKinney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McKinney_(basketball)).
The Indianapolis Star reported on May 31 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_31), 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007) that he would coach the Indiana Pacers. [1] (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/SPORTS04/70531038) He replaced Rick Carlisle, who was fired after four years, when the team failed in 2006-07 to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
O'Brien was also an analyst for ESPN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN)'s NBA coverage from 2005-07.

[ploto]

Jim O'Brien is also Jack Ramsay's son-in-law-- my bad, it was in the list you posted.

[ploto]

Jim O'Brien 10/2/2008

"It's great for Roy to have Rasho. Rasho is a very savvy big man, really does a wonderful job of the nuances of the game."

"Lawrence Frank who I respect a great deal, coach of the New Jersey Nets- who told me that he thought Rasho was one of the most underrated players in the league- and certainly one of the most underrated big guys. I expect him to compete for the starting job at center. He is a terrific passer, and we like to run our passing game through our bigs- very savvy in the low past game. Great guy in the locker room- so frankly, we expect a great deal of Rasho."

"Larry knew exactly what he wanted to get in our trade with Toronto... Rasho is a guy that was very, very important with his skill. And in all likelihood it probably would not have happened if he was not part of the deal."

[ploto]

The Pacers put in about 25 offensive plays during the first week of practice despite primarily focusing on defense and conditioning. A handful of those plays were post-ups for centers Rasho Nesterovic and Roy Hibbert. One of the Pacers' question marks is from whom they will get scoring in the post.

"We need a low-post presence on post-ups and they're going to get plenty of touches down low," O'Brien said.

Nesterovic, who was acquired from Toronto in the Jermaine O'Neal deal during the summer, is also capable of hitting the midrange jump shot and is one of the team's best screeners.

"Rasho knows our plays better than anybody on the team right now and he's a really strong on-court leader," O'Brien said. "He has a way of helping guys out when they make a mistake in a way that he can tread on somebody's shoe without messing up a shot. He has a very tactful way of telling guys where they need to be and what they need to be doing in a very even-keeled way."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/SPORTS04/810060355/1004/RSS02

[Texas_Ranger]

It's nice to hear that about Raho.

[ChumpDumper]

He'll be traded again soon enough.

[Kamnik]

Time to leave your man crush ploto...

Or swap to Dragic.

[ploto]

Today's news involves our friend and radio broadcast partner Slick Leonard...He'll coach the first quarter of the Pacers preseason opener with New Orleans tomorrow night at the Pepsi Coliseum. Jim O'Brien said it was his idea and he has received league approval. O'Brien may take Slick's spot on the radio broadcast for awhile.

Slick, of course, was the head coach of the Pacers for their three ABA championships when their home was the Pepsi Coliseum (then known as the State Fairgrounds Coliseum.) Since I've been with the Pacers broadcasts (1995), Slick has on occasion stepped in during practices when asked. I believe he ran a practice at least a couple of times under Larry Brown, to shake things up. Larry Bird also leaned on Slick for his insight.

Most of the Pacers coaches (especially the smart ones) have sought Slick's opinion since he ended his coaching career in 1980. It makes sense to ask the opinion from time to time of someone who has spent his life in the game as a player and coach and has had a great deal of success (and knows your team and the players).

While this is mostly symbolic tomorrow night, it's still very meaningful to me and I'm guessing many who are close to Slick and those that have followed his career. Slick has been associated with the franchise since it's inception in 1967 and no one cares more about it than he does. My lasting memory of the game 6 win in New York in 2000 that got the Pacers to the finals was visiting with Slick after the game. This preseason game may not mean much to him, but in case it does, it's a good thought. It's also a good promotion and an extra reason to attend a preseason game.

I'll be interested to see if Slick designs a few plays, I'm guessing he will. But, the news is very new and I've yet to speak with him. The players found out when they talked with the media after practice.

Jeff Foster thought we were joking. Listen for his reaction about a minute into the group interview attached. Jim O'Brien's daily briefing is also attached.

As for the news of the day...Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and Travis Diener will not play tomorrow. Murphy and Dunleavy could be back soon. The starting lineup will rotate during the preseason. Tomorrow the starters will be TJ Ford, Marquis Daniels, Danny Granger, Austin Croshere, and Rasho Nesterovic.

That was the group wearing the blue jerseys that started in today's 12 minute scrimmage to finish practice. Jeff Foster and Josh McRoberts played with the blue off the bench.

Jarrett Jack, Brandon Rush, Shawne Williams, Maceo Baston and Roy Hibbert started for the white with Stephen Graham and Josh Davis subbing.

After 4 minutes, the blue led 21-5. The white did rally, with the blue leading 40-32 when it was stopped with :44 on the clock.

I've watched four practices so far and I've yet to see Austin Croshere miss a shot. He all 3 (2 3's) in the scrimmage and has been frequently praised by O'Brien. I've been impressed with the passing ability of Hibbert and Nesterovic and TJ Ford's pullup jumper in the lane. Jack also had a nice crossover move to the basket for a 3-point play and Rush had a strong baseline drive for a reverse layup.

http://www.1070thefan.com/insider/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10010036

[Indazone]

Croshere is an amazing talent. Isiah Thomas wasted his talent and put him on the bench.

[Kobayagi]

Wtf...game tied with 6 seconds to go, Pacers ball and they give it to Rasho who gets blocked on the drive by Dwight. :rolleyes

Overtime.

Rasho with 6 pts, 8 rebs and 7 assists (:wow)

[Kobayagi]

Pacers lose. 100-98.

Rasho: 6 pts, 9 rebs, 8 assists. If he wasn't shooting 3/14, he'd be close to triple-double. :depressed

[SpursFanFirst]

You can't beat Pacers coach Jim O'Brien and the way he runs practices

O'Brien's the only coach I've covered in the NBA, albeit I've only covered three - Flip Saunders and Rick Carlisle were the other two - that allows the media see more than just free throws and individual drills at the end of practice.

O'Brien allows the media to watch scrimmages. He doesn't hold back voicing his unhappiness if he doesn't like what he sees.

I realize Ploto posted this a couple of months ago, but still...
There's a reason O'Brien allows the media to view more of his practices than other coaches.
There are very few people in this town who have a favorable opinion of the Pacers and their antics.
And until now, we haven't had a coach or higher up who was willing to put their foot down and stop the behavior.
By allowing Indianapolis to see O'Brien kicking ass during practice (this is only one example), I'm sure they're hoping people will start to put their faith in this team again.

[ploto]

Angel-

Wanted you to know that the Tuesday night fan-voted game for NBA -TV this coming week is the Lakers at the Pacers. It will be on NBA-TV at 6:00 PM Central time, Tuesday, Dec. 2.

[sook]

good luck to the pacers, great team

[ploto]

Pacers vs. Lakers thread

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111255

Lakers 117
Pacers 118

[ploto]

Next up Pacers at Boston- can they beat them again??!! Probably not.

But it is funny- combined the Lakers and Celtics are 31-4 and 2 losses are to the Pacers.

[Thunder Dan]

Granger is probably the most underrated player in the NBA

[Reggie Miller]

Next up Pacers at Boston- can they beat them again??!! Probably not.

But it is funny- combined the Lakers and Celtics are 31-4 and 2 losses are to the Pacers.


Historically, both the Indiana fans AND the players absolutely hate the Lakers and Celtics. Before drafting Reggie (and during his first 2-3 years in the league), Boston used to bounce Indiana in the first round of the playoffs every year. I remember real fistfights breaking out between these two teams at Market Square Arena during that time. Most Indiana fans are 100% positive that Stern screwed the Pacers out of a title for the benefit of the Lakers. (I'm not one of them, but I hate the smug bastards for purely personal reasons.)

Almost forgot: About half of the people who followed the NBA in Indiana abandoned the Pacers for Bird's Celtics at that time, which pissed off a lot of Indiana fans as well.

[Reggie Miller]

Granger is probably the most underrated player in the NBA

Thank God, because some days I think he is the only real asset they have left.

[Thunder Dan]

Thank God, because some days I think he is the only real asset they have left.

the Pacers have too many white guys to be good though. If you plan on winning anything in sports these days, your roster can not have more than 15% white guys...it's the winning formula

[ploto]

Enjoy

http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/heart_and_hustle_lead_to_pacers_win_081202.html

[Indazone]

Typical Hoosierland basketball. Bunch of white guys balling. They will be in the playoffs this year.

[Reggie Miller]

Typical Hoosierland basketball. Bunch of white guys balling. They will be in the playoffs this year.

When male babies of my generation were born in Indiana, we were issued two things before leaving the hospital: a regulation basketball and a copy of Led Zeppelin IV. It's true. The black kids had the option of trading for a Commodores album.

[ploto]

Well, they looked really good for 20 minutes.

Pacers 74
Celtics 88

end of third quarter

[ploto]

24 point lead down to 9!!

[ploto]

T.J. Ford: not my fault

T.J. Ford doesn’t believe he was a problem for the Raptors last year and says his old team’s sluggish start, a five-game losing streak and firing of the coach supports his case.

While the Indiana Pacers’ point guard was adamant he wished no ill to his old team, especially opposite number Jose Calderon, he said he was pegged as the bad guy, the expendable one last season, in the decision to trade himself, Maceo Baston and Rasho Nesterovic for Jermaine O’Neal and the sidelined Nathan Jawai.

“It wasn’t one party the way it was made out to be,” Ford said at this morning’s shootaround prior to tonight’s first game against the Raptors at the ACC. “I got the blame for so-called messing things up, not being happy, whatever it was. But as you see, I wasn’t the only problem.”

The Raptors are having various difficulties, have fired coach Sam Mitchell and O’Neal has yet to play as consistently as Ford has for Indiana. Ford said he fully expected the July 9 trade after the Raptors quick exit from the NBA playoffs.

“I knew (a trade was inevitable), all you guys knew it, it was a matter of who had the guts to really say it. When you’ve been in front of the media for that long a period of time and no one defends you, then obviously your chances of being traded are high.

“Jose was playing well before (he took Ford’s starting role). I think, either way it goes, the same (conflict) would have happened. I came back and hadn’t missed much of a beat, it was just a matter of minutes. Could they have done things different? We can all go back to the drawing board.

“You guys have to do your jobs. They (the media) made a controversy and I was the guy they chose. They needed a disgruntled guy. It is what it is.”

But Ford wished most of the Raptor organization well in the long run.

“No personal agenda, nothing against Jose’s character,” Ford said. “I think a win (for Indy tonight) is a statement, more than individual stats.”

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/2008/12/10/7697911.html

[ploto]

After a crazy roller coaster of a start to the season with injuries and more close games than anyone could imagine, the Pacers now are almost healthy and making a push for the play-offs. The have won 7 straight home games (including victories over Houston, Detroit, and Miami) and are 6-3 in their last 9 games (with those 3 losses @ SA, @ NO, and @ Orlando). Granger is an All-Star and Dunelavy is back, and they are actually only 2 1/2 games out of the eighth play-off spot.