Kori Ellis
07-24-2005, 12:42 PM
The judges determined that jalbre won the blog ...
Sense: As contending teams seem to always creep by in the West, I feel that the surprise team that will be tough in the playoffs is and will be the Indiana Pacers. These days when you talk about a tough team in the East next season, you will most likely say either the Pistons or the Heat, but there's always been a constant contender in the east before these two came along. I believe the Pacers have been overshadowed by the accomplishments the Pistons have made in the past playoff runs.
The fact is, the Pacers are contenders, and they will surprise everyone.
People seemed to have forgotten their accomplishments last season. Problems like missing Artest, starters' injuries, and Reggie Miller's constant retirement talks hurt the team throughout the season. Any other team in the same situation would've have accomplished what they did. Having Artest back, and "renewed" should have the team excited about the next season. Personally, I've always been scared of the Pacers' team when healthy, since the 2004 season. However, when your leading scorer for the playoff averages 16.1 ppg (1 more point than the Bobcats' season leading scorer) and the team gets past the first round, and shock the Pistons...that's when you know you overachieved.
I feel the team has nothing to lose, and they have nowhere to go but up...especially after drafting Danny Granger. The team will leave off from where they were early last season, except no bench and lockerroom presence from Reggie Miller. Overall, I know this team will improve dramatically, and they will surprise everyone behind the Miami vs Detroit East battle talks.
jalbre6: All apologies to Pacer Nation, but your NBA franchise will come crashing down into the middle of the Eastern Conference pack this upcoming season. That 61 win season referred to in the previous post was with Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, and Kenny Anderson scoring a combined average of 19.3 points a game. Those three guys are either toiling for another franchise or applying for a commentary job with TNT. The 44-38 record put up last season, good for third in their division behind Detroit and Chicago, will be tough to match in the 2005-2006 campaign.
Yes, I know that Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal, and Stephen Jackson only played seven games together last season. But Indiana is losing the soul of their team in Reggie Miller, and everyone else in their division is either standing pat or seeking to rapidly improve.
Detroit is now a perennial championship contender. The young Bulls in Chicago are rapidly climbing to the top of the Eastern pack. Cleveland, who only finished two games behind Indiana, added Larry Hughes to run with LeBron. Milwaukee signed Bobby Simmons, resigned Michael Redd, and drafted Andrew Bogut with the top pick in this year’s draft. Expectations of being a championship contender in this post-Miller fashion are absurd, especially with the improvements made by Cleveland and Milwaukee.
If Artest, Jackson, and O’Neal can behave for a full regular season, they might be able to finish fourth, get a seven seed, and go to Miami in the first round next year.
Sense: The Indiana Pacers have a lot to prove and they will. The fact that teams have gotten stronger in the East doesn't mean that the Pacers won't be contenders, it simply means they have more competition and I believe they will overcome it. Having the heart of the team back, Ron Artest, will definitely improve the team. Ron Artest has lead the team to where they have been, and last season's results proved it. I believe in the fact that Ron Artest ruined Reggie Miller's last season, but that will motivate him to be better.
Surely the loss of Harrington and Miller will hurt them, but it also improves them in many aspects. Losing Harrington got them a starter in Jackson, and losing Miller will improve their hunger as the season goes on. The improving teams are in reconstruction mode, meaning that you will not see a Phoenix Suns kind of team, and in the east? Not likely. A team will not become a contender if it didn't make the playoffs the previous season, in the east.
jalbre6: Scribbling about the leadership abilities of Ron Artest is ridiculous. Remember when Artest was suspended before the Palace brawl because he asked Rick Carlisle for a month off due to fatigue from promoting a music album? Or when David Stern suspended him for destroying a television camera in New York in 2003? Or later that season when he threatened to pummel Miami coach Pat Riley and Stern popped him again? What about his five separate suspensions during the 2002-2003 season?
Reconstruction involves addition and subtraction. Milwaukee and Cleveland added significant talent. Detroit and Chicago didn’t lose anyone. If anyone is reconstructing, it’s the Pacers in the Central. They have to replace one of the greatest players in NBA history.
All Indiana is without the classy Reggie Miller is Portland 2,258 miles east; a bunch of somewhat talented athletes with little leadership. Calling them a championship contender is a sham.
Sense: As contending teams seem to always creep by in the West, I feel that the surprise team that will be tough in the playoffs is and will be the Indiana Pacers. These days when you talk about a tough team in the East next season, you will most likely say either the Pistons or the Heat, but there's always been a constant contender in the east before these two came along. I believe the Pacers have been overshadowed by the accomplishments the Pistons have made in the past playoff runs.
The fact is, the Pacers are contenders, and they will surprise everyone.
People seemed to have forgotten their accomplishments last season. Problems like missing Artest, starters' injuries, and Reggie Miller's constant retirement talks hurt the team throughout the season. Any other team in the same situation would've have accomplished what they did. Having Artest back, and "renewed" should have the team excited about the next season. Personally, I've always been scared of the Pacers' team when healthy, since the 2004 season. However, when your leading scorer for the playoff averages 16.1 ppg (1 more point than the Bobcats' season leading scorer) and the team gets past the first round, and shock the Pistons...that's when you know you overachieved.
I feel the team has nothing to lose, and they have nowhere to go but up...especially after drafting Danny Granger. The team will leave off from where they were early last season, except no bench and lockerroom presence from Reggie Miller. Overall, I know this team will improve dramatically, and they will surprise everyone behind the Miami vs Detroit East battle talks.
jalbre6: All apologies to Pacer Nation, but your NBA franchise will come crashing down into the middle of the Eastern Conference pack this upcoming season. That 61 win season referred to in the previous post was with Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, and Kenny Anderson scoring a combined average of 19.3 points a game. Those three guys are either toiling for another franchise or applying for a commentary job with TNT. The 44-38 record put up last season, good for third in their division behind Detroit and Chicago, will be tough to match in the 2005-2006 campaign.
Yes, I know that Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal, and Stephen Jackson only played seven games together last season. But Indiana is losing the soul of their team in Reggie Miller, and everyone else in their division is either standing pat or seeking to rapidly improve.
Detroit is now a perennial championship contender. The young Bulls in Chicago are rapidly climbing to the top of the Eastern pack. Cleveland, who only finished two games behind Indiana, added Larry Hughes to run with LeBron. Milwaukee signed Bobby Simmons, resigned Michael Redd, and drafted Andrew Bogut with the top pick in this year’s draft. Expectations of being a championship contender in this post-Miller fashion are absurd, especially with the improvements made by Cleveland and Milwaukee.
If Artest, Jackson, and O’Neal can behave for a full regular season, they might be able to finish fourth, get a seven seed, and go to Miami in the first round next year.
Sense: The Indiana Pacers have a lot to prove and they will. The fact that teams have gotten stronger in the East doesn't mean that the Pacers won't be contenders, it simply means they have more competition and I believe they will overcome it. Having the heart of the team back, Ron Artest, will definitely improve the team. Ron Artest has lead the team to where they have been, and last season's results proved it. I believe in the fact that Ron Artest ruined Reggie Miller's last season, but that will motivate him to be better.
Surely the loss of Harrington and Miller will hurt them, but it also improves them in many aspects. Losing Harrington got them a starter in Jackson, and losing Miller will improve their hunger as the season goes on. The improving teams are in reconstruction mode, meaning that you will not see a Phoenix Suns kind of team, and in the east? Not likely. A team will not become a contender if it didn't make the playoffs the previous season, in the east.
jalbre6: Scribbling about the leadership abilities of Ron Artest is ridiculous. Remember when Artest was suspended before the Palace brawl because he asked Rick Carlisle for a month off due to fatigue from promoting a music album? Or when David Stern suspended him for destroying a television camera in New York in 2003? Or later that season when he threatened to pummel Miami coach Pat Riley and Stern popped him again? What about his five separate suspensions during the 2002-2003 season?
Reconstruction involves addition and subtraction. Milwaukee and Cleveland added significant talent. Detroit and Chicago didn’t lose anyone. If anyone is reconstructing, it’s the Pacers in the Central. They have to replace one of the greatest players in NBA history.
All Indiana is without the classy Reggie Miller is Portland 2,258 miles east; a bunch of somewhat talented athletes with little leadership. Calling them a championship contender is a sham.