When the Pacers made the deal to ship off Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto for T.J. Ford, I didn’t know what to expect. But in his debut year with Indiana, I was quite impressed. He was fast, can pass the ball well, but the shooting…was pretty decent shall I say. He sometimes ballhogged a bit and was sometimes selfish and what not, but hey, he can fix it this season.

That wasn’t the case. Ford was a disappointment and was then benched for 18 straight games; letting guys like Earl Watson, Luther Head, and A.J. Price play in front of him. Jim O’Brien thought it would bring more wins. But according to our friends at Pacers Pulse, starting those guys brought a winning percentage between 20-23%.

That doesn’t sound very fascinating. With Ford back after the benched games, he was pretty good: averaging 15.5 PPG, four APG, and three RPG. He had a season-high 20 points with three assists and three rebounds in a 93-81 Bucks’ loss. He led the team and I liked seeing the improvement. Along with that, he had eleven points, five assists, and three rebounds in the 107-83 win over the Pistons.

So what should Indy do with Ford? I really don’t think they’ll be trading him, believe me. But with Ford back in action, should he start? In my opinion, it’s a yes. But what lineup? According to 82games.com, Ford is best in the lineup of him at PG, Brandon Rush at SG, Dahntay Jones at SF, Danny Granger at PF, and Roy Hibbert at C. The record is 6-2 with that lineup.

I think it would be a smart idea. Brandon Rush has also been improving as well. He’s been looking excellent. It would be nice to bring back Dahntay Jones as starter and also Danny Granger has fitted well at power forward whenever he was at that position. He can cause some trouble to other teams’ defenses with his speed and his range of shooting compared to other forwards/centers in the league. Also, Troy Murphy may be shipped off still and he hasn’t been looking good so far lately. Roy Hibbert will be much needed in every starting lineup with his size for rebounding.

This would interest me if Jim O’Brien would think of it. Other starting lineups in my mind could be A.J. Price at PG because he has been looking great in last few games lately and has been impressive. T.J. Ford would be there at SG and Danny Granger would move to SF. The two big guys would be Troy Murphy and Roy Hibbert.

What lineup do you think should be used? Should T.J. Ford start first of all? To me, yes. The starting lineups can be either of those two. I think the Pacers can turn themselves around if they dare to try. Ford’s been looking good. If Indiana gives up on him now after two years, what was it worth giving up O’Neal? Keep Ford. Making something out of the kid.

Here are the links for today in the blogosphere:

Continue Reading »

You know what, I can’t even speak of this game. The Bucks won, okay? They killed Indiana, 93-81. Check out the recap here. Sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad sad, opposite of happy.

Okay, anyways, it wasn’t all that bad. T.J. Ford is actually improving now after being benched. He had 20 points, leading the team with Danny Granger right behind him with 14. I think that this game was over from the start. Indy’s largest lead was just three points compared to the Bucks’ 18.

Luc Richard Mbah e Moute had 18 points and eleven rebounds. Indiana will face the Bulls on the 9th. Looks to be a pretty good matchup, hopefully. Ford may start in my opinion. Let’s hope Earl Watson comes back, after missing his second straight game due to a death in his family.

Come on Indy. I trust in you!

vs.

Pacers: Indy Cornrows, Eight Points Nine Seconds, Pacers Place, Pacers Pulse

Bucks: Bucks Diary, We’re Bucked, Bucks Den, Bucksketball

GAME THREAD/GUESS THE SCORE

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Like Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows said, Tyler Hansbrough has the ear infection from hell. How many games has he missed because of that? I really have no idea myself but he’ll be out for today. Last time these two teams met, there was horse piss, and before that: my dog farted (check in archives for that so you know what I mean). But anyways, that last matchup in the horse piss one, it was sad.

Andrew Bogut destroyed Indiana, having over 30 points and over ten rebounds I believe. But now there is luck for us, Pacer fans! Bogut suffered from a migraine and may be out for tonight’s game. I really really hope this happens. At 22-26, Milwaukee may lose two important keys for the game: Michael Redd, who is out for the season, and possibly Bogut.

Brandon Jennings looks to lead the game in this. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off two big wins. Last night, they destroyed the Pistons 107-83 with T.J. Ford playing well after being benched for 18 games. A.J. Price played well starting his first game as well as Brandon Rush, who is back in action. Danny Granger looks lead the team again tonight. Before the Detroit game, Indiana faced Toronto with Lester Conner, killing them in a 130-115 revenge victory.

Indiana will revert back to it’s old lineup of Earl Watson at PG, Luther Head at SG, Granger at SF, Troy Murphy at PF, and Roy Hibbert at C. For Milwaukee, it’ll be Jennings at PG, Charlie Bell at SG, Carlos Defino at SF, Luc Richard Mbah e Moute (by the way, awesome name) at PF, and if Bogut plays he’ll be at C.

This looks to be a fun matchup in this Central Division rivalry battle. Good luck Indy! A win can hopefully boost up the Colts’ spirit to beat New Orleans in the Super Bowl!

Tyler needs to fix that ear…it hurts.

Written by Chad Smith

This was originally posted on January 20th, but it still fits for where they’re at now.

Another night in the NBA, and another loss for the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers are at .500 in their last 10 games, but find themselves in 26th place in the NBA standings at the halfway point of the season.

Everyone realizes that the Pacers have been in a rebuilding mode ever since Ron Artest and company decided to go postal on Detroit fans.

Despite Danny Granger’s success over the last few seasons, there is no Reggie Miller on this team, and he is not coming back. Larry Bird didn’t coach the Pacers for long, and now that he is officially running things without Donnie Walsh in the picture, some think he is doing a good job.

The Pacers seem to find themselves in the same position at the end of every season.

They are bad enough to not make the playoffs, but nowhere near bad enough to get a top three lottery pick in the draft. Stuck in the middle, this is a problem.

The Pacers have done okay in recent drafts. Grabbing Danny Granger was obviously their best one, and it looks like Roy Hibbert has some potential. The problem is they have missed more than they have hit.

Brandon Rush showed signs of promise towards the end of last season, but without those 20 games or so, he has been a bust. Tyler Hansbrough, who wasn’t a popular pick here in Indianapolis on draft night, seems to always be injured and can’t provide valuable minutes.

The real miss the Pacers had in the draft was when they drafted Jared Bayless, but traded him away to Portland in the Rush deal.

Okay, so the draft thing hasn’t been working out, so now what?

Well, most franchises would go out and sign a big free agent or make a trade or two to put them in a better position. Now, I appreciate the hard work and dedication Dahntay Jones has showed this season, but when he is the “big free agent” that you landed in the offseason, you aren’t improving much.

Obviously the main focus for this team is defense. They seem to have plenty of people that can score, but they can’t score more than 120 points almost every night, which is what they always seem to be giving up.

Despite the horrible start for the Pacers this season, Larry has said that coach Jim O’Brien will keep his job, and anyone that has a problem with that, can leave.

Well, hopefully some players have a problem with it, like I do.

Larry, if you are drafting the players for this team, then obviously the problem lies within the coaching right? If it doesn’t, then you need to get better players in here to coach; it’s that simple.

The fact that the Pacers are doing so horribly in virtually every aspect of the game is bad enough, but when Bird fails even to take notice, or do something about it, that frustrates me even more.

If he were to just come out and say that they are going to tank the rest of the season for a high draft pick, then fire Jim in the offseason and bring in a new coach, I would be more satisfied with that than him just pretending everything is fine and it’s going to change overnight.

I give the players credit for not letting the frustration of this franchise get to them, and I hope for some, such as Foster and Murphy, that they are able to move on after their stay here and get with a winning program.

The Pacers actually have a couple of trade bait players, like Murphy and possibly Dunleavy. They have already turned down a few offers for Granger, so let’s hope he is actually the franchise player everyone thinks he is.

There is nothing more I would like to see than Larry come back down and coach this team. If he is picking these players based on his eye, then who better to coach them and turn things around?

I am just getting tired of seeing Larry sit back in his chair, and watch the games with no emotional expression on his face at all during the game.

Whether it be a trade before the trade deadline this year, or tanking the rest of the season to improve their draft position, something different needs to be done. This routine of finishing ninth or 10th in the East every year and getting the 13th or 14th pick in the draft is probably the worst position to be in.

With the competitive spirit and drive that he is known for, you would think Larry would be motivated to do something to turn this franchise around.

If he isn’t going to do that, it’s time for him to go.

This was all just too good. A.J. Price started with Earl Watson out and T.J. Ford finally played, and he didn’t disappoint! And for Brandon Rush, one hell of a game this guy had, eh? MIP stuff going on. This guy is making a comeback for this second half of the season. Again, Danny Granger led the team with his 25 points and six rebounds.

Ben Gordon played well for Detroit, putting up 26 points and three boards. But Detroit fell to 16-32 as Indy moves up to 18-32 in this 107-83 pummel.

Ford looked hot, including in the second quarter with four-of-four in shooting and nine points. For the game, he had eleven points and five assists. Brandon Rush has 16, second for Indy in the game. Ford, who was benched for 18 games, felt strange after starting 25-of-31 games before being benched.

“Definitely, it is challenging, but I think I’ve grown as a professional,” Ford said. “It’s just making me stronger. It can only help me. I don’t think it can get no worse than this.”

Rodney Stuckey added 16 points for Detroit. The Pistons were coming into this game with some hope after a Nets win, but it wasn’t good.

“We’re one day on, and one day off,” Detroit coach John Kuester said. “That’s what it’s been like. We’ve got to try and get some consistency.”

The Pacers had their second straight game shooting over 50% overall and had won by a large margin, again. Indiana’s other win on the road was also won by more than 20 points. Though the playoffs may be out of hand (unless if Indy wins every game of the season or lose like three-to-four games towards the season, yeah, there’s a chance) the Pacers will play hard in every game. With a good run in this second half of the season, they can be towards a positive future in the 2010 season.

“It’s good, we’re playing well,” Granger said. “Back-to-back wins, but we have to keep plugging away. We’re not completely out of this thing yet. There’s always room to come back.”

Possibly. This win is great. Like Jay-Z’s song, it’s time to get “On to the Next One.” This time, Indiana heads off to Milwaukee to face Brandon Jennings and the Bucks. Looks to be a good one on Saturday Night. So check it out. Pacers looking good so far.

Was a good day. A good game.

It’s on to the next one now.

Game Thread/Guess the Score

Pacers: Indy Cornrows, Eight Points Nine Seconds, Pacers Pulse, Pacers Place

Pistons: Life On Dumars, Piston Powered, Detroit Bad Boys, Smoking Pistons, Need4Sheed

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The Pacers have gotten this squad last time, killing them actually and winning it on the road. Both teams have a similar record with Detroit at 16-31 and Indy at 17-32, both have ended their losing streaks on a Tuesday night’s win, and both teams played hard.

The Pacers had a great win with assistant coach Lester Conner after Jim O’Brien had to attend a funeral after suffering a lost from his family. But he is now back and is expected to coach tonight at home in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers played very hard in the 130-115 victory over the Raptors with Conner.

“The guys gave me all they wanted, and I said, ‘Hey, you guys are telling me congratulations, it’s congratulations to you because you guys needed this more than I did,’” Conner said. “When the substitute teacher is around, you want to try to do good or try to test him to see what he has. Those guys went out and played their hearts out.”

The last time these two met was a couple of weeks ago in Detroit as Indy finally got a road win with a 105-93 victory, with Granger leading the way with 25 points, and who has been averaging nearly 30 points per game. The Pacers look to bring their game back on track now. It’s time.

It would be nice to start a winning streak. It would mean a lot. It would be a perfect end to a perfect day for me with missing school an hour earlier with the snow and enjoying a fabulous win for my favorite team. Enjoy the game folks and look for some great Twitter updates with me of the game-coverage @JoshDhani.

Enjoy the game. Good luck Pacers!

Written by Knee Jerk NBA

It’s hard to feel sorry for anyone who gets paid millions of dollars to play professional basketball. Seriously.

But I started thinking about TJ Ford today and honestly, that guy’s had it rough (for a millionaire who’s probably never had a REAL job).

Here’s a quick recap of the rollercoaster ride that’s been Ford’s basketball career:

After winning two state titles in high school, Ford was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a degenerative disease that narrows and compresses the spinal cord and surrounding nerves.

He played two phenomenal seasons at Texas U, winning both the Naismith AND the Wooden Awards as a sophomore.

He turned pro and was taken eighth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was in the midst of a productive rookie season when Mark Madsen delivered a hard foul that slammed the little guy into the hardwood. The result was a contusion of the spinal cord, a life-threatening injury that kept him out of action for almost a season and a half. When he finally returned, the team had moved on without him, building their plans around Mo Williams. Ford was traded to Toronto for Charlie Villanueva.

As a Raptor, Ford flourished, guiding the team to a division title and playoff berth in 06/07. Then he hit the deck again, this time on a flagrant by Al Horford. He didn’t get up or move for a loooong time. They carried him off on a stretcher. Jose Calderon played well in his absence and Ford returned from his latest injury to discover he’d lost another starting job. He sulked. He refused to be a backup. The Raps traded him to Indiana for Jermaine O’Neal.

Again, Ford was handed the starting job. He played well for a while then lost said starting job to Earl Watson (yes, Earl Watson) in the beginning of January and hasn’t appeared in a game since. The Pacers readily admit that they’re trying to trade him.

Whew. Crazy.

I’ve never been a TJ Ford fan. He’s always seemed like kind of a self-absorbed dick. But I have to give him credit for courage and perseverance. And I hope this whole story ends well for him, I really do. I’d like to see him redeem himself like Chauncey Billups did, prove he belongs in this league. More likely is the possibility that his career ends with another crash to the floor.

Pictured: a paralyzed Ford