My Indy frustration

 What’s a 2 pond scorer ? Is that a player that can score in America and Europe?!!!!!!!!!

 What’s a 2 pond scorer ? Is that a player that can score in America and Europe?!!!!!!!!!

 I’d say be patient since the team is currently 12-7 despite the things you stated.  The team changed dramatically when they moved Hibbert and West went to the Spurs.  Ellis hasn’t gotten it going yet but it’s still early in the season.  Turner is still out with the broken thumb but when he returns he adds shooting that Mahinmi and Hill provide.  Looking at the current roster I don’t see much trade value outside of Turner but it would be a mistake to trade him so soon after drafting him.  

How good were you expecting Indy to be this season?  For me personally they are doing better than I expected.  My only concern is going forward where does Indy find that second star that the best teams have.  Maybe Turner develops into that but if not Bird will need to find a way to add another star through trades or free agency.  

 I’d say be patient since the team is currently 12-7 despite the things you stated.  The team changed dramatically when they moved Hibbert and West went to the Spurs.  Ellis hasn’t gotten it going yet but it’s still early in the season.  Turner is still out with the broken thumb but when he returns he adds shooting that Mahinmi and Hill provide.  Looking at the current roster I don’t see much trade value outside of Turner but it would be a mistake to trade him so soon after drafting him.  

How good were you expecting Indy to be this season?  For me personally they are doing better than I expected.  My only concern is going forward where does Indy find that second star that the best teams have.  Maybe Turner develops into that but if not Bird will need to find a way to add another star through trades or free agency.  

George is playing great, but can Favors get some all-star love? dude is so underrated.

George is playing great, but can Favors get some all-star love? dude is so underrated.

I’m a huge George fan but I just wish he plays with more fire. It’s part of his demeanor I know that whole "smooth" thing but man did he bail the Jazz out at the end. He got too frustrated with the off-ball D of Hayward which wasn’t actually that physical. Comitted a backcourt violation that wasn’t called then turned the ball over. 

He needs to be a lot more physical and aggresive if he wants to be at that level of Kobe and Lebron as superstars. When he attacks the rim (which he rarely does), he doesn’t attack hard. He attacks at half speed, looks for contact then throws up an ill-advised fadeaway looking for a foul. He can learn a lot from watching old T-Mac films where he just jumps over the defender and absorbs the contact while finishing over them. I love George, but he can’t just rely on contested 3s and 2s to score. H settles too much.

I’m a huge George fan but I just wish he plays with more fire. It’s part of his demeanor I know that whole "smooth" thing but man did he bail the Jazz out at the end. He got too frustrated with the off-ball D of Hayward which wasn’t actually that physical. Comitted a backcourt violation that wasn’t called then turned the ball over. 

He needs to be a lot more physical and aggresive if he wants to be at that level of Kobe and Lebron as superstars. When he attacks the rim (which he rarely does), he doesn’t attack hard. He attacks at half speed, looks for contact then throws up an ill-advised fadeaway looking for a foul. He can learn a lot from watching old T-Mac films where he just jumps over the defender and absorbs the contact while finishing over them. I love George, but he can’t just rely on contested 3s and 2s to score. H settles too much.

I think the Pacers should stand pat for now. Paul George is back to his superstar level of play, and the roster just needs to be built around him. I have a feeling Solomon Hill is going to be traded this season, but I’m not sure what they could get back for him. I’ve read that the Pelicans are interested in Hill so that could be a team to look at. I really do think that Myles Turner is going to take off in a few seasons and be a great fit next to a prime Paul George. With the salary cap going up, the Pacers are going to be able to spend more money in free agency than they typically do as well. I’m wondering if they’d be willing to throw some cash at someone like Harrison Barnes and force the Warriors to match their offer. Barnes has always been an enigma of sorts obviously. He seems like he has star potential but leaves you wondering if he’ll ever harness that potential on a consistent basis. Regardless of what they do, the Pacers’ next 3-4 years is looking good. Monta Ellis is the oldest guy on this team and is only 30.

I think the Pacers should stand pat for now. Paul George is back to his superstar level of play, and the roster just needs to be built around him. I have a feeling Solomon Hill is going to be traded this season, but I’m not sure what they could get back for him. I’ve read that the Pelicans are interested in Hill so that could be a team to look at. I really do think that Myles Turner is going to take off in a few seasons and be a great fit next to a prime Paul George. With the salary cap going up, the Pacers are going to be able to spend more money in free agency than they typically do as well. I’m wondering if they’d be willing to throw some cash at someone like Harrison Barnes and force the Warriors to match their offer. Barnes has always been an enigma of sorts obviously. He seems like he has star potential but leaves you wondering if he’ll ever harness that potential on a consistent basis. Regardless of what they do, the Pacers’ next 3-4 years is looking good. Monta Ellis is the oldest guy on this team and is only 30.

 How ungrateful. It’s not like you saw the Pacers being this good, now you pretend they should be even better.

 How ungrateful. It’s not like you saw the Pacers being this good, now you pretend they should be even better.

 The Pacers are doing much better than a lot of us thought they would mainly because Paul George had almost been going point for point with Steph Curry over a run of games. 

The Pacers have a fair few expiring deals this year so could use them to make a trade if they wanted to and as said above Solomon Hill was a solid starter for them last year and on a rookie salary would be of interest to a number of teams.

I’d figure that Kevin Pritchard, Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh will not do any rash deals and will look to retain cap space for next summer. An on form Paul George would be an interesting option for any top FA to consider linking up with at the Pacers.

 The Pacers are doing much better than a lot of us thought they would mainly because Paul George had almost been going point for point with Steph Curry over a run of games. 

The Pacers have a fair few expiring deals this year so could use them to make a trade if they wanted to and as said above Solomon Hill was a solid starter for them last year and on a rookie salary would be of interest to a number of teams.

I’d figure that Kevin Pritchard, Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh will not do any rash deals and will look to retain cap space for next summer. An on form Paul George would be an interesting option for any top FA to consider linking up with at the Pacers.

 Rushing for a huge deal is how a promising team falls apart. They’re a top 4 team in the east this year.  If Miles develops and they get one good sized deal this summer, they could potentially topple the Cavs. Does that require some luck?  Sure, but what good team trying to leap to contender doesn’t? (The Cavs had to win the lotto a second time and luckily have Lebron agree to come back, the Warriors had to have Curry, Thompson and Green develop into elite players). 

 Rushing for a huge deal is how a promising team falls apart. They’re a top 4 team in the east this year.  If Miles develops and they get one good sized deal this summer, they could potentially topple the Cavs. Does that require some luck?  Sure, but what good team trying to leap to contender doesn’t? (The Cavs had to win the lotto a second time and luckily have Lebron agree to come back, the Warriors had to have Curry, Thompson and Green develop into elite players). 

Trade Myles Turner? No way… 

Since opening the season 0-3, the Pacers are 12-4 their last 16 games. Why the panic? This team is overachieving. 

This was their first Western road trip of the season and they went 2-2. It’d have been great to go 4-0 or 3-1, but they’ll take 2-2. The last two games were definitely frustrating to watch at times for different reasons, but also think there are a lot of positives to take away from the trip. 

The biggest holes during the trip:

1. Defense – The Pacers defense has been very good to start the season, but they gave up 103 to the Lakers, 123 to the Blazers and 122 to the Jazz during this trip. P&R defense vs the Jazz was terrible. They didn’t play physical and there were a lot of defensive breakdowns. Too many fouls too (even thought I think quite a few vs the Jazz were garbage).

2. Defensive rebounding – This has been a problem all season. I understand the team is playing small, but they need to block out and get the ball. This really hurt them vs the Jazz last night. They’d play great defense only to give up 1-2 offense rebounds. Favors and Booker really beat them up.

3. Monta Ellis – He’s played unselfish, been a vocal leader, etc, etc, but he needs to be more aggressive offensively whether he’s scoring or driving and kicking. Maybe he’s still recovering from off-season knee surgery. Hopefully, he gets it going soon. 

4. Ball movement – The ball stuck a lot the last two games. They need to get back to moving the ball and getting the best shot available. 

I’m really excited for the game Tue vs Golden State. I’ll be there, so I’m hoping the Pacers come out on points at both ends of the floor. 

Trade Myles Turner? No way… 

Since opening the season 0-3, the Pacers are 12-4 their last 16 games. Why the panic? This team is overachieving. 

This was their first Western road trip of the season and they went 2-2. It’d have been great to go 4-0 or 3-1, but they’ll take 2-2. The last two games were definitely frustrating to watch at times for different reasons, but also think there are a lot of positives to take away from the trip. 

The biggest holes during the trip:

1. Defense – The Pacers defense has been very good to start the season, but they gave up 103 to the Lakers, 123 to the Blazers and 122 to the Jazz during this trip. P&R defense vs the Jazz was terrible. They didn’t play physical and there were a lot of defensive breakdowns. Too many fouls too (even thought I think quite a few vs the Jazz were garbage).

2. Defensive rebounding – This has been a problem all season. I understand the team is playing small, but they need to block out and get the ball. This really hurt them vs the Jazz last night. They’d play great defense only to give up 1-2 offense rebounds. Favors and Booker really beat them up.

3. Monta Ellis – He’s played unselfish, been a vocal leader, etc, etc, but he needs to be more aggressive offensively whether he’s scoring or driving and kicking. Maybe he’s still recovering from off-season knee surgery. Hopefully, he gets it going soon. 

4. Ball movement – The ball stuck a lot the last two games. They need to get back to moving the ball and getting the best shot available. 

I’m really excited for the game Tue vs Golden State. I’ll be there, so I’m hoping the Pacers come out on points at both ends of the floor.