Around the Association: 2009-2010 Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
by Fantasy Junkie on Sep 10, 2009 10:00 AM PDT
in NBA
17 comments
There's not much to like about Indiana this year. Injury plagued point guard (TJ Ford), starting 2 guard is out until January (Mike Dunleavy), your starting power forward doesn't play defense (Troy Murphy), you lost your backup point (Jarrett Jack), and you didn't improve on a team that won just 36 games last year and finished 3 games out of the playoffs. Danny Granger makes this team bearable. Tyler Hansbrough's nonstop energy will be a welcome sight for those fans who actually like watching players hustle. But other than Granger and the hope that Hansbrough actually plays well, there's not a whole lot to like about the Pacers.
Offseason Additions
VIA DRAFT
Tyler Hansbrough (No. 13)
AJ Price (No. 52)
VIA FREE AGENCY
Dahntay Jones (from Nuggets)
Earl Watson (from Thunder)
Solomon Jones (from Hawks)
Offseason Subtractions
VIA FREE AGENCY
Marquis Daniels (to Celtics)
Jarrett Jack (to Raptors - didn't match the RFA contract)
WAIVED
Jamal Tinsley
There are really just 2 things that matter to me when I think of this season's Indiana Pacers: Danny Granger and Mike "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Dunleavy Jr.
1) Danny Granger
He is the one and only reason that watching the Pacers doesn't make me want to rip my eyes out. Smooth isn't smooth enough to describe just how smooth he is. Or maybe it's because when he faces the Warriors he doesn't miss. He averaged 41.5 in the two games against the Warriors. No, not 41.5 minutes, 41.5 POINTS. He was a perfect 31-31 from the line and also averaged 9 boards and 4.5 assists. I'm afraid to see what he'll do this year. He scored 40+ 3 times in a game last year, two of those were against the Warriors. Nice defense.
He may be one of the least discussed, most underrated stars in the league. Oh and the Warriors passed on him to take...drum roll...Ike Diogu. But don't feel bad Warriors fans, many other teams passed on him to take Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Martell Webster, Charlie Villanueva, Channing Frye, Fran Vazquez, Yaroslav Korolev, Sean May, Rashad McCants, Antoine Wright, and Joey Graham. Ouch.
In a couple years Granger may just be the best player in the NBA. He's building himself a bat cave. How cool would that be? If he can do half of what Batman does and translate those skills into the NBA, LeBron won't stand a chance. A superhero with a jump shot.
I wanted an underground tunnel entrance.
2) Mike Dunleavy
What would a Pacers preview be without a little Funleavy Foto Fun? If you don't remember, he signed that 5 year, $44 million deal with the Warriors and GSOM celebrated with 44 reasons (Part I | II | III | IV) to crack up.
Big Mike is coming off a season in which he only played 18 games. He was expected back in December of last year, but didn't make it back until January. He played 3 minutes in a game against Washington on February 8 and then was shelved for the rest of the season with a severe knee injury. He underwent successful surgery this offseason and is again eyeing a January return. Tough break for DunDun just as he was playing well 2 seasons ago and finally playing up to what people thought he could do. Hopefully he can step back on the court so he can provide us with some more hilarious images.
Remember when Jack was in Indiana? Artest, Jermaine, Jax. What a team that could have been if they didn't self-destruct. Check out some highlights of Jax from a few years ago.
More on the Pacers at Indy Cornrows:
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That was an easy poll
and that last Dunleavy photo is a classic
by IQofaWarrior on Sep 10, 2009 10:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Let's take a look
First, DG will be amazing and could be the best player in the NBA in a couple of years…
Second, B Rush and Hibbert could and will be above average to very good role players, not to mention the fact that either or both have the potential to be allstars…
Third, this team lost some offense, granted, but gained a lot more on the defense side( which only wins championships, just saying), they did lose many MANY games by fewer than 5 after they had marginal leads…
Fourth, with dunleavy healthy(the farthest grasp i know) and complimentary players like Murph, tyler, foster, (someone we get from trading TJ), watson, and jones, The pacers aren’t really that far from getting into the playoffs(this year will be it) and then contending for the championship(2-3 years at least)…
I know this all seems like crazy speculation, but really look at the pacers, their youth/underrated talent/Larry Bird is smarter than people give him credit for(he did mess up but he’s cleaned up mostly) and you’ll see what i see, guaranteed!
by Agent J on Sep 10, 2009 12:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
DG could be the best player in the NBA in a couple of years.
Not very likely, unless by “best player” you mean “best scorer” — and even then it’s not very likely. While Granger was #5 in the NBA last season in terms of ppg, he was a paltry #64 in terms of wins produced. (And in wins produced per minute, he’s even worse than that). He’s also 26 years old, not typically an age when players see anything but super-marginal increases in production. (Put another way: when he was Anthony Randolph’s current age, Anthony Randolph was 14).
But do get back to us in two years, when Granger, at age 28, has magically leapfrogged the 60 NBA players he needs to leapfrog before he can be mentioned in the same breath as Howard, Paul, and LeBron.
Don't put your heart out on your sleeve when your remarks are off the cuff
by Sleepy Freud on Sep 10, 2009 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Granger is a good player
But in all honesty, he’s probably a #2 option on a real playoff contender. That being sad, the rest of there young players have talent, but none have the ‘talent’ of a monta or randolph or even Bwright. they have alot of limited players who could become really good peices like BRush, Hibbert or even Hansborough. Players I wouldnt mind on my team but not a player who will put you over in anyway.
Indiana’s draft strategy has been to go safe, which won’t get you anywhere unless the safe pick is a can’t miss. Trading Bayliss for Rush was a move I wouldn’t have made. Passing on Randolph looks silly (as he’s an excellent front court compliment to Granger), Infact even Jason Thompson would have been a better pick (speights too…). If they had have taken 1 of those 3 (RAndolpj, Thompson, Speights) and gone PG in this draft (holliday possibly) they might be looking much better…
by tafkasam on Sep 11, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nice analysis
Crappy drafting except for Granger who basically fell in their laps. How do you take Hnsborough over Earl Clark? Plus still lots of pt guard talent available. At least Mullin took chances on guys with the talent to excell (mostly). Drafting limited players with lottery picks (even low ones) is loser strategy since you can get those guys as FAs, D-leaguers etc.
by gsfool on Sep 11, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Drafting limited players with lottery picks (even low ones) is loser strategy since you can get those guys as FAs, D-leaguers etc.
So true, as warriors fan we saw it for a decade plus. Since Mullin took over we finally saw some “Talent.” Sure we had some busts but that happens. Aside from Diogu over Granger we weren’t passing on kobe/tmac for todd fuller/adonal. I’m not saying we got stars but we got guys with star potential, which i’ll take any day over. In terms of getting stars, thats just luck sometimes. Like this year, if we got #1 pick we would have took blake griffin. You can’t rate GM drafting on those sort of picks…. you rate them on taking monta ellis second round. a legitimate starting nba center, Biedrins, in late lottery. Talent like Randolph 14th. etc
by tafkasam on Sep 12, 2009 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
B Rush and Hibbert could and will be above average to very good role players, not to mention the fact that either or both have the potential to be allstars…
let’s not get carried away. if hibbert becomes a respectable backup center, i’d consider that a success for him and i’m really not sure what makes you think that rush has all-star potential. he was an inefficient offensive player last year and turned the ball over more often than he picked up an assist. these are things young players improve upon, but i don’t see either one of them amounting to much more than nice bench pieces.
The pacers aren’t really that far from getting into the playoffs(this year will be it) and then contending for the championship(2-3 years at least)…
unless granger really does become better than lebron (he won’t) and rush and hibbert really do become all-stars (they won’t), it is absolutely crazy to think that the pacers are just a few years away from contending for a title. unless they’ve got the cap space to pair wade with granger, a ticker tape parade in indianapolis is pure fantasy.
heart of a champion, will of the warrior.
by cap'n hack on Sep 10, 2009 7:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
We interrupt your regularly-scheduled programming for a spell check.
Variations on Psycho T’s last name in this thread (including the diary itself):
“Hansborough” — 5 instances
“Hnsborough” — 1 instance
“Hansbrough” — 0 instances (until this post)
Dudes. This is not a good team batting average, even by our humble standards.
Don't put your heart out on your sleeve when your remarks are off the cuff
by Sleepy Freud on Sep 12, 2009 4:04 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks
Damn, this whole time I thought I was spelling it correctly. Thanks for the heads up. I hate misspelling words.
by Fantasy Junkie on Sep 12, 2009 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Haha. Actually, I think I spelled it wrong the first couple times I wrote it too. It was only when I noticed Mr. Tar Heel jae it writing it differently that I realized my mistake. (He also set me straight on my bad habit of writing “Tarheel” instead of “Tar Heel.”) Pretty logical spelling mistake, given the frequency of the cluster “borough” v. the infrequency of “brough.” Sort of like writing “Dwayne” Wade or “Brandon” Wright or “Michael” Ray Richardson…
Don't put your heart out on your sleeve when your remarks are off the cuff
by Sleepy Freud on Sep 13, 2009 1:36 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would give them Jack if they took on the contract and took claxton and law. they could also give us Brandon Rush.
by dannyschmanny on Sep 10, 2009 12:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Honestly, if you gave me someone with the exact some contract as Dunleavy and the exact same skills, I’d probably trade Jackson for them. But because it’s Mike Dunleavy Jr., absolutely not.
Wow I never knew about that batcave stuff with Granger. He might just become my favorite non-Warrior in the NBA.
by Missing Barry on Sep 10, 2009 7:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Maybe it was because I only heard Warrior games on the radio at the time, but Dunleavy didn’t seem to be so much a bad player as a horrible fit for the Warriors he played with. I think that problem would still exist today. Leave him in Indiana – he’ll probably continue to do well there (if he ever gets healthy again.) If we trade Jack, it has to be for something (not necessarily someone) better than Dunleavy.
by toddaverth on Sep 10, 2009 11:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Honestly, I thought it would be a harder decision. If it wasn’t Dunleavy, then it would have been harder I guess.
Jack with the horrible contract (4 more years) vs Dun who becomes a tradeable expiring contract next year (so possibly just 1-1.5 years).
by Fantasy Junkie on Sep 11, 2009 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hadn't Jack actually won the PG starting spot?
The Pacers spent the year trying to figure out who their starter was, there. Jack started the last 32 games of the season, and 56 of the last 61. That wasn’t an injury decision; Ford was healthy enough to play significant minutes, but Jack started.
After all that work Indiana let the winner of the duel walk. They patched the gap with Earl Watson, making Ford the starter .
That exchange is just about where the Pacers are, for me: Treading water, and sinking somewhat in the process. They went through a major glut of PG talent in the draft and subsequent offseason, and lost ground at that position while adding, drumroll please…. an energy power forward. Hoo-ray.
by feral on Sep 11, 2009 5:13 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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