On the game show “Let’s Make a Deal”, contestants can stand pat with a modest wad of cash, or trade it for what’s behind the curtain. Sometimes it’s a new car, and other times it’s a goat. Stick with mediocrity, or risk it for a car or a goat. That’s the Indiana Pacers right now. […]
The Indiana Pacers are better today than they were one month ago. That is team president Larry Bird’s job, and on paper he’s improved the Pacers through two trades, (a third trade was executed, but facilitated a salary dump for the Dallas Mavericks), two free agent signings, and the replacement of his coach. The only potential issue is […]
The Indiana Pacers have enjoyed an offseason of under the radar activity that improved the team marginally with every stroke. Kevin Durant generated headlines by leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State, but the Pacers have built a team better suited to playing winning basketball compared to last year’s version. In fact, they might emerge from […]
One of my favorite axioms is that all people are idiots. Sad, but true. None of us knows enough about life to understand what the hell we are doing here. Some people achieve financial wealth, some experience a spiritual awakening, and others know that being nice to everyone they meet provides more happiness than any […]
The reason I go to press conferences is to learn something I can’t when reading a transcript, and yesterday I learned something about Larry Bird’s decision to replace Frank Vogel with Nate McMillan. Vogel is no longer the coach of the Pacers because in Bird’s opinion players were not held accountable for their behavior during practice. I’m […]
Meet the new boss – same as the old boss. Nate McMillan will become the next head coach of the Indiana Pacers as soon as the mundane dickering over terms and the insertion of the ubiquitous force majure clause is inserted in the contract. For a franchise that required change, according to team president Larry […]
With Frank Vogel out, the Pacers are looking for a new coach. Pacers president Larry Bird has been insistent that his team push the ball, shoot threes, and score more points. Vogel didn’t get that done to Bird’s satisfaction, so the search is on for someone who will. Few other hints were offered yesterday as […]
It’s easy to overreact to a debacle like last night’s Indiana Pacers loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Pacers failed to compete and were never in the game. From the brief moment the Pacers led 9-8 until the clock mercifully expired, the team assembled by Larry Bird and led by Frank Vogel failed to match […]
There may come a time when Frank Vogel, Mike Brey, Matt Painter, Chris Holtmann, and Tom Crean qualify to be listed among the all-time greats in a state that is well known for its love and mastery of basketball. But that day is not today. This list – like all lists – is imperfect. Qualifying […]
by Kent Sterling The silly NBA moratorium was bound to cause this level of chaos eventually. DeAndre Jordan, a rebounding machine in his prime, was highly sought after as a free agent. The team for whom he toiled for the first seven years of his NBA career, the Los Angeles Clippers, wanted him back. The […]