Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Roy Hibbert Gay Slur Explained, But Not Excused

by Kent Sterling

Sometimes professional athletes in front of a microphone forget that they are potentially talking to everyone in the world. The chances for offending someone exponentially grows depending upon the importance of the event in which they are participating.

The postgame of the Pacers game six win in the Eastern Conference Finals against the most heavily covered team in the NBA is a big event.

In the postgame press conference last night, Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert said, “I really felt that I let Paul (George) down in terms of having his back, when LeBron was scoring in the post or getting to the paint because he stretched me out so much, no homo,” Hibbert said.

I was perplexed by the comment, having never heard “No homo” before. My son told me that “No homo” is a phrase used in locker rooms in the way Michael Scott said “That’s what she said!” on “The Office”.

Player One: Don’t give him the back door!
Player Two: No homo.

Or the same person might say it all himself, if he recognizes the double entendre.

In Hibbert’s case, he was praising George with enthusiasm, and used “No homo” to bring what he thought was humor to communicate that while he is a fan of George’s, lust does not accompany his admiration.

Like a lot of what goes on inside the sanctity of the locker room, it’s insensitive, sophomoric, and idiotic. Whether it’s offensive is defined by those who heard it, and decide to take offense or not.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is offensive language. I’m offended by almost nothing because I accept the brainlessness of society, and their complete inability not to say dopey things. If people can’t keep from killing each other or stealing each others’ stuff, how in the hell can any of us expect people to be perfect in choosing their words.

Why anyone would choose to be aghast or emotionally tortured because Hibbert said “No homo” is as good a question as asking Hibbert what the hell he was thinking.

Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee said some equally foolish things in a meeting that was recorded. Those comments and the recording featuring them were aired last week, and the repercussions were profound. Speculation from inside the university is that if Gee tries to get clever at someone’s or some group’s expense again, he will either be fired or forced to resign.

Anyone who knows Hibbert is confident that his heart is relatively pure, and that no offense was intended. Unfortunately for Hibbert, that isn’t the grading scale that counts. Whether he’s to be held accountable is up to those who heard his words. Intent is inferred, not implied, meaning that Hibbert and Gee themselves cannot proclaim any meaningful innocence. It can only be conferred by members of the group who may take umbrage.

Hibbert also used the term “M****r-f****r”, but swearing is usually dismissed pretty quickly unless it slips past the FCC license holders who can be fined a lot of money for allowing that language to leak into the speakers of radios and televisions. Then, those license holders get pissed.

I would recommend that the people who listened to Hibbert and became hysterical decide that life is better when you accept the stupidity and imperfection of others. At the same time, people asked to speak publicly need to understand what the precise purpose of all that electronic equipment is – to disseminate their words to a potential audience of billions.

Words can enlighten or they can wound. Hibbert used locker room vernacular at a presser, and now he’ll pay the price of a fine, and some fleeting scrutiny designed to serve as a significant disincentive for others.

As part of what I’m sure will be an ongoing campaign to mitigate the damage caused by his comments, and to let everyone know that he now gets it, Hibbert released this statement through the Pacers website:

“I am apologizing for insensitive remarks made during the postgame press conference after our victory over Miami Saturday night. They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views. I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television. I apologize to those who I have offended, to our fans and to the Pacers’ organization. I sincerely have deep regret over my choice of words last night.”

Regardless of Game Seven Outcome, Miami Heat Are Not a Great Team

by Kent Sterling

There was controversy before the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals started. Indiana coach Frank Vogel said that the Heat are the team that is next. Someone told LeBron James that Vogel said the Heat “are just another team.” James took umbrage and claimed that the Heat “are a great team.” Even if Vogel had said what was reported to James, this series has proven that he was right.

Great teams show up. Great teams compete. Great teams take care of business in elimination games. Great teams have more than one guy appear to give a damn about the outcome of a Game Six.

There are plenty of statistical reasons that the Heat are favored to win tomorrow night’s Eastern Conference Finals Game Seven:

Home teams are 89-23 (79.5%) all-time in game sevens.
The Heat haven’t lost back-to-back games since January 8th and 10th.
They won their only game seven as a unit last year against the Celtics

Coming into this series, given a choice between Chris Bosh and Roy Hibbert, most would have taken Bosh. Hibbert has cleared that debate up nicely.

And the math might be right. LeBron might go off like he did in the third quarter of Game Five. A lot of things might happen, but here is what we know about the Heat – they have been taken to a game seven by the Pacers, a young and brash group that defends well, but does a terrible job of taking care of the ball.

Paul George committed six of the Pacers 21 turnovers last night, and the Pacer still won by 14. Great teams do not lose to a group that turns the ball over 21 times. Great teams smell blood in the water when the emotional heartbeat of the team is as sick as David West was.

The Heat are not without their excuses. Dwyane Wade is undoubtable hurt. I saw Wade score 22 points in the first six minutes of a game in Indianapolis on February 15th, 2011. That was the game where James and Wade executed a full-court alley-oop that still can’t be believed. I saw basketball plays that night I have never seen before.

What can’t be believed now is that Wade is the same person who authored any of that brilliance. He’s been less than ordinary in this series, and the sight of his Mom rubbing his injured leg, well, if she has healing powers, that’s fine.

As for Chris Bosh, he was never in the league of James and Wade as a member of this Big Three, but that’s no disgrace. He was a very good player when he signed with the Heat, but never spectacular. But in this series, he’s been ordinary at best. His five points last night was an all-time playoff low.

It’s taken some outstanding games by non-Big Three players like Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers to help the Heat extend this series to seven games.

None of the above contributed anything but misery last night as the “Other Four” knocked down only 7-of-29 shots, and Bosh and Wade combined for an all-time low 15 points.

The Miami Heat are a good team with a great player, and they are going to host a game seven against another good team without a great player.

It comes down to a 48 minute game, and the team that was nothing more than a speed bump on the Heat’s road to destiny in the eyes of the national media has a good chance to advance to the NBA Finals if they can continue to assert their will defensively and attack the rim on offense.

But regardless of tomorrow night’s outcome – or their performance in the finals – the only greatness on that roster now belongs to the guy wearing #6.

This is a great series being contested by two good teams. May the best team win, and that designation is still very much in doubt.

Goin’ Back to Miami! Indiana Pacers Force Game Seven with Brilliant 91-77 Win Over Miami Heat

by Kent Sterling

Roy Hibbert is a leader, and the Pacers will need that on Monday Night.

The Indiana Pacers better make sure their mouthguards fit correctly as the Game Seven they earned tonight is going to bring a response on Monday at 8:30p. The Heat aren’t going to surrender their crown without a fight the likes of which these Pacers have never faced.

Tonight, everything that went right for the Heat in the magical third quarter when the incredible effort from LeBron James would have snuffed the life out of most teams and effectively ended the series went totally haywire tonight.

People will reflexively talk about the similarities between games five and six, with the home teams asserting themselves in the third quarter, but there is a big difference. The Pacers played well all night tonight, while the Heat played well in only the third on Thursday.

The supporting cast, minus the oddly effective and formerly AWOL Mike Miller, was invisible. Hard to ignore the effort of Joel Anthony, who was forced into the rotation by the suspension of Chris Anderson, but the best he had in 29 minutes yielded two points and eight boards.

David West missed the shootaround this morning with an upper respiratory infection, but showed up big time in the second half as he suddenly figured out where the center of the hoop is. After missing all seven first half shots, West got busy hitting 5-7 in the second for 11 points to go along with his 14 rebounds.

The Pacers had three starters with double digit rebounds – Lance Stephenson’s 12 and Roy Hibbert’s 11 helped the Pacers to a dominant 53-33 advantage on the glass.

The execution for the Pacers wasn’t much to write home (or anywhere else) about in the first half, but the effort was excellent from the opening tip to the final horn. Tyler Hansbrough’s rebound of his own missed free throw with :24 seconds left typified the night for both the Pacers and the Heat.

Again and again, the Pacers scrapped while the Heat waited for LeBron to be the splendid version of himself that made the Pacers pay for their lackluster effort in Game Five.

The Pacers doubled the Heat in points in the point 44-22, and that was the difference in the game.

While the total team turnovers for the Pacers were a difficult to overcome 21, the Heat only converted 17 points from them. While the Heat turned it over 14 times, the Pacers cashed at a much higher rate for 19 points.

George Hill, who would like to forget Game Five was ever played, washed that performance from the brains of Pacers fans with 16 points with six assists in 43 minutes.

Oh yeah, Paul George scored 28, pulled down eight board, and dropped five dimes. He is so consistently good that sometimes I forget about him. He’s playing like a much older and wiser player, and despite his penchant for turning the ball over – he had six tonight – he’s the kind of guy who just might win this franchise its first NBA Championship.

Coach Frank Vogel forced the starters to play deep minutes. All but the infirmed West played more 40 minutes or better.

Conversely, the Heat were a mess. Something must be wrong physically with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, or James should chase them both around the team plane and beat them senseless for being useless throughout the series, but tonight in particular. They combined for 15 points, six boards, and one measly assist. That combination of points and their four field goals were the lowest since the Big Three came together three seasons ago.

Udonis Haslem, who shot the Pacers out of the game on Thursday, did absolutely nothing tonight with zero points, two rebounds, and four fouls.

The Heat starters, minus James who shows up every night and plays like a champion, combined to go 7-29 from the field.

So it comes down to one 48-minute game for a trip to the NBA Finals. Game Sevens are a battle of nerves and will, and the team with the five players showing greater resolve is going to win.

The Miami Heat won a remarkable 46-of-49 games after their Game One win in this series, are a very ordinary 4-5 against the Pacers this season. The talking heads outside Indianapolis will see Game Seven as a fait accompli, because they are mesmerized by James’ star power. They might be right, but if the other Heat players can’t muster a better effort in Game Seven, the Pacers will make their first trip to the NBA Finals since that glorious group that continues to define the franchise finally punched their ticket in 2000.

My lingering memory of a Game Seven is from the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and the Chicago Bulls, when the Pacers had a four-point edge with 5:00 to go in the game. Michael Jordan dug deep, and that roster of Pacers, including coach Larry Bird, scattered to the wind. They were an older team that knew how to win.

This group is very young – only one player (West) on the active roster is older than 27 – and these guys don’t know that they should defer and lose to the reigning champions.

Monday night is going to be a fascinating exercise for the Pacers. Whether they are able to assert their will for the first time in this type of win or die dance will be a stiff test.

The Pacers have earned this chance to grit their teeth, look the demon in the eye, scowl, and send them home. Forty-eight minutes of clear eyes, full heart, and laser focus stands between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.

Can’t wait for Monday.

Can’t Wait for “Ahead of the Curve” on 1070 the Fan – Today from 11a-1p

by Kent Sterling

Before moving to St. Louis two years ago, Chris Hagan and I hosted a sportstalk show on 1070 the Fan, and I loved it. It is always great fun because – number one, I like sports, and number 1A, and enjoy Hagan’s company.

He’s funny, knowledgeable and self-effacing. He knows when to start and stop talking, which makes inserting my own thoughts very easy. The worst two man shows have hosts who interrupt each other all the time. Chris and I never do that. He doesn’t need to deliver monologues, and I sure as hell don’t want to do that either.

The show was relaxed and fun. I’m not sure what it was to listeners, but for me it was a great way to start the weekend.

Hopefully, the first show will be like hopping back on the bike. That would be the best case scenario, but as long as we’re honest, informed, and relaxed, everything should be great.

The guests are solid. At Noon, we’ll talk IndyCar with driver James Jakes, and at 12:30p, Indiana Basketball’s Victor Oladipo will interrupt his workouts for long enough to tell us what his hopes are for the NBA draft and tell us what he thinks about Game Six of the Heat Pacers series.

We’ll do our best to fill the two hours with worthwhile content for listeners, and regardless of what happens, at 1p, the weekend will begin in earnest.

It will be great to hang with Chris again, and talk Indiana sports.

Baseball is a Different Game Now at Indiana University

by Kent Sterling

Great seat. Great barbecue. Great baseball. Great night.

Baseball used to be played at a place called Sembower Field that was only feet away from Foster Quad. Oddly, it was a hilly field. Outfielders had to run uphill as they tracked a flyball toward the fence. The bleachers were standard issue, and watching a guy like Bill Mueller hit bombs or throw out Michigan’s Barry Larkin from behind the plate was about as special as watching intramural softball.

Those days have quickly become a deep and dark memory with the opening of Bart Kaufman Field, which ironically is where the intramural fields used to be near the corner of the Bypass and Fee Lane.

Indiana Baseball is showing off its new home as the host of the NCAA Regional which features the recently crowned Big Ten Champion Indiana Hoosiers. It had been awhile since IU’s owned a Big Ten regular season crown all by itself – as in all the way back to the Hoover Administration. Yes, the United States once had a president named Herbert Hoover. Nice man, but his economic policies extended the Great Depression for a decade. That title came in 1932. Players gave each other piggy back rides to get to road games back then.

Tonight, the Hoosiers are playing the Valparaiso Crusaders, who am going to guess won the Horizon League championship, but who can say for sure. Well, the couple to my right appear to be officials from the Horizon League and would certainly know, but I just don’t care enough to bother/insult them. The Hoosiers are losing 2-0 in the top of the fourth as I’m writing, but the rain that fell earlier is gone, the sky cleared, and the temperature is right about where we keep the thermostat in our house.

Nothing against the Hoosiers or Crusaders, but the winners watching this game are the fans. By the way, the Hoosiers are going to win this game. Valpo’s pitcher throws in 80-poo to borrow a phrase from the great Chris Duncan, and his breaking ball takes a soft left instead of snapping. Second time around, the Hoosiers will get him.

Games will continue here throughout the weekend, so if the weather cooperates and yoo’re in the area, there is no better way to spend part of the weekend than down in Monroe County watching the prelude to the College World Series.

Rutgers Athletics – Would Anyone Care If Julie Hermann Was Hired Anywhere Else?

by Kent Sterling

Rutgers President Robert Barchi is the target of the media, not Julie Hermann. Not sure whether Hermann should feel good about that or not.

Dan Dakich is a great radio host because his genuine curiosity evokes answers that lead to unique opinions. I spent 90-minutes with Dan today in the 1070 the Fan studio, and he asked me about Rutgers. The most interesting part of the discussion dealt with journalistic weasels – my term, not Dan’s – and the way they scratch the itch of a story until it bleeds.

Dan wanted to know if I remember all of the weddings that I stood up in, and if I can recall appearing in videos? The question is relevant in the Julie Hermann/Rutgers flap because Hermann did not recall being in the wedding of the assistant coach she subsequently fired – either for being pregnant or because of poor performance, depending upon who you believe.

I remember all the weddings I have been in, but have no idea what I might have said 16 years ago into a camcorder. Open bars when I was in my 20s led to many memorable moments of which I thankfully have no recollection.

Would anyone give a damn about Julie Hermann if she was hired as the athletic director at Iowa, Georgia, or Boston College and called members of the volleyball team she coached “Whores, alcoholics, and learning disabled”? If not for the recent idiocy at Rutgers, would reporters from the Newark Star-Ledger have dug until they found the controversial end of her tenure at Tennessee 16 years ago? Could they have found the videotape of the wedding Q&A in which Hermann told her assistant not to get pregnant?

Those are damn good questions, and my answer is no to all of them. Most journalists resemble a hound dog in that they generally lay on the porch until a scent passes across their snout, and then their demeanor changes. They become engaged, curious, and relentless.

The firing of basketball coach Mike Rice was prompted by videotape being dropped in the lap of the media and led to the firing or forced resignation of Hermann’s predecessor Tim Pernetti, and the next shoe to drop was supposed to be Rutgers President Robert Barchi. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pulled the plug with his vote of confidence, but the media wasn’t done.

If Rutgers was dumb enough to keep Rice around despite damning video evidence of his volatile and abusive behavior, surely they can’t be trusted to properly hire another athletic director, so the media went back to work – completing the kind of background check Rutgers probably expected for the $70K fee charged by a firm that does that sort of thing as a business.

And there is only one thing journalists enjoy more than finding a chink in the armor of powerful people, it’s a good game of gotcha. So the question was asked about the videotape at the press conference where Hermann was introduced as the new AD. She said, “There’s no videotape, trust me!”

Uh-oh. Gotcha.

From that point, the game was on. Every piece of untoward character wrecking dust and grime would be swept from the corners of a life of 49 years that we all have. It would be poured over and exposed, and we would watch because what’s more fun than seeing the powerful have their careers ended because of their own stupidity.

There aren’t ten coaches in college sports who have treated their student-athletes with the respect they believe is due them. Kids get pissed. Things happen. Hopefully everyone learns.

I’m sure Hermann learned a lot about the line that divides intense and abusive. As anyone who has ever been in corporate mandated training on harassment can tell you the difference is in the perception of the recipient, not the intent of the manager.

Hermann continues to twist in the wind, saved from national media scrutiny by the inane and humorless babblings of Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, who is the gift that keeps giving by insulting Catholics, the Polish Army, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Brett Bielema, southerners, the University of Louisville, and others.

The only hope for a woman like Hermann is that someone else will do something dumber before the noise grows to loud for administrators who hate answering accusations where the only logical answers are, “Yes, we are idiots,” or “We are in the process of reviewing the employment of (fill in the soon-to-be-fired employee).”

If it provides any solace to Hermann or a better answer than I provided at the time to Dan, she is in the line of fire, but not the target. Barchi is the target, and as long as he’s the president at Rutgers, there will be reporters combing over records to uncover additional embarrassing hires, terminations, and misdeeds.

And from a pragmatic perspective, Hermann’s job is among the safest in New Jersey because letting her go would be career suicide for Barchi. His only answer after the three potholes he has nearly drowned in would be to admit incompetence, and you don’t become a university president by owning errors like these.

Indiana Pacers – Game Six Is Time to Nut Up and Play for Each Other or Be Satisfied

by Kent Sterling

If the Pacers are under the delusion that because they are young, a future of opportunities in the conference finals is assured, they should dispel them. With Derrick Rose coming back to the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade likely regaining some measure of health, and David West entering free agency, this opportunity needs to be treated as though it may never come again because it may not.

The Pacers need Frank Vogel to channel Billy Bob Thornton in “Friday Night Lights.” They need to look at each other with clear eyes and love in their hearts.

This isn’t high school, and rah-rah blather is dismissed by most men paid millions of dollars to play a boy’s game, but there is a spiritual element to athletics that can overcome adversity. A belief in one another, and a love born of a common goal can make dreams come true.

The crowd is going to have to be a force in Game Six to help Lance Stephenson find his inner warrior – the warrior that took Game Fine off.

An NBA Championship has been a dream of the Indiana Pacers since it entered the league, and winning these last two games in the Eastern Conference Finals will take winning two straight against a team that hasn’t lost consecutive games since January 8th and 10th when the Heat lost to the Pacers and Portland.

By any measure, the 2012-2013 season has been a success for the Pacers. Regardless of what happens Saturday night, earning a berth in the NBA’s final four is a step in the right direction.

There are 13 teams in the Eastern Conference who would be thrilled to swap spots with them. And the Pacers are very young, with David West as the only active player on the roster over the age of 27.

The Pacers would be justified by claiming victory in the face of what most believed was an inevitable ass-whooping at the hands of the best player in the world, and his friends.

But what kind of man does that? Competitors compete. They fight. They battle. They make their opponent bleed for victory. They stand in front of the oncoming tanks and grimace. They storm the beach like wild men because the alternative is to cower and abandon brothers. And they never admit defeat – ever.

The Pacers need to get plum mad dog mean, as Josey Wales tells his ragtag group who believe they are about to face their doom at the hands of the Comanche in “The Outlaw Josey Wales.” They need to be willing to do whatever it takes.

So what will it take?

Lance Stephenson has to stay on the floor and attack
George Hill and Stephenson need to be efficient – shoot better than 40%
Paul George and David West must take care of the ball – in the six games the Pacers have amassed 17 or more turnovers, they are 1-5, including 0-2 against the Heat
The Pacers need to score 97 or more points in regulation – all seven times they have done that in the postseason, they have won (7-0). When scoring 96 of less, they are 3-7
They need to understand that Udonis Haslem is very capable of knocking down 17-to-20 foot jumpers from the baseline on the left side. He hit four of those in the second half of Game Five.

Statistics occasionally illuminate, but in the case of Game Six, there are two more esoteric criteria that will determine their fate – faith and diligence.

If the Pacers lapse into a mode where they aren’t clearly focused, LeBron James will make the Pacers pay with points of his own and dimes to Haslem and Mario Chalmers.

This series is still right there for the Pacers to take. The Heat are little more than what the Cleveland Cavaliers were before James took his talents to Miami – the best player in the world surrounded by a supporting cast that can knock down jumpers and defend.

Chris Bosh has averaged 12.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, pedestrian numbers for any NBA center. Wade is averaging 15.4 ppg, but doesn’t look anything like the quick footed and explosive future hall of famer that put him on a stage as the Big Three were announced in Miami three years ago.

It’s damn hard to beat a better team in a best-of-seven playoff series, but the Heat are just 48 minutes from getting that job done. The Pacers need to sack up and take what can be theirs.

Second Half Collapse Dooms Pacers as Heat Win 90-79 to Take 3-2 Lead

by Kent Sterling

For a full quarter, LeBron James showed why he’s the best in the world. Few have ever played better.

It was right there for the taking. Control of the Eastern Conference Finals was lazily ceded by the Miami Heat to the Indiana Pacers in the first half, but the Pacers deferred. Then LeBron James reported for duty with focus, and now they face an elimination game Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Heat did everything but gift wrap the first half, but eight turnovers and a lack of production from Lance Stephenson and George Hill kept the Pacers from taking full advantage.

The halftime lead of 44-40 was courtesy of some of the least inspired basketball the Heat have played. James had 11 points, and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined for 12. Either the officials were selectively blind as the Pacers attacked or the Heat never fouled as only two foul shots were awarded to the Pacers because of a foul as they operated on the offensive end.

The other foul shots came as a result of a Chris Anderson flagrant one that was accompanied by a bizarre double technical foul on Anderson for a shove and Tyler Hansbrough for not falling down, as that appeared to be all Hansbrough did wrong.

The second half was a different story. Champions know when they dodge a bullet, and how to make an opponent pay for their missed opportunity. By champion, I mean LeBron James, because he either scored or dished for virtually every basket as he outscored the Pacers 16-13 during the third quarter.

The quarter that began with the Pacers holding a tenuous four-point lead ended with Indiana behind by 13.

From that point, the Heat did enough to maintain their lead, and while it’s easy to look at the Big Three (Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert) for the Pacers for not doing a lot offensively in the third, Stephenson and Hill are the two factors that can prove most meaningful for the Pacers. Fans hoping that Good Lance would show up for the biggest game of his life were disappointed.

Bad Lance penetrated and kicked, missed the four shots he took when the game was still in question, and finally scored with 3:46 left, and fouled out with four points with 1:39 remaining.

So the Pacers will look to survive in Game Six, and then return to South Beach for a Game Seven. It’s an uphill battle as the talking heads remind fans over and over again. If you don’t know by now that 83% of teams who win Game Five after splitting the first four go on to win the series, activate your closed captioning.

The blueprint for success is the same – all five starters need to play great. The Heat need one guy to play great and they can stay in any game. Chalmers and Haslem combined for 28 points while the other two thirds of the Big Three (Bosh and Wade) scored a paltry 17. None of the Pacers have the luxury of mailing it in if they want an opportunity to beat the Heat.

The search party continues to comb over the wreckage of Chris Bosh to find his game as he delivered seven points and five rebounds. When Bosh’s combined points and rebounds don’t equal the number of millions he makes every year, that ratio prompts concern, but not for a team with James’ ability to absolutely dominate a game as he did in the third. Of the 30 points the Heat scored in that awful period, James scored or assisted on 25.

James was a man among boys tonight in a way very few basketball players ever have been.

The series isn’t over, but the road to the finals is now “Ice Road Truckers” dangerous. If Stephenson and Hill don’t awaked from their slumber, Game Six will be a long night with a heartfelt ovation from the home crowd to salute the Pacers for a season well-fought. But if they do, and Indiana shows the grit and tenacity they showed in games two and four, the Heat are going to need their savior one more time in Miami to advance to the play the Spurs in yet another best-of-seven.

Indiana Pacers – What the Pacers Need to Do to Win Game Five Against the Miami Heat

by Kent Sterling

It’s 60 minutes prior to the tip of a game that will likely determine the outcome of the Eastern Conference Finals, and all that’s left to do now is play the damn game.

The Pacers and Heat know each other well enough to be good and pissed off about the behavior of the other, and the officiating has both fan bases equally upset.

Regardless of the extraneous fooferah, the game will be won because one of these teams will put the ball in the bucket more often than the other. Equally important will be the defensive ability of both teams to keep the ball out of the bucket on the other end.

So what are the keys to this contest?

Interestingly, the irrefutable statistical truth is that when George Hill and Lance Stephenson enjoy nights when they hit shots well, the Pacers win. If Hill’s effective field goal percentage (the effective FG% factors in the extra point when shots are taken from beyond the arc) is 35% or better, the Pacers are 9-2 in the postseason, and 2-1 against the Heat. When it’s below 35%, the Pacers are 1-3, including 0-1 vs. the Heat.

When Stephenson’s effective FG% is better than 40%, the Pacers are 10-1. When it’s below 40%, they are 0-5. The lone loss was Game Four against Atlanta. Just as interesting, when Stephenson’s offensive rating (an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions) tops 100, the Pacers are 8-0. When he is below 100, the Pacers are 2-6 with both wins against Atlanta. If Stephenson makes three or more field goals, the Pacers are 9-2. When he makes one or two, they are 1-4, including both losses to the Heat.

That’s not conclusive, but it is an interesting bellwether.

Here might be a more impactful stat for the Heat’s Chris Bosh. When Bosh makes more than 45% of his field goal attempts, the Heat are an undefeated 10-0. When he hits less, the Heat are a winless 0-3. When Bosh makes one or more three-pointer, the Heat are 4-3. When he makes none, the Heat are 6-0.

How about some Dwyane Wade numerical love? When Wade hits more than 50% of his shots, the Heat are 6-0, but only 3-3 when he doesn’t.

It appears not to matter what the hell LeBron James does. He scores a bunch – the Heat win and lose. He shoots a lot or less, doesn’t matter.

So based on the skinny evidence available from 13 Heat games and 16 Pacers tilts this postseason, we know that for the Pacers to win:

Hill’s effective field goal percentage must 35% or better
Stephenson’s effective FG% needs to be better than 40%
Stephenson’s offensive rating (an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions) must top 100
Bosh must make less than 45% of his field goal attempts
Bosh must make a three-pointer
Wade must make less than 50% of his shots

In basketball terms, what the hell does all that mean?

The Heat should keep Bosh closer to the basket to help his efficiency. On the block, he helps the offense. Away from the basket, not so much.
The Pacers must keep Wade weak. If he gets off, it’s over.
Stephenson needs to be disciplined on the offensive end convert at a high rate. It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality. Same with Hill.

Obviously, a bunch of other stuff must happen, but after hours of looking at the statistics, the other stuff appears not to lead definitively to a win or a loss.

Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee Rips Catholics and Notre Dame, and What’s New?

by Kent Sterling

Gee looks like the smiling spawn of late senator Paul Simon and comic actor Orson Bean, but he’s less funny than either.

I’m an Irish Catholic, and I could give a damn what the presider of The Ohio State University thinks about the Irish, Catholics, or Notre Dame. He’s a pedantic administrator who has decided he’s clever because he’s the king of a puny hill.

Of course, E. Gordon Gee isn’t clever, funny, or without significant flaws of his own. This isn’t his first meal of feet.

Gee told a meeting with athletic administrators, “The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they’re holy hell on the rest of the week.” He continued, “You just can’t trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that.” The assorted boobery got a good laugh out of that, or humored Gee with their response.

The only funny part of the strange preoccupation Gee has with being inappropriate is when he said that the Ohio State’s football team doesn’t play the “Little Sisters of the Poor.” The comment itself was inane, but the fact that Gee had to cut a check to the actual Little Sisters of the Poor is a just and funny result.

Gee didn’t just insult Catholics, he hammered Louisville and Kentucky too. He said that Big Ten expansion will only include like-minded academic institutions, “so you won’t see us adding Louisville,” and then said they wouldn’t add Kentucky either.

I’m sick and tired of everyone being held to an incredibly high standard of political correctitude, but Gee’s comments almost always seem less than “presidential.”

Stand-up comedians are in danger of Gee stealing their gig in the same measure Gee’s job is threatened by Don Rickles.

Gee is going through some measure of university ordered remediation. I assume that means he is watching DVDs of Richard Pryor and George Carlin and is given a painful shock every time he laughs.

Catholics have survived much worse than the unfunny rantings of man running a university whose greatest honor is to dot an i. I think we’ll make it through this without much sorrow.