There has always been more to Pacers guard Victor Oladipo than outrageous verticality, cat-like quickness, and contagious energy. He’s been a wise and confident young man since showing up as a lightly recruited freshman at Indiana University. I interviewed Oladipo when he got to campus, and I felt like he might have been the most […]
Pacers guard Victor Oladip[o will return to the court tomorrow night, so he spoke to the media today. Among the questions about expectations, physical condition, and what he learned during his time rehabbing his surgically repaired quad tendon, he was asked about Kobe Bryant’s death. His solemn and thoughtful response is worth sharing in its […]
If I fall in love with a Pacers team, it usually takes a long time – a year or more with the same core group. I waived the waiting period this year. Wins and losses rarely determine which teams I love, but these Pacers have been quite successful with.a 28-15 record despite Victor Oladipo not playing a […]
I love watching the Pacers. They beat the Lakers last night to win their 19th game of the season, but winning is only part of the work they have done to win my heart. In the star-driven NBA where brand value often trumps success in the eyes of fans, the Pacers are an anomaly. They excel without […]
It’s way too early to draw any conclusions about the Indiana Pacers roster just 14 games into the 2019-2020 season. It’s also premature to call for anyone on the roster to be dealt because they don’t fit – yet. The Pacers are 8-6 despite missing Victor Oladipo for all 14 games, Malcolm Brogdon for the last […]
The Indiana Pacers are 7-4, having won all seven during their latest eight-game stretch, and no one is talking about them. National media fawns over the crazy numbers posted by James Harden, star-driven teams in LA, and the nonsensical drama that the New York Knicks wear like their jerseys. Local media is so focused upon […]
Pacers suffer full system failure late in loss to Pistons – Sumner’s minus-23 finally makes sense
Thinking the Pacers would merge painlessly into a new era after debuting four new starters in last night’s season opener was foolish. I drank the Kool-Aid too. Thad Young, Darren Collison, and Bojan Bogdanovic have been replaced by upgrades, or so we thought. Over time, maybe that will be true. Last night, it wasn’t as the Pistons […]
There is one consequence that ensures an idiot will keep his mouth shut in a situation where he might otherwise spew racial epithets and profanity – the threat he will get his ass kicked. In major league sports, the last time I can remember a player going into the stands to issue a physical counter-measure against a fan […]
Kevin Pritchard can’t run the Pacers basketball operation in the same way as the other 29 guys with his job and win a championship. Many of the other teams can lure Uber-talented free agents with bright lights, branding opportunities, and championship dreams. The Pacers are a small market team without a single NBA title in its 43 seasons. […]
Sports media yammerers love to say NBA championships will always go to teams in major markets. Every offseason we hear it – again and again – as though we’re talking physics. The world is round. Gravity is a constant. The universe is huge. And small market teams cannot win an NBA championship. Nonsense. Here are the 15 […]
