What a fun night.

First the Celtics lose at home again (to the Suns), then the Bucks win in NYC the Lakers get pummeled by the Magic...and before the night is over Kevin Love hits a buzzer beating three-pointer from waaaay downtown to lead the Timberwolves to an unlikely comeback victory over the Clippers in LA (gotta love that Rubio kid too -- he was huge down the stretch).

Oh, and the Pacers had a huge night as well, escaping with a thrilling 94-91 victory against the Warriors in Golden State after that disappointing fourth quarter implosion against Sactown a couple of nights ago.  The two teams have a lot of connections -- of course, Warriors coach Mark Jackson used to be the quarterback in Indy and led them to their own NBA finals appearance back in 2000; there was also that little-talked-about Brandon Rush for Lou Amundson trade in the offseason...and who could forget the game-winner Monta Ellis sank to break the Pacers' back last season?

The Pacers simply don't have anyone that can guard Monta Ellis, and plus they got Stephen Curry back from injury (always lethal).  Throw in Nate Robinson, the little man the Pacers always seem to have trouble containing, and I was suddenly very nervous about this game.

It was a close one all the way through, thanks to the best shooting night of the season for Danny Granger (26 points on 10-16 shooting (including 3-3 from downtown) and the best rebounding night of Roy Hibbert's career (16 boards to go with 10 points), not to mention a look-like-he's-getting-his-legs-back David West (18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 7-12 shooting) -- but holy crap Monta Ellis was unstoppable, and Stephen Curry also chipped in with some big shots down the stretch, keeping the game at 91-91 with the clock winding down.

The Warriors had the supposed last possession of the game and the ball in Ellis's hands, which spelled trouble with a capital T.  Everyone expected Ellis to blow by his man and flip up some incredible shot into the basket, and that probably would have happened had the man guarding Ellis not been George Hill (14 points on the night) -- who stripped (okay, maybe he kicked it a little) the ball from Ellis atop the three-point line and raced the length of the floor before banking in a layup with Curry fouling him.  Hill calmly completed the three-point play to give the Pacers a 3 point lead with less than 2 seconds to play, and the Pacers were very fortunate to dodge a bullet when Stephen Curry missed a wide open three at the buzzer.

With the victory, the Pacers improve to 10-4 for the season.  Yes, it has been against crappy opponents for the most part but it's hard to be disappointed with how the record currently looks.  Next up, the Lakers and a McBob reunion in LA.

Some observations:

• tonight was the most aggressive I have seen West in a Pacers uniform.  He demanded the ball and took charge against whoever the Warriors threw at him.  The rust still caused a few bad shots and turnovers, but I love what I'm seeing from him;

• Hibbert was so effective in the post against the Warrior's big men, which was baffling why they didn't give him the ball more often.  The 16 boards is mightily impressive for a guy who had averaged less than 6 boards a game for his career entering tis season.  He's gonna need to be at his best against Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol against the Lakers;

• Granger played well. Still forced a few shots but they went down for him tonight.  Maybe things are finally turning around for him...

• Darren Collison had a stinker and a half.  Couldn't hit a shot (1-12) all game and struggled behind screens to keep up with his man.  After a stellar start to the season Collison has put in a string of sub-par games.  He's still their best PG though, so hopefully he can get his act together soon;

• Amundson lost the battle against Rush.  The porn-star lookalike missed all of his field goals in 5 minutes of game time (though he grabbed a rebound), while the pothead hit both of his threes for 6 points and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes.  I still liked the trade though.

The toughest part of the schedule so far is looming -- @Lakers, Magic, @Bulls, @Celtics, @Magic (OUCH).  The old Pacers would probably have gone 0-5 for this stretch, but I have confidence the new Pacers can pull out a couple of victories.


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Embarrassing.  That's the only way to describe the Pacers' loss to the Sacramento Kings tonight after being outscored 26-8 in the fourth quarter, giving up 30 offensive rebounds and falling to a (formerly) 4-10 team that shot 30.1% for the evening.

The final score?  92-88.  The Pacers couldn't grab any of the 50-50 balls, had some bad calls go against them and turned the ball over what felt like a million times (but was actually only 18), especially in the fourth quarter as the Kings turned to their zone defense and stagnated the Pacers offense.  Miraculously, the Pacers weren't completely out of it until Danny Granger (with the Pacers down by 2) decided to "cleverly" toss his second free throw off the rim and to himself, only to commit an obvious lane violation and cough up the ball (and the game).

On a night when the Thunder lost to the Wizards, Philly to Denver at home, the Magic to the previous road-winless Spurs in Orlando and the Knicks at home to the Suns, I suppose it's not that surprising that the Pacers lost this one.  However, the way they lost it was most concerning. DeMarcus Cousins had 13 points and 19 rebounds (including a ridiculous 12 on the offensive end), showing why the Kings have been willing to put up with the knucklehead's antics on and off the court.  Sure, the Pacers were missing Jeff Foster (out a couple of weeks with that nagging back of his), but the lack of effort in the fourth was simply brutal out there.

Despite having 3 days off, the Pacers looked lethargic for much of the game, which they thought they could afford to be considering they were easily the better team -- at least on paper.  They grabbed a 5 point lead at the half and turned it up in the 3rd to go up by 14 entering the fourth, but everything fell apart for them in the final 12 minutes.  Hibbert was in foul trouble.  Paul George kept turning the ball over.  Granger missed his shots (well, I guess that's not unusual) and Collison had no choice but to throw up difficult shots as the zone defense confused the heck out of the team. 

So much for talking up themselves as being a "team to be reckoned with" and "the best kept secret" in the NBA.  I kept saying the biggest difference this season is that the Pacers are winning games they would have otherwise lost in past seasons -- but I'm still scratching my head over how they lost this one.  I don't even think the non-playoff Pacers teams of old could blown a lead like this against a struggling team like the Kings.

Of course, it is only one game, and things like this happen during the season, especially one as strange and truncated as this one, but the truth is, while the Pacers are clearly better than they were in previous seasons, they aren't quite as good as they think they are.  At least not yet.  The early cupcake schedule coupled with a couple of wins against the geriatric Celtics had their heads in the clouds.  

Hopefully this will be another wake up call and a reminder that they can't take any team lightly.  Up in a couple of days is the Golden State Warriors, a team that scares me even without Stephen Curry simply because the Pacers can't guard Monta Ellis.  Maybe a combination of George Hill (speed) and Paul George (length) can provide some success this time.  It's also going to be a reunion of sorts -- Brandon Rush and Lou Amundson face off against the teams that traded them.

And so the stage is set: Will the Pacers get to their 10th win or will the Warriors prevent their 10th loss?

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I'd like to think the Celts aren't done and it's just that the Pacers are getting too good. Because despite their early struggles, I absolutely did not expect the Pacers to thump the Celtics again, 97-83, only a little over a week after they thumped them in Boston (87-74).  And yet they did, and they made it look kinda easy.

Danny Granger bounced back from his embarrassing two-technical ejection against Toronto to lead the team with 21 points on 8-19 shooting, which is not bad considering how brutal he has been shooting the ball this season.  But again, it was a total team effort.  Darren Collison had 17, 4 and 4, Paul George had 17 and 8, and Roy Hibbert had 11 and 9.  David West, George Hill and Tyler Hansbrough all contributed to a satisfying win which I fully expected them to lose after how ordinary they looked against the Raptors, Danny Granger or not. 

The Pacers shot poorly again (37.2%), but they made up for it by taking 94 shots (!), made possible by their 20 offensive rebounds, 12 steals and 10 blocks. Boston, on the other hand, simply looked...old.  Really old.  The Pacers did a much better job on Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen this game (6 and 7 points, respectively) and forced Paul Pierce into another poor shooting night (5-12 for 21 points).  On the whole they just had more energy, greater depth (only Collison and Granger played more than 30 minutes) and better execution.  At this point, the Pacers are simply the better team, something even I can't believe I just typed.

The two teams match up again in Boston before the end of the month, and I guess we'll see for certain whether it's time to stick a fork in these former champs.

As for now, the Pacers get a long rest and won't play again until Wednesday, when they head west to face the Sacramento Kings.  The Kings are currently 4-8 and will probably be 4-9 as they are being thumped by the Mavs right now.  Still, it's not a game the Pacers can take lightly.  Granger has historically done well against the Kings, so let's hope he can have another good shooting night to get his FG% back on track for the season.  no comments

This was a game the Pacers would have lost in the last few years.  No doubt about it.  I've seen it happen enough times.  And to be honest, I was terrified that they were going to squander a golden opportunity to get an easy win against a Bargnani-less and Bayless-less (double negative...so would that be just "Bay"?) Toronto Raptors squad at Air Canada Center.  They almost did, lumbering out of the gate and falling behind by as much as 16 points, before slowly and gradually clawing back to grind out a hard-fought, foul-plagued 95-90 victory. And they wouldn't have gotten it without the fortuitous four missed free throws from the Raptors in the last 67 seconds of the game (including a beautiful airball from Jamaal Magloire).

It was ugly, like many Pacers games have been this season, but it's another win.  The Pacers are now 8-3, but the road is about to get much tougher, with 6 of the next 8 games away from Indiana, and the two home games coming against the Celtics and the Magic.  Have the Pacers finally turned a corner?  We'll have to wait and see.

Key observations:

• The Pacers' offseason pick-ups are really starting to pay dividends.  George Hill was the star of the game with 22 points and 5 steals off the bench (7-11 shooting, 2-4 from three-point range and 6-6 from the line), and David West (13 and 4) was the go-to guy down the stretch, hitting a pressure hook, drawing a foul (and hitting 1-2) and fouling the hapless Magloire to essentially ice the game.  These two guys have become crucial parts of the team, and will become more indispensible as the season progresses.

• Coming off his "break out" game, Danny Granger had a shocker, shooting just 1-8 from the field before a brain-freeze which saw him tossed from the game for picking up his second technical in the second quarter.  Granger picked up his first for arguing a no-call, and the second for standing over and "taunting" Ed Davis after a wonderful, picture-perfect, all-ball dunk block.  Seriously, with the Pacers down, the ball still in play, and Davis on his backside out of bounds, Granger chose to stand over Ed Davis (that's right, Ed Davis) instead of taking advantage of a perfect 5 on 4 fast break opportunity.  This was an unprofessional, knucklehead move you might have expected from Lance Stephenson, not from the "leader" of the team.  Granger apologized after the game, as he should have, and let's hope it's a wake up call for him because the Pacers really dodged a bullet in this game.  On the bright side, he will be well-rested for the Boston showdown tomorrow.

• Roy Hibbert turned the ball over 6 times and fouled out (on a crucial three-point play) in a game he ought to have dominated with Bargnani out, but he still put up a respectable 15 points and 9 boards, including 6-10 from the field.  Roy is getting there, slowly but surely.  He just needs to keep it up and keep growing.

• Darren Collison and Paul George are still growing their games. They both do some spectacular things sometimes, but still negate them with silly decisions.  The key is to for them to realize their strengths and play to their strengths rather than trying to do things they aren't capable of.

• Tyler Hansbrough had one of his "Love Tyler" games (he can be "Love Tyler" or "Hate Tyler" on any given night) with 13 points, 6 rebounds.  Hansbrough was 7-7 from the line, including two big ones after he was fouled upon grabbing David West's missed free throw (referred to above).  Hansbrough can be great and he can be horrible.  Tonight he was great.  He even had a miraculous 2 assists.

Not sure what to expect from this squad moving forward, but the next few games will be a fantastic measure of how far they have come.  Tomorrow they are up against the Celtics (at home), a team they already defeated once in Boston.  The Celts are struggling this season (4-6) but they are still dangerous and will be desperate for a win and payback.  Even if the Pacers lose this one, I'd like to see them fight it out to the end, not crumble like they did against the Heat earlier in the season.

Then it's off to the West coast for games against Sacramento (4-8), Golden State (3-7) and the Lakers (9-4).  Forget about the Lakers game for now (especially considering how crazy Kobe Bryant has been playing lately), but will the Pacers be able to pull out at least one or both games against the other teams?  I highly doubt the old Pacers could have, but with this new team, with David West and George Hill, I remain cautiously optimistic.
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So thaaaat's what Danny Granger needed to find his shooting touch -- a nasty bout of gastro to get all that bad shooting SH*T out of his system.

After missing in the loss against a very good 76ers team, Granger finally snapped out of a season-long funk against the Atlanta Hawks tonight, pouring in a season-high (and Pacers season-high) 24 points on...wait for it...9-16 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range and 3-3 from the line.  He even had 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  Unbelievable.

Oh yeah, and the Pacers won the game with ease, 96-84, though most of the fourth quarter was pretty much garbage time after the Pacers went up by 21 with a dominant 27-9 third quarter.  With the win the Pacers get off to a good start on this rough stretch and currently stand at 7-3 for the season (4-0 at home).

Granger's return to form was the big news (let's hope he can keep this up), but there were also a few other tidbits:

• Lance Stephenson also returned from an ankle injury and put up a career high 12 points on 5-7 shooting, to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, a block and 3 turnovers.  Maybe Lance was getting nervous watching AJ Price play and realizing how lucky he was that Vogel had put him ahead of Price in the rotation.
• George Hill was the third returnee (from back injury) and played conservatively, putting up 4 points in 23 minutes.
• Jeff Pendergraph made his long-awaited debut tonight in a Pacers uniform.  Though he played only 4 minutes of garbage time, Pendergraph grabbed 2 rebounds (1 offensive) but missed all 4 of his field goal attempts (some badly).  With Hansbrough, Foster, Amundson and Pendergraph, the Pacers have four psycho hustle rebound grabbers on rotation.  Love it.
• Speaking of hustle, Roy Hibbert continued his stellar play with yet another double-double (12 points, 11 rebound, 4 assists and 4 blocks in just 24 minutes.  The most impressive thing about Hibbert's season thus far apart from the improved rebound numbers (almost 10 a game after averaging 7.5 last season)?  Almost 55% shooting from the field after shooting less than 50% in each of his first three seasons.  He could use some work on his free throw shooting though, which has inexplicably dropped to 63%, the lowest of his career.
• I keep saying David West is a rock, and he was solid again tonight with 12 points (5-8 shooting), 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 24 minutes.  If he can continue his steady recovery from ACL surgery I believe he will be the most consistent Pacer by mid-way through the season, someone who can comfortably put up 15 points every night.
• The biggest WTF moment came at the end of the third quarter, when Jeff Foster made his only field goal attempt of the night -- a three pointer at the buzzer.
• All 13 Pacers played tonight and only Price and Pendergraph went scoreless.  Impressive stats include 25 assists on 39 made field goals, 13 steals and 10 blocks, though 16 turnovers is a little high.

A lotta tough games coming up, and a chance for the Pacers to prove they can win on the road.  First up, the Toronto Raptors, whom the Pacers have already beaten once this season.  Sure they aren't top quality opposition, but as bad as the Raptors are they do have 4 wins this season, including against the Knicks and the Timberwolves.  Pacers better not take them for granted or they'll be taking another step back after this promising step forward today.

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The video above makes the Pacers' 96-86 defeat at the hands of the 76ers seem closer than it really was.  Without Danny Granger (food poisoning) and George Hill (sore back courtesy of Gerald Henderson's body slam), this game was always going to be a challenge, but at the same time it should have been an opportunity for the team to showcase its celebrated depth.

Instead the Pacers played with little passion and once again struggled to find the basket.  The 76ers were barely challenged after the first quarter and they are clearly the better team at the moment.  Hibbert had some bright patches but they didn't feed him the ball enough.

The road ahead is not going to get any easier.  Despite the 6-3 start, the Pacers have really only played 3 "good" teams (Miami, Boston and Philly), going 1-2.  From here until the end of the month, the Pacers are going to play: Atlanta, @Toronto, Boston, @Sacramento, @Golden State, @LA Lakers, Orlando, @Chicago, @Boston, @Orlando, New Jersey.  With the way they have been playing, how many of these teams can they actually beat?  

My guess is they should be able to handle the likes of Toronto, Sacramento, Golden State and New Jersey, but given that the first three are road games, and given that the Pacers tend to struggle against guys like Bargnani (Toronto), Evans (Sacramento) and Ellis (Golden State), nothing is for certain.  Boston will be hungry for revenge (meaning they should take at least one of the two games) and the Bulls and Lakers are likely going to be too good.  That leaves the two games against the Magic, and to be honest I'm not too confident about either one.

Unless something suddenly clicks with this team, my guess is that by the end of January, the Pacers should be roughly around 10-10, and if they are lucky, 12-8.  As long as they remain above 0.500 I won't be too concerned, given the fact that it's one of the brutalist stretches of the season and the fact that people often forget that this was a 37-45 team last season.  Throw in Granger's poor shooting, David West's recouperation, George Hill taking his time to find his feet, injuries to Foster and Pendergraph and the inexplicable minutes given to Dahntay Jones, 0.500 will actually be pretty good.

Then again, they could shock me and be 14-6 or 15-5 by the end of the month, but there's one thing I've learned as a Pacers fan over the last few years: it's better to keep expectations low.
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Pacers vs Bobcats at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  A tale of two halves.  

In the first, the Pacers were sluggish and allowed too many second chance points, while the Bobcats looked energetic and confidence despite an overtime loss the night before.  The result was a 49-43 deficit at the half.  Coach Frank Vogel must have worked his magic during halftime, because the second half was a completely different story.  The Pacers rebounded, shared the ball and played D, holding the Bobcats to 14 points in each of the third and fourth quarters to end up convincing victors, 99-77.

Hibbert top scored with 20 points, plus 8 boards and 3 blocks (despite a scary turned ankle in the second half, which he returned from), but it was another all round effort. Hansbrough was big with 15 and 6 while shooting 50% from the floor.  Collison continued to show his improvement with 14 points, 4 assists and 8 rebounds while also shooting over 50%.  George Hill had 13 points on 6-8 shooting despite being body-slammed by Gerald Henderson.  Jeff Foster was again a monster on the boards, grabbing 7 rebounds (3 offensive) and scoring 2 points in just 13 minutes!  David West had 10 and Granger had 13 in another off shooting night (though 4-12 is not that bad for him these days).  That said, Granger did hit a couple of timely baskets again put more ice on an almost-iced game, something he has been doing all season.

As a team, they shot 50.6% from the field (about time!), had 6 steals, 6 blocks and only 11 turnovers.  Sure, the Bobcats aren't much, but it's nice to see the team get an easy victory for a change, especially on the second night of a back-to-back and after looking like they were going to have a major letdown in the first half.

I am really liking what I am seeing from a few of the guys.  Hibbert is really starting to come into his own this season, but the key now is for him to maintain this level of play and confidence.  Let's not forget everyone jumped on the bandwagon too early last year and he buckled under the pressure.  Collison is developing into the type of player the Pacers expected him to be when they traded for him -- he'll never be a Derrick Rose or Chris Paul, but he has been effective in his own way.  George Hill, as well, despite a rough start, is becoming the player the Pacers wanted when they traded for him.  Steady, highly efficient and pretty good at creating plays for himself (though not much of a floor general).  As for David West, he hasn't lived up to expectations in some ways, but it's still early (he needs time to get his legs back after surgery) and he has been steady as a rock with his cool demeanor and professionalism. Once he gets his mid-range shot to become automatic again, look out.

As for concerns, the biggest continues to be Granger's shooting.  We keep saying that it can't last forever, but it's 8 games in and the team's leading scorer has yet to shoot over 37% in a single game.  Frightening.  Hansbrough's defense is also a concern.  He can be effective offensively against the right team, but when his shot is off, he is ugly to watch, and with his inability to guard most NBA PFs, it's a good thing the team has West and Foster.  And Dahntay Jones, who is a little bit of a double-edged sword.  He can be effective in transition and as a cutter, but he keeps trying to be a shooter and one-on-one player -- and it's vomit-inducing seeing him hand over possessions on a nightly basis. 

Anyway, with the win, the Pacers move to a 6-2 start and a 3-0 start at home, not bad if you consider that they played five times on the road.  On the other hand, it's not completely unexpected given the calibre of opponents they have been up against.  Looking at the schedule before the season began, 6-2 would have been my predicted start for this team too (except I would have predicted them to beat Detroit and lose to the Celtics, not the other way around).

Moving forward, a real test on the road against the 76ers, a team many expected would be at the same rough level as the Pacers this season.  The 76ers are about to cruise to a crushing victory over the Raptors, moving them to 5-2, and their confidence will be high.  It's a game I pencilled in as a loss before the season began, so let's see how they perform.

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What's the solution for a Pacers team that (with the exception of the New Jersey game) hasn't been able to hit a shot all season?  Play a team with worse offensive execution.

That happened tonight as the Pacers and the Celtics played an offensively abysmal first half after which the Pacers led 33-25.  Both teams played a little better offensively in the second half, and the Pacers were never seriously threatened (though gave me a few cold sweats) on their way to a comfortable but ugly 87-74 win. 

With the victory, the Pacers bounce back from an ugly blowout loss to the Miami Heat and improve to 5-2 on the season.  This was the one game of the young season that I totally expected the Pacers to blow but they ended up proving me wrong in gutting out a win in Boston.

Some thoughts:

• The Pacers showed some promise on the offensive end in the second half.  They only shot 40.5%, which was shockingly their second best shooting night of the season.  There are too many good shooters and offensive players on this team for them to shoot this poorly.  A lot of it has to do with the team taking too long to set up the offense, leading to poor shots with the clock winding down.  It's up to Frank Vogel to get them to continue sharing the ball, cutting and taking good shots.

• Danny Granger top-scored with 15 (on 3-14 shooting), but for most of the game he wasn't very good.  Until the assist to Collison for a three-pointer that iced the game, his best contribution was knocking down some free throws, not exactly what you want from your "best player".  Granger was regularly driven past by Paul Pierce (who fortunately had an awful 3-17 shooting night) and continuously missed Ray Allen along the three-point line.  As long as Granger is delivering in the clutch everything else is forgiveable but there has to come a time when his pathetic shooting percentage goes up.  The question is when that will happen.  Considering how often he didn't even touch the ball during stretches of the game, one wonders whether the Pacers are starting to think trade.  Oh, and one more thing.  Granger needs to stop dribbling.

• Darren Collison played another solid game with 14 points and 4 assists, hitting some big shots down the stretch.  He will never be a dominat point guard or a great defensive player because of his size, but he has definitely shown improvement this season with his poise and decision making.  With George Hill not really much of a floor general, Collison will need to log some heavy minutes at the point this season.

• Speaking of improvement, Roy Hibbert is getting it done (11 and 12, 4 on the offensive end).  He doens't look as afraid of the ball and his shots are being tossed up with more promise, even though they aren't necessarily falling (5-15).  His rebounding is what is standing out for me most right now.  Roy has 5 double-doubles from 7 games this season.  Not bad for a career 5.8 per game rebounder.

• Jeff Foster made his debut tonight and immediately proved his worth, grabbing big offensive boards (3 in 15 minutes) and taking charges.  Welcome back, Jeff.  We missed you.

• AJ Price logged some minutes in place of the injured Lance Stephenson, and he was pretty damn good.  Price can shoot and he is an excellent pick and roll player.  The alley-oop to Paul George was the highlight of the game.  If I were Vogel I would put Price ahead of Stephenson in the depth chart, at least for now.

• George Hill is really finding his groove now.  13 points, 5 rebounds and a team-leading +16 plus-minus.  The Indiana native can flat out play.  He's not a good playmaker but if he can make plays for himself.  If the Pacers use him the right way he will become an invaluable piece of the puzzle.

• The other George, Paul George, had 12 points on 5-7 shooting tonight.  His shot has been going down so far this season and he is great in the open court, but PG needs to stop dribbling the ball.  He's also been a bit of a lazy passer.  Need to work on those aspects of his game.

• Tyler Hansbrough is a valuable energy guy who can get you points off the bench, but his game is so ugly.  And his defensive instincts absolutely stink.  There is a reason the Pacers wanted a new starting PF so badly.  Come on Psycho-T, you can do better than that.  And he has yet to register a single assist this season, though I am sure I saw him pass the ball once tonight.

• Last but not least, David West, who downplayed "almost" going to the Celtics before signing with the Pacers, had an off night again, with just 2 points, but he did have 10 boards and 3 assists.  I don't care though -- West is going to be huge for this team once he gets his legs back.  Even if it's just 70-80% it will make a massive difference with this team.  His calmness, steadiness and leadership will eventually make him the most reliable player on this team night in night out.

In all, a good win for the Pacers tonight, but not a great one.  The Celtics had one of those nights shooting the ball, and the Pacers had some luck with the refs.  Still, nice to bounce back after such a disappointing game against the Heat.  Next up is the (2-5) Bobcats tomorrow back home.  Potential letdown game but also a very good opportunity to keep the momentum going and perhaps even hit a few shots to up the confidence levels.
Go Pacers!
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Pacers enter the game 4-1 to start the season.  D-Wade out with a foot injury.  Optimism.  Pacers talk about elevating themselves to the Eastern Conference elite.  No one shows up.  Refs aren't helpful until Pacers down by 30.  Get trounced, 118-83.  Hansbrough's +/- is -43, and that includes (all the) buckets he scored in garbage time.  Granger still can't throw a beachball into the ocean and can't dribble.  Lance Stephenson injured his ankle while committing a travel.  A porn star lookalike (Amundson) was the best player on the team.  That pretty much summed up the night.  Maybe it'll be a wake up call for the worst 4-2 team in the NBA.  Vogel's offensive strategy is based on hustle and not much else.  Team shot 34.8% and committed 23 turnovers.  Something needs to be done because the road's getting a lot tougher.  Not going to bother putting up a recap video (ie, Heat highlight reel).  PS: Lebron acted like a suffered a season-ending injury during the third quarter on a semi-botched fast break.  It was absolutely nothing. I'm going to go cry now. no comments

I kept wondering how long it would be before the Pacers shot better than 40% from the field in a game.  Well, they did it tonight against one of the worst teams in the league, the New Jersey Nets, breaking not only 40% but 50%.

The Pacers got out to a quick start in Newark, stretched the lead a couple of times, before eventually putting the Nets away quite comfortably with a 108-94 win.  They shot 52.6% from the field, a season high, but what did it for them was their accurate 3-point shooting (13-21), including a 5-5 performance from Paul George, who top scored with 21.

Here are some of my observations from the game:

1. George Hill is finding his groove -- love what GH has been doing these last few games.  The confidence in his shot is back and he is drilling them.  He only had 8 points and 2 assists in 20 minutes but he played a steady, confident game, hitting the big shots when the team needed them.  A lot of people were writing him off after a poor pre-season and first couple of games, but I am beginning to believe that this will turn out to be a fantastic pick up for the Pacers in the long run.

2. Granger is still struggling -- he can't shoot like this forever, but it's getting painful watching Granger shoot this poorly (4-14) every night thus far.  Even on a night when his teammates were hitting their shots, Granger was still clanking them.  Thank goodness he was 3-7 from the outside.  I guess as long as the Pacers win and Granger keeps hitting them when they really count (as he has been), it's not going to be too hard to accept.

3. Amundson is better than advertised -- Lou (who reportedly looks like a porn star), is more productive than most thought he would be (7 points, 6 boards).  He's rebounding and finishing at the rim, not a bad replacement for the injured Jeff Foster.  He's not quite the rebounder Jeff is, but he hustles and is more athletic and a better finisher at this stage of their respective careers.  Not a bad pick-up considering all the Pacers gave up was Brandon Rush (whom I hope will have a career revival in Golden State).

4. Pacers still have a lot of work to do -- even though the Pacers won today, they did so because they were the more talented team and they managed to hit their shots.  They were lucky.  In terms of hustle and effort, the Nets had them beat tonight.  The Pacers gave up 20 offensive boards and a bunch of 50-50 balls, and that's just not going to cut it against better teams.  The team's offense still stinks too -- almost every possession came down to the final seconds on the shot clock, and it ends up being one-on-one play far too often.

5. The road's about to get tougher from here -- the Pacers are 4-1, though all 5 games have been against teams that won't make the playoffs.  So while it's nice, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Chances are, the Pacers are going to struggle to hit 0.500 soon as they have a bunch of road games coming up, including against the likes of the Heat, the Celtics and the 76ers.  To be honest, with the way they are playing now, if they are at 0.500 or better by the end of January I'll be laughing.  no comments