Great win today by the Indiana Pacers, their first of this new season.  And for the first time in a very very long time, the Pacers are at 0.500!

Anyway, they beat the Charlotte Bobcats 104-101 in a tight one, the victory only secured when former Pacer Stephen Jackson missed a wide open three with a couple of seconds left on the clock.

Some observations from my end:

1. Danny Granger had 33 points (including 6 thee-pointers) in 38 minutes.  He's off to a terrific start to the season.  If he keeps this up he'll be an All-Star again.

2. After Roy Hibbert's monster first game, he was more subdued this time, but he still racked up impressive numbers across the board -- 13 points, 8 boards, 6 assists and 4 blocks (leading the team in the last 3 categories), together with 0 turnovers.  If he keeps this up he could be joining Granger at All-Star Weekend, and be a contender for Most Improved Player.

3. Darren Collison struggled, playing just 24 minutes, with 7 points, 6 assists and 3 turnovers, and shooting just 2-10 from the floor.  Interestingly, TJ Ford got another stack of playing time, taking up the other half of the game in Collison's place, and did his best with 7 points and 4 assists, including a couple of big ones down the stretch as the Pacers was in the midst of a furious fourth quarter comeback.  What is O'Brien trying to do here, playing Ford (who is supposed to be the guy most likely to be traded in the NBA), and not AJ Price (who O'Brien said was the best player on the team earlier in the preseason)?  Is he upping TJ's trade value so he can get rid of him?  Or is TJ really going to remain a part of the team?

4. Another head scratcher was Tyler Hansbrough, who had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 20 minutes.  He was 6-6 from the foul line, including some clinching clutch FTs with the clock winding down.  This was a player that O'Brien said this in a Q&A just before the start of the season:

Tyler has missed such a large body of work and he doesn't have Jeff's experience so Tyler is in a situation where he missed a year's training, he wasn't comfortable last year in the minutes he was getting, missed most of the five-on-five of this training camp and I just don't think he's far enough along offensively or defensively to be a rotation guy right now.

It's great to see Hansbrough get some run, especially since he played for the Tar Heels, but does that make sense to you?

5. Solomon Jones, another guy O'Brien tried to trade, played 10 minutes and racked up 4 fouls and zero rebounds.  Jeff Foster just returned back back surgery, but surely even he can do better than that.  All O'Brien is doing is reducing his trade value.  Speaking of the Joneses, Dahntay remains on the inactive list.

6. Rebounding is indeed going to be a problem as the Pacers got dominated on the boards 45-34, including giving up 15 offensive rebounds.  On the bright side, they really cut down on the turnovers, recording only 10.  If they can keep the turnovers that low every night they'll be in a position to win every night.

Next up: the home opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, who are currently 0-2 after losing to Atlanta and Miami.  Definitely a winnable game.  For both sides.

Let's face it, it would have been nice to get the win but the loss was not completely unexpected.

In a brutal start to the 2010-2011 season, the Indiana Pacers stumbled to a 122-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.  The Pacers did well to come back from a double-digit margin late in the third quarter, but the Spurs' experience allowed them to pull away in the fourth.

This was a game that showed plenty of promise, but also showed that there are plenty of areas the Pacers need to work on.

First, the positives.  It may not be Lebron, Wade and Bosh, but the Pacers now have their own version of the "Big Three" with Granger, Hibbert and Collison (Hah!).  Granger had 26 points and 4 boards, Hibbert had 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Collison had 17 points and 7 assists.  All of them shot better than 50% from the field.  If this is the type of production we can expect from them every night, the Pacers will be in decent shape.

Brandon Rush was out with the suspension, so it was interesting to see the rotation coach Jim O'Brien played.  He ended up giving the minutes to TJ Ford, James Posey, Solomon Jones and rookie Paul George.  Hansbrough and Foster got DNPs.  AJ Price, Dahntay Jones and Lance Stephenson were on the inactive list to start the season, but nothing O'Brien does really surprises me anymore.

Now, the negatives.  The Pacers have not been a strong defensive team for a while, and despite all the crap we've been fed every year about them making defense a priority, tonight showed that the team still doesn't get it.  When you give up 122 points to a team like the Spurs, you're just not getting it done.

Then, there's the turnovers.  The Pacers had 23 today, when O'Brien said he wants to cut it down to 14 per game.

The Pacers can only learn from this and keep improving.  Granger looks like he's back.  Hibbert is looking like a beast and potential All-Star this season, provided the team can scrape together some wins.  Collison is still raw but looks like the real deal at PG.  If Rush returns as a rejuvenated player playing for his NBA life and Hansbrough recovers better than expected, then this team can definitely win a few games and challenge for the playoffs.

The season hasn't even started yet and Pacers management has already broken its first promise.

Unfortunately, in order to trim the roster to the league requirement of 15 players, the Pacers released promising 2nd round pick, power forward Magnum Rolle.

The Pacers were unbelievably high on this kid, hyping him up from the time he was selected (remember, the Pacers traded for him on draft night) and all throughout the Summer League and training camp.  They insisted that the young man was going to be a big part of the Pacers' future.

Well, unable to package Dahntay Jones and Solomon Jones in a two-for-one trade, the Pacers said they had no choice but to cut Rolle, who was used sparingly anyone during the preseason.

As much as I dislike the decision, if we accept that a trade was not possible, then this was the most logical move by the Pacers.  Lance Stephenson, who is still in legal trouble and apparently cannot guard anyone, has a guaranteed contract.  Rolle did not.

Solomon Jones could have been bought out for the $1.5m owed to him this year, but that's not a smart decision for a franchise struggling financially and thin on frontcourt experience.

That said, most people still think they should have cut Solomon and kept Magnum, who at least had some potential to be good.  Jones was horrible last season and even got suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.  Wouldn't it be better to allow Rolle to develop on a non-contending team than to keep a guy who already screwed up his chance?

It's a shame, but it had to be done.  I wish Rolle all the best, wherever he may end up.  I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt the Pacers.

I don't for one second pretend that the Pacers will be a 'good' team in the NBA this season, but the lack of respect they have been getting from the 'experts' in the media has been downright puzzling.

According to a panel ESPN experts, the Pacers will be horrendous this season.  The average prediction is that they will finish 3.8 (out of 5 teams) in the Central Division and 11.8 (out of 15 teams) in the Eastern Conference.

Only Chad Ford predicted the Pacers to make the playoffs as the 8th seed.  Most others picked them to be either 13th or 14th, which, considering they are in the Eastern Conference, one of the 3-5 worst teams in the entire NBA.  (See their comments here).

As I mentioned in an earlier post, ESPN Insider earlier ranked the Pacers as the 4th worst team in the NBA, just ahead of the Timberwolves, Pistons and Raptors.

Looking around online, it seems the sentiment is shared in cyberspace.  On The Big Lead, they mentioned the Pacers as the possible worst team in the East (see here), but mostly because they will be trading away expiring deals (how is that going to make them worse?).

Even on NBA 2K11 (which has been taking up a bit of my time lately), the Pacers are ranked 26th in the NBA.

I don't get it.  The Pacers have not 9th, 9th and 10th in the East over the last 3 years despite injury woes.  Sure they lost Troy Murphy, but the Darren Collison trade was considered one of the best of the offseason.  Haven't they all been talking about how the team needs a legit PG?  Well, now they've got one.

Hibbert is only entering his 3rd year and getting rave reviews for his monstrous offseason.  Tyler Hansbrough and Mike Dunleavy are starting to round into form after coming back from injury and illness, and all 3 rookies drafted (Paul, Stephenson, Rolle) were heralded as wonderful selections.

How does that team that was only a few games away from the playoffs in each of the last 3 seasons, and has actually improved over the offseason, suddenly become the cellar dweller in the East?

The team's preseason performance has not been anything to make people reconsider their stance, but I'm sure the Pacers can start turning some heads provided they stay healthy this season.

Well, I'll leave you with an NBA.com video featuring Chris Webber being a douche.

I kid you not.  I spent about an hour preparing a detailed post but lost it all.  Life is too short, so let me run through what has been happening with the Indiana Pacers in a more concise manner.

Regular season commences next week!

The regular season tips off for the Pacers Wednesday night against the Spurs in San Antonio.  We all know the preseason doesn't mean a whole lot -- it's the time for coaches to fine tune their lineups, try out a few things and give playing time to the rookies and new guys.

However, if anything, this preseason has been nothing but a cause for concern for the Pacers.

A lackluster preseason

The Pacers finished the preseason with an 'okay on paper' 3-4 record.  They lost the first 3 games against Memphis, Orlando and Houston, respectively, then reeled off 3 impressive victories against the Timberwolves (twice) and Hornets, before being slaughtered by the Bulls 102-74 in the finale.

As reported on Indystar, coach Jim O'Brien is not happy with what he has seen, and the players know it.

"A long way to go, a long way to go," he said. "We need to become better in all areas. There's not an area we're set in."

"I take nothing out of (the game). I know who can play and who can't play. I know my rotation already and what it will be. A game like tonight lets people outside the locker room know the reason why some people play and some don't."

Some stern words there.

How the players performed

Here are the preseason stats for the Pacers.

Again, you can't tell much from preseason stuff, but it's good to see Big Roy Hibbert -- who has been the talk of the town this offseason, working out with Bill Walton and getting into tip top shape -- lead the team in scoring (17), minutes (31.4), rebounds (8.7) and blocks (2.29).  Hopefully this will be the season Hibbert breaks out and becomes a star...well, at least a regular contributor who doesn't foul out in 10 minutes.  His rebounding, which has never been his strengthm, will be key as the Pacers lost Troy Murphy over the summer.

Interestingly, O'Brien doesn't think Hibbert had a good preseason, saying that he can play a lot better.  Let's hope he's right.

Danny Granger as usual struggled through the preseason shooting some awful percentages before hurting his ankle in the 5th game.  He'll be ready on opening night.

New star recruit Darren Collison is still trying to find his groove with this team.  His numbers have been pretty close to what he produced, on average, at the Hornets last year.  I think once he settles in and if he can play 35 minutes a night, he'll be great for the Pacers this year.

Mike Dunleavy is improving, getting his legs back after a disappointing season.  Tyler Hansbrough is also back and looking good sporadically.  As is Jeff Foster, who is returning from back surgery and well and truly in the twilight of his career.  Not going to expect too much from these three -- it's good enough that they stay healthy for the first half of the year and get their conditioning into top form.

Last year's surprise second round pick AJ Price has returned from a knee injury much faster than expected and played so well that O'Brien called him the best player on the team.  If we assume TJ Ford will hardly play or be shipped out at the first possible opportunity, that's a great sign.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about Brandon Rush, who will miss the first 5 games with his drug suspension.  From what we've seen this preseason, he is still exactly where he has been the last couple of years.  At least now we know why.

As for the rookies, Paul George, Lance Stephenson and Magnum Rolle?  George played a lot of minutes and has shown some flashes, but he's got to find his stroke.  At least he is not shy in putting it up.  Stephenson just needs to sort out his legal troubles, then start working on his defense.  He's being abused out there.  And Rolle?  The Pacers want him to stick around, but they haven't given him much playing time.

Who is going?

The Pacers still have 16 people on the roster after getting rid of Lance Allred, who never stood a chance of being retained in the first place.  They need to get down to 15 before opening night.

The rumor is that they are trying to set up a 2-for-1 trade that will simultaneously get rid of Dahntay Jones and Solomon Jones, two guys brought in last season with high expectations but never delivered.  It's going to be hard to package those two, and besides, who are they going to get in return?

So that's that.  Fingers crossed that the Pacers can remain healthy this year and prove the doubters wrong.  And there are A LOT of doubters.  More on this to come shortly.