The Indiana Pacers just can't stop winning, though to be fair, they probably would have beaten the woeful New Jersey Nets even if they were tanking.

The final score, 115-102.  Troy Murphy had 25 and 9.  Danny Granger had 22.  The Pacers are now 32-48.  They have won 4 straight and 10 of 12.

I'm sorry, but this is just crazy.  The Pacers don't need to win any more games.  They haven't for a very long time.  The good news is that even if they win their final 2 games of the season, the Pacers won't be leapfrogging anyone else in the standings. And even if they lose both games, they won't be falling behind anyone else.  Which means they should probably try and win.

Jim O'Brien said this: "I said to our guys, 'They are tasting victory, they are hungry and they have confidence.  They have solid pieces. I don't think they're far away from being a playoff contender."

Just not this season.

Granger played well with 36 points. I like that. I like what the Pacers are doing right now. I see a good team next year. Good wins so far. This is a good one, too. But in my opinion, I feel that they just got lucky because LeBron was out. They won by three points with LeBron gone. Their butts would be whooped if he were there. Maybe.

I never thought I'd say this, but I am getting sick of watching the Pacers win!

The latest victim: the New York Knicks.  The Pacers won 113-105 behind Danny Granger's 33 points.

The crazy thing is, this recent winning does not mean at all that the Pacers will be a better team next season.  Of the recent victories, the only "good" teams were Oklahoma City and Utah, and maybe Houston, and all three came at home.  The other teams the Pacers have beaten recently?  Detroit (twice), Washington, Sacramento, and the Knicks.  Losses came against Miami (home) and Atlanta (away).  They haven't exactly been slaying the top teams.

With the Pacers falling further and further behind in the lottery odds, I wonder whether they should have a good look at Eric Bledsoe, consensus future No. 1 pick John Wall's back-up in Kentucky.  The kid is a little undersized at a reported 6'1", but there is no doubt he has skills, athleticism, and potential.  Plus he seems to have better character than Wall.  Bledsoe is probably projected to go in the latter half of the first round though, so I wonder whether the Pacers will end up picking another PF (of which there is a logjam around the 10th pick).

With Butler about to take on Duke in the NCAA Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Pacers took care of business against the Houston Rockets in nearby Conseco Fieldhouse in a 133-102 blowout.

About time the reserves played more minutes.  Josh McRoberts was on fire, throwing behind the head and behind the back passes on his way to 18 points, 12 boards in 33 minutes, hitting 8 of 9 shots.  AJ Price played 23 minutes and scored 17 points.  No starter played more than 29 minutes.  Hibbert was dominant, with 20 points, 11 boards, 7 assists and 2 blocks, but Rush went scoreless in 19 minutes (took only ONE shot!).

I like to see McRoberts and Price play 30+ minutes a night for the rest of the season, but I can't complain with tonight's performance.  If the Pacers win games like this, then so be it.

The Indiana Pacers tried their hardest, but thankfully, the Miami Heat were desperate to keep ahead in their playoff race, and Dwayne Wade was at his absolute best.  It took an overtime, but in the end the Wade finished with 43 points and the Heat prevailed, 105-96, giving the Pacers a friendly nudge in the lottery.

It feels a little weird doing this, but right now, the Pacers are still 10th in the East at 28-48.  On the bright side, they are only a couple of games ahead of New York and Philadelphia, so with a little luck and a few more losses, the Pacers could drop a few more places in the standings.  Fingers crossed.