Okay, so the Pacers lost 90-87 to the San Antonio Spurs at Conseco Fieldhouse in their first game back from the All-Star break.  That much we expected.

The loss moved the Pacers to 18-35, and I think I speak for most fans when I say playoffs is not even semi-realistic.  It's gone.  Goodbye.  Sayonara.  We've accepted it.  Let's look forward to next season.

But then why does Jim O'Brien sit promising rookie point guard AJ Price and play TJ Ford for 24 minutes?  Does he want to up Ford's incredibly low trade value for the offseason?  Fine, I'd go with that (barely), but then at least give Price some minutes over Earl Watson, who played 38 minutes.

What's the point of playing two veteran point guards when the season is beyond saving so you can have a promising rookie sitting at the end of the bench?  It simply doesn't make sense.  Sure, both Ford (12, 3 and 3) and Watson (9, 6 and 8) played well, but I'd rather see Price get shredded by Tony Parker for 40 points than watch Watson and Ford.  For the record, Parker had 28.

Granger led the Pacers with 23, whereas Hibbert continued to show promise with 14 points, 7 boards and 6 blocks (in 32 minutes).  Murphy had 9 points and 16 boards.

The most insane stat of the night belonged to Tim Duncan, who only had 8 points on 4-23 shooting.  But get this - Duncan had 26 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end.  That's just unacceptable.  And that's the reason why, despite shooting only 35% from the field, the Spurs managed to win this game.

Let's move on.  The Pacers have 4 road games coming up against New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and Chicago.  I have a feeling it's going to be a long road to the end of the season. 

But please, let's see some young fellas.  AJ Price, Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Hansbrough (when he recovers from what must be the worst ear infection of all time) and Roy Hibbert.  Let's play that starting line up for a few games and see how much worse they could do than the current squad! 

Have you ever read an article about an NBA player who has just had "unsuccessful" surgery?

Larry Bird recently said, effectively, that the Pacers will continue to suck until 2011-2012, when cap space finally opens up (you can read about my article on it here).

To me, that says no moves before the Feb. 18 trade deadline (at the very least).

However, there are still rumblings of a possible Troy Murphy to Cleveland deal, though it will obviously NOT be Murphy for Ilgauskas' expiring contract, JJ Hickson AND multiple draft picks.  Come on.  Seriously.  Even the Phoenix Suns, who are willing to give up Amare Stoudemire, aren't expecting that much in return.

Murphy may be about the same level defensively as Stoudemire (ie can't defend a chair), and he's a better shooter, but let's not kid ourselves.

Actually, there's more competition than just the Suns.  Cleveland is also after Antawn Jamison (Wizards) and Corey Maggette (Warriors).  I'd probably say Murphy would be the third best option for the Cavs.  He's a top defensive rebounder and he can stretch the defense with his shooting, but both Stoudemire and Jamison would be better options due to their scoring ability and versatility.

There's another rumor that maybe Shaq can't co-exist with Stoudemire (because they couldn't in Phoenix, duh!).  It has been suggested that if the Cavs get Stoudemire for Ilgauskas and Hickson, then they might look to move Shaq, whose $20 million contract is expiring at the end of this year.  Do you know what's one of the possible options?  Shaq for Murphy and Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Can you imagine that?  Shaq on the Pacers?  Even just till the end of the season?  I can't, but it would sure be funny.

I know no Pacers were involved in this year's All-Star Weekend in Dallas, but it just wouldn't seem right not to blog about it.

From all accounts, and from what I've seen, the whole thing was a bit 'meh'.  Probably because no Pacers involved.

Yes, record crowds thanks to the new Cowboy Stadium, but injuries to major stars (eg Kobe, AI) and the absence of Shaq, who is always entertaining, made it a more subdued affair.

Rookie Challenge

For once, the Rookies won, 140-128, in the usual all-flair and no defense exhibition.  But remember, Derrick Rose didn't play.  I think if he did it would have made a huge difference.  Still, having said that, I thought the sophmores would have had enough to take the Rookies, but I guess I was wrong!

Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans won MVP honors with 26 points, but I don't quite understand why the award didn't go to DeJuan Blair, the 2nd round pick for the Spurs, who had 22 points and 23 rebounds for the first 20-20 in Rookie Challenge history.

Russell Westbrook (Thunder) top scored with 40 for the losing Sophomores.

They should have had Hibbert and Rush for the Sophomores.  That would have turned the result around (NOT!).

Shooting Stars

No one cares about this.  But for the record, Team Texas (with Becky Hammon and Kenny Smith!) won.

H-O-R-S-E

This should really be a lot more fun than it currently is.  Kevin Durant (beating Rajon Rondo and Omri Casspi) repeated his win from last year by nailing threes.  Big deal.  We want to see some damn trick shots!  Something crazy!  Come on!

Personally, I think if all they are doing is shooting jumpers, Danny Granger could give himself a shot in this.

Skills Challenge

Steve Nash proved that he's still the PG with the most skills in the NBA by taking out the Skills Challenge, completing his final round in 29.9 seconds, outgunning Deron Williams, who got stuck with the last pass.

AJ Price to compete in this next year?

3-Point Contest

Paul Pierce certainly surprised me with his win - 20 in the final round, including all 5 money balls.  I thought he didn't have the right stroke to win the contest, but he somehow managed to beat Chauncey Billups (14) and Stephen Curry (17) in the final.

Doesn't it seem strange to you that Reggie Miller has never won the 3-point contest but Paul Pierce has?  What as the world come to?

Dunk Comp

I thought some of the dunks were pretty good, but because we're all so used to seeing stuff that is out of this world, nothing seems to surprise us.  I thought DeMar DeRozan's off the side of the backboard, throwdown on the other side dunk was the best of the night, but somehow, Nate Robinson won it for the third time.

Seriously.  I like the little champ as much as the next guy, but is Nate Robinson the best dunker in the league?  The same guy that missed about 100 dunks once and STILL won it?

The Dunk Comp needs to be revamped somehow, and it needs to happen soon.  Getting bigger name stars to participate would be a start.

All-Star Game

MVP Dwayne Wade.  Lebron James.  East over West, 141-139.

Lots of turnovers.  Some nice moves.  Same old stuff.  I enjoyed how Tim Duncan didn't give a crap though.  That was fun to watch.

Verdict

I give this year's All-Star Weekend in Dallas a B-.  Not horrible but nothing special.  If only they threw some Pacers in it, then that could have made a difference.

The Feb 18 NBA Trade Deadline is almost upon us, but there have been almost no whispers of a deal involving the Indiana Pacers.

Curious, considering the Pacers need help.  Badly.

I prepared this article on Bleacher Report on the Pacers' trade deadline options.  In short, there are no options.  We had a Murphy trade for Ilgauskas (for that juicy expiring contract) that went down because the Pacers also wanted Hickson and draft picks.  We had a Granger for Jefferson trade that got shot down quickly by the Pacers.  There was a Jeff Foster for Ty Lawson rumor that got put to sleep with Jeff's season ending back surgery.  And no one wants TJ Ford.

Larry Bird recently said to ESPN (article here) that the Pacers' rebuilding is on track.  Hang on, since when were we rebuilding?  I thought we were just fixing bits and pieces up and getting playoff experience.  Did I remember incorrectly? 

Importantly, Bird said that the action will move into high gear AFTER next season (ie end of 2011 season), when the books will free up and the Pacers will have serious money to play with.  In other words, don't expect the Pacers to be any better until then.