I had a feeling this might happen.

Optimistic Indiana fans just got a shock dose of reality today as the Pacers were thoroughly embarrassed by the 76ers in Philadelphia, 101-75.

The Pacers fell behind early in the first quarter and never recovered, finding themselves down by 15 points by the end of the first quarter and 26 points down by the half.  They made a short run in the third but the 76ers put them out early in the fourth.

This was an atrocious game on both ends of the floor for the Pacers.  If their shots simply didn't fall, then fair enough, but they looked completely lost out there, lacking in both focus and energy.  It allowed the 76ers to dominate and snap up their first win of the season.

As a team the Pacers shot 31.5% from the field, led by Danny Granger's 2-14 effort.  Hibbert was 4-12, Dunleavy 2-11, and Collison 4-16.  Collison actually led the team in scoring with 11 points, but there wasn't a player out there that played particularly well.

This is of course a huge wake up call for the now 2-2 Pacers.  It was a game that said a lot about both teams.

Philadelphia was 0-4 coming into this game, coming off a heartbreaking OT loss to the Wizards just the night before.  They would have been frustrated and exhausted, and it would have been the perfect opportunity for the Pacers to jump on them early.

On the other hand, the Pacers hadn't played since their home win against the 76ers on Saturday.  They would have been well rested and confident coming up against a team they had already beaten comfortably.

Well, the 76ers simply wanted it more right from the tip.  They hustled to loose balls, grabbed offensive rebounds, disrupted the flow of the Pacers' offense and made them take tough shots, most of which the Pacers missed.

Conversely, the Pacers were pathetic out there.  There was no energy, no emotion, no execution.  Danny Granger looked half asleep on offense, throwing up bad shots galore and not getting it done on the defensive end either.  Hibbert was handcuffed by a slew of 76ers defenders and Collison still hasn't got a handle on the offense.  Dunleavy just missed open shots and lapups.

Dahntay Jones played hard, as did Solomon Jones, but the latter Jones could not do a thing to stop Elton Brand in the low post.  Brand scored on him at will, ending up with 25 points and 12 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive end.

That's enough for now.  A very disappointing effort by the Pacers after a solid start to the season.  Next up is a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.  A good chance for the team to bounce back before tough games against Denver and Houston.

Great win for the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.  It's early, but with the 99-86 win the Pacers are now 2-1 for the season and out on top in the Central Division.

The Pacers have a bit of a break now as their next game is not until November 3rd, against the 76ers again, but this time in Philly.  No doubt the 76ers will try to return the favor at home, but I see it as a great opportunity for the Pacers to go up 3-1.

Here are some thoughts and observations from the game.

• Despite the scoreline the game was close for the first half, with Philly racing out to an early double digit lead.  The third quarter was huge for the Pacers as they outscored the opponent 27-15.

• Danny Granger top scored with 22 and was in fine form.  He didn't force his shot, which was great to see, and he knew when to rely on his teammates.

• Roy Hibbert had another off shooting night, going 5-13, but he was again an important factor, grabbing 13 boards and dishing out 5 assists.  He's coming along very nicely.

• Darren Collison is going to be a star in Indy very soon.  He's been playing surprisingly few minutes (25 last night) but he has been tearing it up and down the court.  He had one huge steal and breakaway slam that brought the house down.  If he can keep his turnovers down he should be playing at least 30 minutes a night, preferably 35.  TJ Ford has been holding his own but there's no comparison.  Collison is the future.

• I love watching Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts play.  Both are unpolished at either end of the floor, but their hustle, effort and aggressiveness cannot be understated.  The Pacers need players like them.

• Jeff Foster was put on the inactive list in the place of Dahntay Jones, but it didn't really make a difference as Jones didn't play anyway.

The Indiana Pacers obviously see something in Brandon Rush.

Despite not having come close to living up to expectations as the 13th pick of the draft from 3 years ago and having been suspended for 5 games for drug violation to start off the season, the Pacers thought it fit to pick up Rush's option to extend his contract for another year, meaning unless traded, he'll be a Pacer until at least the end of next season.

Another bold move by the front office, considering they signed Lance Stephenson, who later fell into serious legal trouble for allegedly bashing his ex-girlfriend, and they released Magnum Rolle, a second round pick they said would be a Pacer for a long time.

I think Rush has talent, but why do something that will seem like rewarding him when he's still on suspension for drug use?  Don't they realize how thin the ice is with fans right now?

Hopefully this will ignite the fire in Rush (and not his bong) and he will come out of his suspension like we've never seen him before -- in a good way.  But I just worry that this extension will allow him to remain lost for yet another year.

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.