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.

The Pacers' training camp has started, and I'll get to that shortly.  But first, let's talk about the upcoming NBA 2K11, which is promising to be the greatest basketball sim of all time, and not just because Michael Jordan is on the cover and in the game.

MrOperationSports has been posting some nicely crafted preview videos of the game, and I just came across this new one, titled 'The Conseco Massacre'.

It's just wrong on so many levels!  Featuring King James and D-Wade, the video depicts in-game footage of the Pacers getting annihilated by the Heat in Indiana.  Why the Pacers?  Surely there are worse (defensive) teams in the NBA?

Anyway, check it out below.  It also has Lebron trash talking Granger (probably about his minutes in Team USA), with Brandon Rush looking stoned in the background.  It's brutal to watch, but at least you can say the game is looking pretty good, and probably pretty realistic.

(And for those wanting to read my review of the 2K11 demo, click here.  For my review of the NBA Elite 2011 demo, click here.  And an early comparison of the two franchises, click here.)

The good news just keeps coming...Brandon Rush of the Indiana Pacers has been suspended 5 games (ie first 5 games of the upcoming season) for testing positive to marijuana for the third time.  Under current arrangements, teams do not find out about failed tests until a player is suspended.

According to Indystar:

"All NBA players are given four random drug tests a season, but the violations don't expire. Players enter a marijuana program after the first offense. They are fined $25,000 and have to re-enter the program after the second offense. As a third-time offender, Rush must re-enter the program and serve his suspension."

I don't want to get into a whole debate about marijuana use because it's clear from the message boards that a lot of people don't think it's a big deal.  But the fact of the matter is, Brandon Rush broke rules he knew he shouldn't have broken, and for the amount of money he is being paid to be a professional athlete (especially one that is on his last chance to prove that be belongs in the NBA), his actions are inexcusable.  This is not the first time -- it's his third.

At least it now explains Rush's frequent lack of passion and why he often looks lost on the court.  It also goes a long way to explaining why the promising guard has been playing so inconsistently and below his potential.

Larry Bird said in a statement:

" We have been made aware that Brandon Rush has been suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.  We will do what we can to provide Brandon help going forward."

Doesn't sound like he's particularly surprised or disappointed.  Hopefully this can be a wake-up call for Rush and he will finally grow up.

I found this a little hard to believe, and even harder to swallow.  ESPN Insider ranked all 30 teams in the NBA following a crazy offseason.  Given the praises critics have sung about the drafting of Paul George, Magnum Rolle and Lance Stephenson (before his most recent troubles) and the acquisitions of Darren Collison and James Posey for Troy Murphy, I expected the Pacers to be a team on the rise.

But instead, the Pacers were ranked 27th.  Twenty-seventh!

The only teams worse?  The Timberwolves, the Pistons and the Raptors.  Even the Nets, who finished with the worst record in the league last season, were ranked ahead.

This is what they had to say:

The more things change: The Pacers added a potential star in Darren Collison, who put up big numbers while filling in for Chris Paul last season in New Orleans. James Posey also came along in the trade that cost Indiana Troy Murphy, and he brings championship pedigree and leadership. For all their struggles on the court, the Pacers are beginning to manage their cap well and could be players in free agency next summer.

The more they stay the same: Second-round pick Lance Stephenson’s recent altercation with the mother of his child, in which he allegedly pushed her down a flight of stairs and slammed her head against a step, brings back despicable memories of the havoc wreaked by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley a few years ago. Indiana, in an effort to win back its fan base, has brought in nothing but “good guys” the past few years, but diverted from that strategy in drafting Stephenson, whose troubled past is well-documented. They got burned for it.

So despite the great moves the Pacers made during the offseason, despite the fact that they finished 20th in the league last season, they have somehow slipped 7 places.  For what?  For Lance Stephenson, a guy who has not even played a single game in the NBA?  That simply doesn't make sense to me.

In some ways, that could be a good thing.  The Pacers have been talking up their chances every year, only to disappoint.  If they start off with no expectations, then they can only impress.