In a season as horrible as this one, it's good to see the Indiana Pacers at least have a team to whip.  And no team is more fitting than the Detroit Pistons, the main reason for the Pacers' demise over the last few years.

The Pacers ended their 9-game road skid by beating the Pistons 98-83, officially eliminating Detroit from the playoffs and sweeping the season series.

Granger had 32 points, Murphy had 10 and 12, Rush had 20, Dunleavy had 13, and Watson had 13 asssists.

For the first time this season (since maybe the 5-game streak at the very beginning), it looks like the Pacers are hitting their stride.  Granger is playing well, Murphy back to being a solid double-double machine, Rush and Hibbert are playing with more confidence, Earl Watson is making timely passes, and Mike Dunleavy and Dahntay Jones are providing sparks off the bench.  Unfortunately, this is the WRONG time to be winning!

The Pacers are now 25-46 and have somehow managed to crawl from the 14th spot in the East to the 11th.  Well done guys.  When every other cellar dwelling team is tanking for the future, the Pacers are fighting for pride, and a crappy draft pick.  Again.

I really did not expect this at all:

On a night where everything seemed to click for the Indiana Pacers (Granger had 29 points and 6 assists, Murphy had 20 points and 8 rebounds, Hibbert had 15 points and 6 rebounds, Earl Watson had 11 assists and Brandon Rush had 15 points and 5 rebounds -- and all shot 50% from the field or better), they still only managed to hang on against the equally horrible Detroit Pistons, 106-102.  The Pistons outscored the Pacers 32-19 in the fourth quarter.

Looks like the bad karma from the brawl is still killing both teams.

PS: Check out the douche in the Dunleavy jersey around the 1 minute mark of the video and the reaction of the guy next to him.  Classic!

One good score deserves another.  Right after the Pacers beat the Bobcats 99-94, they replicated the same scoreline against the Cleveland Cavaliers -- except this time, the Pacers were on the losing side.

Not a completely horrible game, but it felt like we had seen this type of game over and over this season on countless occasions.  Bad start, over-matched and out-classed, a few decent runs and stretches, but ultimately falls short.

When will this season be over?

Yes, it has become such a rare occasion that every win is worth celebrating.  Final score, 99-94.