Category Archives: roy hibbert

Could the Hornets trade Lance Stephenson?

As many of you know, I’ve been a vocal fan of Lance Stephenson since he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers. I would champion his skills and wonder why he was sitting at the end of the bench. He then took Dahntay Jones’ spot and went on to fill-in for an injured Danny Granger. He took advantage of the opportunity and should have been an All-Star last season.

Stephenson left Indiana and signed a nice deal with the Charlotte Hornets. He hasn’t quite fit in with Charlotte and they find themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Michael Jordan did not expect last year’s 7th seed to fail this bad.

On December 15th, NBA teams can officially trade players they signed this offseason. With all the drama surrounding the situation in Charlotte, could Stephenson have a new home before the end of the calendar year?

Continue reading →

2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Indiana Pacers

The Pacers had a hell of a year last season. I’m not talking about their record or their effort in the Eastern Conference Finals…I’m talking about the off-the-court issues.

Paul George went from a ‘clean-cut NBA future star’ to a guy impregnating strippers and dressing like Eddie Murphy circa 1983.

Roy Hibbert went from Defensive Player of the Year shoo-in to a guy who put up the same NBA numbers I do.

Lance Stephenson went from someone who was trying his hardest to earn respect to doing anything possible to remove the respect he earned.

How will the Pacers do without George and Stephenson?

We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.

Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Indiana Pacers.

Continue reading →

Can Pacers Still Win NBA Championship?

It has been a tale of two seasons for the Indiana Pacers. They began the season playing like the best team in the NBA, but they’ve hit a wall since the trade deadline.

Thanks to the Miami Heat’s recent struggles, the Pacers find themselves with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They have been an average team since early February.

Indiana was the best defensive team in the NBA, but have allowed multiple 100+ point games in the past few weeks. Paul George and Roy Hibbert haven’t played like All-Stars and the addition of Andrew Bynum, Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen haven’t made the team better.

Can the Pacers hold off the Miami Heat and keep the #1 seed in the East?

Do they match up well with the top five teams in the NBA?

Continue reading →

End Of An Era: Pacers Trade Danny Granger to 76ers

Today, NBA teams were scrambling up until the final minutes to make something happen before the 3pm trade deadline. The day is always filled with hype and hopes their team can make a blockbuster trade to either stockpile draft picks or build for a playoff run…but only minor deals were made today.

The biggest trade of the day was made between the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers. Indiana sent former All-Star Danny Granger and a future second-round pick to Philly for former Ohio State standout Evan Turner and backup power forward Lavoy Allen.

This marks an end of an era for the Indiana Pacers. Granger has been with Indiana since he was drafted in 2005. He was the face of the franchise after Reggie Miller retired that same year. I think his biggest accomplishment is that he survived the Jim O’Brien head coaching era (that was brutal).

How will Evan Turner be used in the Pacers rotation? What does this mean for Lance Stephenson’s impending free agency?

Continue reading →

What Will Pacers Do With Danny Granger?

The Pacers are currently 11-1 with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They have exceeded all expectations and even took the Miami Heat to a Game 7 in the conference finals last season…but they have a huge problem. It’s a problem many teams in the NBA wish they could have. Danny Granger.

Granger, who has been out for nearly a calendar year, is due back next month. Lance Stephenson replaced him in the starting lineup and is becoming a star. He has already recorded two triple-doubles this season.

When Granger comes back, do you mess with the chemistry of the team and replace Stephenson in the starting lineup? Could they bring Granger, their longest tenured player, off the bench? Is a trade the best long-term solution to the problem?

Continue reading →

Smart Bet: Indiana Pacers’ Eastern Conference Win

Are you looking for an NBA postseason bet that still has value? Pretty difficult, right?

The Miami Heat are on a terrific winning streak, but it could end at the end on Sunday when the Indiana Pacers play in Miami.

Betting against Lebron James takes a lot of guts, but there’s no value in any postseason Miami Heat bet. The Heat’s odds to win the Eastern Conference (-300) and their NBA Championship odds are (-110). Do you really want to tie up your money for three months in a bet that doesn’t win you much money?

I’ll explain why an Indiana Pacers bet to win the Eastern Conference is the smartest bet for the NBA Playoffs. Continue reading →

Indiana Pacers: Was Larry Bird a Bad Team President?

After the surprise 2011-12 season, Larry Bird left his position as team president of the Indiana Pacers. He cited health concerns, but did leave the door open for a return at some point.

Now that the dust has settled and Donnie Walsh is back doing his old job, we can analyze if Larry Bird was actually a good team president.

We can go back and look at his coaching hires, draft record and his ability to get the best in a trade. Enough time has passed to adequately assess his job as team president from 2003-2012.

Yes, we do bring up T.J. Ford. Continue reading →

Indiana Pacers Trade Collison/Jones to Dallas for Ian Mahinmi

The Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks agreed on a trade this afternoon. Point guard Darren Collison and swingman Dahntay Jones were sent to the Dallas Mavericks for French center Ian Mahinmi.

Dallas had to finish a sign and trade with Mahinmi to complete the deal. Iahinmi will receive $16 million over the next for seasons. Collison and Jones are both in the last year of their deals.

Dallas signed Chris Kaman today and made Mahinmi expendable.

Lance Stephenson and Orlando Johnson will be taking Jones’ role. Have they impressed enough in Summer League to commit that much to the pair?

We breakdown which team will benefit the most from this trade.

The Indiana Pacers just signed Roy Hibbert to a max deal and needed a backup center. Longtime member of the Pacers, Jeff Foster retired mid-season and left a hole at center. They signed Kyrylo Fesenko as a stopgap, but he never produced at the position. That meant more minutes for Lou Amundson, who was streay and currently an unrestricted free agent.

Ian Mahinmi has had limited success in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks. He hasn’t logged many minutes and averaged a career-best 18.7 minutes per game in 2011-12. He has the potential to be an upgrade over Amundson. The Pacers will know what they have by second season of this deal.

Collison and Jones both lost playing time last season. George Hill overtook the Collison’s spot as starting point guard. Jones lost playing time to Lance Stephenson and Leandro Barbosa. They lost playing time because of the emergence of younger talent and from the Barbosa trading deadline deal. They are still very talented and Dallas need their skill-sets.

Dallas will reap the benefits of this trade right away. They lost Jason Kidd and Jason Terry via free agency and Collison and Jones will help immediately. The Mavericks tried to hit a home run by shedding payroll in hopes of signing Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, but those deals never materialized. They must go on without them and surround Dirk Nowitzski with enough talent to make the playoffs.

This deal is a win/win for both teams. The Pacers needed a backup center and Mahinmi’s upside and size made him attractive. Dallas needed to fill their roster this season and only had to commit one year to both of these players. They are setting themselves up with enough cap space to go after big names next off-season. Both teams got what they wanted and rid themselves of unneeded talent.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

2012-13 NBA Off-season: Free Agent Tracker

If you’re looking for NBA free agent information, you want everything, we have everything!

The Miami Heat didn’t win the championship with only three guys, they needed to fill out their roster with competent players. The players who sign and appear on the last page of the sports section are just as important.

Players can officially sign with a team starting on July 11th. The listings below are the confirmed contract agreements so far. Bookmark this page, since I will be updating this post daily as the official free agent signings start rolling in.

Check out who your team has signed and other available free agents for the 2012-13 NBA season.
Continue reading →

10 Reasons: Why Indiana Pacers Can Win NBA Title

The Indiana Pacers didn’t have a nationally televised game this season. At one point this season, they had the NBA’s lowest attendance numbers in the league. Yes, even the Charlotte Bobcats were beating them in attendance for most of the season. Indiana surprised everyone this year and took a leap from last year’s #8 seed to this year’s #3 seed in the playoffs.

NBA analysts have been divided on whether the Pacers benefited from this year’s schedule or if they are legit. Indiana is full of young players who are still peaking, so they are a bit unpredictable. They started off the season on fire, but suffered a mid-season slump. After acquiring Leandro Barbosa, they went 18-9 and finished the season 42-24. Can the Pacers be consistent enough to win a series against the Miami Heat? How does Indiana match-up against the best teams in the West?

1. Roy Hibbert is a defensive nightmare for the Miami Heat. Hibbert is one of the most improved players in the NBA. He hasn’t put up get offensive numbers in the playoffs, but he can block any guards that drive in the lane. There aren’t many legit big men in the playoffs and the ones that are left (Joakim Noah, Andrew Bynum, Marc Gasol), he has had big games against in the past. Joel Anthony isn’t an offensive threat, but Hibbert is more physical and will be able to score.

2. Paul George is turning into an elite defender. George came into the league with a big question mark. He had all of the tools to be a great player in the league, but no one knew if he would develop into one. He was good at a lot of things, but not great. He didn’t have a position out of college, much like Evan Turner. He has improved his game at every level and could be the Pacers’ franchise player very soon. In the past, Indiana has relied on Dahntay Jones to defend the team’s best scorer. He has done well, but he is an offensive liability. He takes too many bad shots and he has a quick trigger. George was top-10 in steals, steal %, and steals per game. He would guard Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Dwayne Wade with Danny Granger sharing the duty.

3. Danny Granger is a consistent scorer. I couldn’t say this at the beginning of the season, but he finished the season on a hot streak. He raised his points per game to 18.7 and finished the season shooting 38% from behind the arc. He doesn’t have the pressure to be the team’s leading scorer, since George, Hibbert, and David West could all easily have 20-point games. I have confidence in him taking the final shot and cemented his place as the team leader.

4. David West is fully-healed from his knee surgery. Before the All-Star break, West wasn’t playing maximum minutes and Tyler Hansbrough would often finish the games at power-forward. West is turning into a 20-10 guy and help the Pacers go 18-9 down the stretch. He is the enforcer in the paint, much like Kendrick Perkins was during the Boston Celtics title run. Teams are scared to go in the paint with West and Hibbert occupying it.

5. George Hill is a better starting point-guard than Darren Collison. When Collison went down with an injury a month ago, Hill stepped in and the team went on a seven-game winning streak. The team is much better on the fast break than in the half-court and Hill is a better scoring threat on the break. Hill only averages 1.0 turnovers per game, Collison improved his turnovers per game to 1.9, but Hill is better with the ball. Pacers’ fans are now happy that they traded their first-round draft pick (that turned into Kawhi Leonard) to the Spurs for Hill.

6. Indiana’s bench is one of the deepest teams in the league. At the trading deadline, the Pacers traded a second-round draft pick to Toronto for Leandro Barbosa. They needed a bench scorer and he has delivered. Hansbrough, Barbosa, Collison, Louis Amundson, Jones, and Lance Stephenson are an exciting second unit. Hansbrough and Amundson are motor guys that always fight for the ball and Jones can deliver perimeter defense. They will have an advantage when the opposing team rests their starters.

7. Indiana has the confidence that they can beat any team. As in #8 seed in last year’s playoffs, they made the Chicago Bulls fight for every win. They weren’t supposed to make that series close, but Derrick Rose had to give 100% to win that series. They have beat most of the teams in the playoffs and have only had a few games this season that were out of reach early. The team is peaking at the right time in the season.

8. The Pacers are an excellent road team. They had a winning road record (19-14) and even averaged more points per game away from home (95.5). If they slip up at home, like they did against the Magic in Game 1, they can make it up on the road. I know that it is tougher to win on the road in the playoffs, but like I said before, their confidence is at a season-high.

9. Derrick Rose’s unfortunate injury opens up the Eastern Conference race. Indiana has to play their way through Miami to face where Chicago would be, but they match-up well again the top part of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. Miami will be their toughest challenge in the East, so if they make it to the Conference finals, they will be favored. They will have a difficult match-up against the Western Conference winner, but it won’t be as lopsided as experts would predict.

10. A playoff match-up against Indiana will be a “trap series” for the Heat. Miami has only one goal, to win the NBA Championship. Their season would be a disappointment if they fall short of their goal. No matter who the Heat face in the second-round, Magic or Pacers, their focus will be past their opponent. A team will be able to sneak a couple wins against them throughout the playoffs, so that extra win could sway the series. I’m excited to see Indiana play Miami, since the entire country will be rooting for them to knockout Lebron and his “South Beach talents.”

No matter how far the Pacers make it in the playoffs, this season will be considered a success. They are a young team and are expected to make the playoffs many times in the near future.

I just hope that this is the year that Indiana hangs their first banner as a member of the NBA.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Re-Do – 2008 NBA Draft

I have done a few of these “Draft Re-do” posts and you really can’t judge any professional sports’ drafts until after three years. You always have a few late-bloomers that still makes you look at a draft and wonder “why didn’t my team draft him?”

The 2008 NBA Draft class is full of All-Star selections, an MVP, and a few guys who blossomed during the NBA Playoffs. You also have a few players that didn’t materialize in the NBA. The last time you heard Joe Alexander’s name was when David Stern called his name as the 8th pick. Overall, this draft class is quite deep and much better than the top-heavy 2007 draft class. There are a few guys that we’re still waiting for them to peak, but I’m optimistic that they will come through. Does Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo make it into the Lottery during our re-draft? Continue reading →

Josh McRoberts: My New Man Crush?

If you have read anything on this site over the last few years, you know my stance on Josh McRoberts. I hate Duke, he made a horrible decision by going pro when he did, and he had a failed relationship with “The Hills” actress, Lauren Conrad. When he landed on the Indiana Pacers a few years ago, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. He was a throw-in when Indiana traded Jerryd Bayless to Portland for Brandon Rush on draft night. Not many people expected that the Pacers would keep him around, but he has kept a spot on the roster since and even earning a few starts, due to injury, last season. He has made the most of his opportunities. Has he changed our mind?

The only player that has received more negative publicity on this site than McRoberts has been Adam Morrison, so what I’m about to tell you might surprise you. I am a fan of Josh McRoberts. I “liked” his page on Facebook to prove it. You have to like a guy who knows his role. He isn’t going to light it up and take 20 shots a game, his job is to eat up minutes and grab rebounds. He only takes 3-4 shots a game and most of those are put backs on rebounds. It’s something that other Pacers players should relish, because a player like Dahntay Jones, another Duke player on Indiana, has done so far this year too. Jones signed a 3-year deal before last season to become the Pacers defensive stopper, but he ended up trying to become Ron Artest and jacked up ugly shot after ugly shot. It was so bad that the Pacers tried to package D. Jones with Solomon Jones in a 2 for 1 trade, for anybody, so they could keep their 2nd-round pick, Magnum Rolle. They didn’t receive any offers, so they had to keep the Jones boys and cut Rolle loose, who is now doing well in the NBDL.

Going back to McRoberts, he should be a fan favorite. He is from nearby Carmel, Indiana and he’s white as a camera flash. Larry Bird may have went a different route in the draft this year and tried to take the best available players instead of playing it sage. Paul George, Lance Stephenson, and Magnum Rolle were all acquired on draft night. George plays the same position as Danny Granger, but his upside was the highest of any player left on the board. Stephenson was once known as “The Lebron of NYC,” as the best prep player in the city, but bonehead decisions and lack of motivation dropped him into the 2nd round. McRoberts is a player that Bird imagined that he would go out and acquire. A “gritty” and “scrappy” role player that he can plug in and do their job.

No one expects McRoberts to do anything on this team, no pressure at all. Hibbert trimmed down and he’s a beast inside this season, Granger is the leader and will lead this team in points, and Darren Collison is a slasher and can do whatever is left. The Pacers don’t look that attractive on paper, but on the court, they are pulling off some improbable wins.

Within the last week, the Pacers smoked the Heat, pushed the Thunder to overtime, easily beat the Lakers on the road, and dominated the Kings at Sacramento. If you told me that the Pacers would be 9-7 after 16 games, I would have asked you to pee in a cup. This team could easily be 10-6 or 11-5, if a few balls bounced the other way. The production on this team is essentially the same team as last season, minus Troy Murphy and adding Collison and James Posey. Why is this team winning games? You have a few players on contract years (T.J. Ford, Mike Dunleavy) and Jim O’Brien came into this season fighting for his job. Players are accepting their roles and Ford seems to be happy and not sulking on the bench as the 3rd PG option. He has been very productive as the backup PG and looks to be mentoring Collison.

Are the Pacers a playoff team? In an Eastern Conference that looks very top-heavy, absolutely! I project that the 7th and 8th seeds in the East will be 4 or 5 games under .500. If they complete this Western Conference road trip undefeated or with a lone loss, they are setting themselves up for a pretty nice December and January. You can’t win a season this early, but you can definitely lose a season this early. If Indiana headed into January with a horrible record, O’Brien would be a sitting duck and the Pacers would start looking for trade partners to move their expiring contracts for assets. It is setting up to be an interesting season in Indianapolis, if they can make the playoffs without Reggie Miller, maybe the fans can finally move on and accept this team. If I can accept Josh McRoberts, there’s hope for peace in the Middle East.

I leave you with an alley-oop by McRoberts that happened last night against Sacramento, click here to check it out.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.