# SI: Pacers Won't win title



## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2003)

And neither will Detriot or New Jersey....  

I personally think this is a joke. Anyone who thinks Detriot or Indiana, or even New Jersey don't have a chance to win the NBA title are boneheads in my book.



> But I digress. This column is about flaws and blemishes.
> 
> Take the DETROIT PISTONS, for example. They can't win because coach Larry Brown is sniping at two of his starters, Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups. They can't win because Mehmet Okur will grow weary at the increased attention being bestowed upon Rasheed Wallace and because Wallace will eventually blow up during a crucial situation.
> 
> ...



Rest of Article 

The only thing he got right about us is the point guard. I honestly really worry about that. I think Tinsley is a decent PG, but if he's head to head against someone far better, that's when i think we get into big problems. Jason Kidd, Baron Davis and Stephon Marbury really scare me for the playoffs.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

So when the West takes the title again, will the article still be "Boneheaded".


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## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> So when the West takes the title again, will the article still be "Boneheaded".


No. But the guy states we dont even have a chance. Indiana and Detriot have as good as a chance to win the title as the Kings and Spurs right now. Who will win is up in the air and matters who is playing A ball in the playoffs. Oviously 8 teams cannot win the title, but to say we don't have a chance is silly at best.


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## Auggie (Mar 7, 2004)

time will tell but personally i believe we have a decent shot


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## Tactics (Mar 6, 2003)

I don't agree that Artest will "boil" over again and I don't think our PG problems will haunt us simply because we're too deep. Also this year we don't have Ron Mercer to miss 10 mid range shots a game for us so we'll be better off.


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## naptownpimp (Feb 1, 2004)

typical thing for a magazine to say  their opinion holds no weight in my mind


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## PacersguyUSA (Sep 1, 2002)

How will the deep roster not help us? In the playoffs the opponent get to know your sytem pretty well. So once the teams get down, how to guard O'neal, they're going to have to stop Harrinton's turnaround. Once they get that down, they'll have to deal with Bender. Also, this year we have a guy name Uncle Reggie at 100%.


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## Petey (Aug 23, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> So when the West takes the title again, will the article still be "Boneheaded".


No, the point is if you make it you have a shot. It would not be as good as a team from the west.

-Petey


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## LoaKhoet (Aug 20, 2002)

I agree with the main point of the Article. tHE Pacers dont' have the core of a champion yet. Their center is weak. Their PG is too young. You can't compare the Pacers to the Kings or Spurs or Lakers or even Mavs. The Pacers have the best record cuz they are in the East. Look at their record against the West. 

One thing that i completely disagree with the article is "Ron Artest". I think he has finally figured out of his importance to the team. The Pacers soon or later need to realize that they need either a star PG or C to compliment O'Neal and Artest. They do have good/great D but, offensively, they cannot match up with any good team. End of the STORY.


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## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>LoaKhoet</b>!
> I agree with the main point of the Article. tHE Pacers dont' have the core of a champion yet. Their center is weak. Their PG is too young. You can't compare the Pacers to the Kings or Spurs or Lakers or even Mavs. The Pacers have the best record cuz they are in the East. Look at their record against the West.
> 
> One thing that i completely disagree with the article is "Ron Artest". I think he has finally figured out of his importance to the team. The Pacers soon or later need to realize that they need either a star PG or C to compliment O'Neal and Artest. They do have good/great D but, offensively, they cannot match up with any good team. End of the STORY.


Dallas? Please. We could definetly take on Dallas. And the Lakers don't scare me much either. They won't even make the finals. Spurs are decent, but beatable. The Kings definetly scare me. As do the T-Wolves.


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## MLKG (Aug 25, 2003)

I hate writers like this who just make these statements based on nothing.

Detroit can't win because Larry Brown is sniping at Tay and Billups? Um, actually, sense Larry told them they need to pick their game up the Pistons have won 4 in a row by a combined 100 points and no team has scored more than 68. Looks like Larry's "sniping" is really killing the team.

And then what he said about Sheed and Artest, "Wallace will eventually blow up" and "Artest is bound to boil over". Oh please. That's some quality basketball anaylisis. Now that Memo has competition for playing time the Pistons will be a worse team? The guy obviously is just writing to take up space.

Indy definately has some holes in their lineup, but you can't argue with the league's best record.

I think Detroit and Indy can beat anyone in the league and in my mind would be favorites against Dallas.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Mike luvs KG</b>!
> I hate writers like this who just make these statements based on nothing.
> 
> Detroit can't win because Larry Brown is sniping at Tay and Billups? Um, actually, sense Larry told them they need to pick their game up the Pistons have won 4 in a row by a combined 100 points and no team has scored more than 68. Looks like Larry's "sniping" is really killing the team.
> ...



Very well said. 



The writer of that article either over-analyzed the situation, or didn't analyze the situation at all. Artest is due for a boil-over? Why is he "due" for a boil-over? The writer "hopes" Artest will boil-over, and it's absurd to randomly say that a guy is due for a breakdown.


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## Auggie (Mar 7, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>LoaKhoet</b>!
> The Pacers have the best record cuz they are in the East. Look at their record against the West.


yes look at their record against west. 18-6, 75%, best in league. point?


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>LoaKhoet</b>!
> I agree with the main point of the Article. tHE Pacers dont' have the core of a champion yet. Their center is weak. Their PG is too young. You can't compare the Pacers to the Kings or Spurs or Lakers or even Mavs. The Pacers have the best record cuz they are in the East. Look at their record against the West.
> 
> One thing that i completely disagree with the article is "Ron Artest". I think he has finally figured out of his importance to the team. The Pacers soon or later need to realize that they need either a star PG or C to compliment O'Neal and Artest. They do have good/great D but, offensively, they cannot match up with any good team. End of the STORY.


Our record against the west is the best of anyone in the league. I love how people just asume it isnt good because we're in the east.

So many of the people saying we dont stand a chance know nothing about this team.


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## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>LoaKhoet</b>!
> I agree with the main point of the Article. tHE Pacers dont' have the core of a champion yet. Their center is weak. Their PG is too young. You can't compare the Pacers to the Kings or Spurs or Lakers or even Mavs. The Pacers have the best record cuz they are in the East. Look at their record against the West.
> 
> One thing that i completely disagree with the article is "Ron Artest". I think he has finally figured out of his importance to the team. The Pacers soon or later need to realize that they need either a star PG or C to compliment O'Neal and Artest. They do have good/great D but, offensively, they cannot match up with any good team. End of the STORY.


The pacers don't have the core of a champion yet? What exactly is the core of a champion? If you actually watched a Pacers game you wouldn't think Jeff Foster is weak. His stats are nothing special but his defense, hustle, tipping rebounds, etc are what make him a good center, he is nowhere near weak. Tinsley is too young eh? I think he's 25 or so, with 3 years experience. He has shown an enormous amount of maturity this year. He no longer makes plays like going for a fastbreak every time he can, he knows his starting role is always on the line so he slows down the offense and makes great plays. We can take on the Spurs, any time anywhere, if you looked at our 2 games against them, a win and an almost win, if not for that Turkoglu 3, I think we have proven that we can hang with them. The Mavs are not as good this year as last year, they have a lot of options but they have NO defense, defense wins games, the Pacers can easily hang with them if not beat them, as for the Lakers and the Kings, the Lakers have a very good chance of injuries occuring, in which we could beat them, if not then i don't think we can. The Kings are a huge test this year, we wouldn't get killed but we can hang with them, and at least prove ourselves worthy. I did look at our record against the West, 18-6, best in the league, and your point is? Just because we're in the East doesn't mean we suck, if your gonna come in here insulting our team, at least watch a few games. We can't match up against any good team offensively? Excuse me but we have plenty of options of the offensive end, Jef Foster himself can score, given the opportunity, he does a few driving dunks during games, and sometimes his hustle leads to a few extra baskets. Jonathan Bender has proven himself this year, even last night with a 16 point game off the bench. Al Harrington has a lethal post fadaway and can hit the J, 13ppg off the bench isn't too bad. Jamaal Tinsley can consitantly knock down the 3 as well as drive to the hoop, old man Reggie is still a threat, Freddie Jones while lacking a jumpshot, can create plays and draw fouls, Anthony Johnson is jumpshot/3-point threat. Kenny Anderson is a good playmaker and can knock down the J. Is that enough yet?


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## LoaKhoet (Aug 20, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Pacers Fan</b>!
> 
> 
> The pacers don't have the core of a champion yet? What exactly is the core of a champion? If you actually watched a Pacers game you wouldn't think Jeff Foster is weak. His stats are nothing special but his defense, hustle, tipping rebounds, etc are what make him a good center, he is nowhere near weak. Tinsley is too young eh? I think he's 25 or so, with 3 years experience. He has shown an enormous amount of maturity this year. He no longer makes plays like going for a fastbreak every time he can, he knows his starting role is always on the line so he slows down the offense and makes great plays. We can take on the Spurs, any time anywhere, if you looked at our 2 games against them, a win and an almost win, if not for that Turkoglu 3, I think we have proven that we can hang with them. The Mavs are not as good this year as last year, they have a lot of options but they have NO defense, defense wins games, the Pacers can easily hang with them if not beat them, as for the Lakers and the Kings, the Lakers have a very good chance of injuries occuring, in which we could beat them, if not then i don't think we can. The Kings are a huge test this year, we wouldn't get killed but we can hang with them, and at least prove ourselves worthy. I did look at our record against the West, 18-6, best in the league, and your point is? Just because we're in the East doesn't mean we suck, if your gonna come in here insulting our team, at least watch a few games. We can't match up against any good team offensively? Excuse me but we have plenty of options of the offensive end, Jef Foster himself can score, given the opportunity, he does a few driving dunks during games, and sometimes his hustle leads to a few extra baskets. Jonathan Bender has proven himself this year, even last night with a 16 point game off the bench. Al Harrington has a lethal post fadaway and can hit the J, 13ppg off the bench isn't too bad. Jamaal Tinsley can consitantly knock down the 3 as well as drive to the hoop, old man Reggie is still a threat, Freddie Jones while lacking a jumpshot, can create plays and draw fouls, Anthony Johnson is jumpshot/3-point threat. Kenny Anderson is a good playmaker and can knock down the J. Is that enough yet?


If Jeff Foster was a strong center, then every team in the NBA had a strong center on their team. Foster is a super role player who is good enough to come off the bench to provide 15-25 mins per game just like how Pollard did in SacTown. Talking about Tinsley, the guys struggled in the beginning of the season to maintain his minutes. I do agree that he is probably better than 1/2 of the PGs in the league. He gives u consistent 10/8 every game. However, you have to look at the fact that "That's all that he can provide". Since he is a PG, you have to look at his other ares such as defense, 3p-FG, etc. At this point, i would take Kirk Hinrich over him anytime of the season. 

Now, lets talk aboutt he teams in the West. You guys are underrating the Lakers big time. They have as good of a chance as the Kings, Spurs, or any team in the NBA to win the whole thing. Dont' look at the record and try to judge a team. 

And dont' get me wrong, I want to see the Pacers win and win it all. After all, I am from Indiana. I want to go watch the playoffs. However, i do know that the playoffs aren't like the regular season. Teams will attack your weakest link and the pacers' weakest link is @ Center and PG. One thing that this team has that others don't are "Defense and Depth". Hopefullly, those two can take us to the promise land. But i doubt it. ((

I know many of you disagree with me and probably hate me. So I am more than happy to discuss any of this topic further either on here or through AIM.


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## Tactics (Mar 6, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>LoaKhoet</b>!
> 
> 
> If Jeff Foster was a strong center, then every team in the NBA had a strong center on their team. Foster is a super role player who is good enough to come off the bench to provide 15-25 mins per game just like how Pollard did in SacTown. Talking about Tinsley, the guys struggled in the beginning of the season to maintain his minutes. I do agree that he is probably better than 1/2 of the PGs in the league. He gives u consistent 10/8 every game. However, you have to look at the fact that "That's all that he can provide". Since he is a PG, you have to look at his other ares such as defense, 3p-FG, etc. At this point, i would take Kirk Hinrich over him anytime of the season.
> ...


I think Foster is a perfect role player as well, but he hustles and he gets a ton of offensive boards. Also as Pacers fan says, he plays very good defense. Now personally I don't think we are as weak at PG as everybody says. Everyone says Tinsley can't shoot the 3 and can't play defense. Anyone notice that he has been shooting nearly 40% from the arc since after the all-star break and he has had multiples games where he would get anywhere from 2-6 steals? 

I do agree that in the West we'll have more trouble, but I don't think at PG and C. Personally, Jeff Foster is one of the better Centers in the league. Which is pretty sad, but not many Centers are impact players or even play their role very effectively. Tinsley should be fine in the West, I'd be worried about him guard Bibby, Payton, or Nash though. 

I'm sure we'll disagree, but we don't hate you, don't worry about it. If you ever want to chat on AOL my sn in the same in my BBB.net sn, TicN9neZ8. Feel free to post more of your opinions, it's fun to argue, it's partially the point of a message board.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hey, who knows, this could be a good thing. Teams/Players put on the cover of SI get the SI curse, maybe SI dissing the Pacers(and all Eastern Conference teams) will have the opposite effect.


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