SB Nation - Danny Granger

IC Cold Links: More Minutes For Dunleavy Create Another Wrinkle With Playing Rotation

Tom Lewis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:57:35 -0000

Mike Dunleavy is not only back, but making an impact for the Pacers. Now what?

Since his return to the court, Mike Dunleavy has quickly established himself as a key player regardless of when he plays, and with Danny Granger out maximizing the available minutes for Dunleavy is critical.

So, suddenly (miraculously?) the Pacers have the enjoyable task of trying to figure out how to best use Mike Dunleavy. Personally, I'd love to see Dunleavy continue coming off the bench, especially when Granger returns, to help balance out the rotations, playing a role similar to Jason Terry in Dallas. He could still play the same amount of minutes and finish games.

I realize Jim O'Brien wants to start the best players available and with Granger out, it makes more sense to start Dunleavy, although bringing him off the bench would also make it easier to manage his minutes since last night that was obviously a problem.

So how should the Pacers use Dunleavy?

After the jump, several links of interest from last night's game.

AP: Howard powers Magic to 106-98 win over Pacers
PACERS: Inside the Game: Pacers at Magic
Bruno's Inside the Game report has all of the numbers of note from the game and there were plenty.
Pacers can't contain inevitable
Mike Wells reports on the late Orlando run wiping out the Pacers' early success.
Orlando Magic rally to beat Indiana Pacers at home
Brian Schmitz reports on the Magic rallying to take down the Pacers.
Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98 - Third Quarter Collapse
Ben Q Rock recaps the Magic escaping with a win last night.
Pacers Notebook: Dunleavy makes 1st start of season
In the notebook, Wells touches on Dunleavy exceeding his extended minutes limit. The free throw differential and Jeff Foster's reaction to Jonathan Bender's return to the NBA.
Jones or Rush?
Wells blogs about the starting lineup, wondering if Dahntay Jones will be starting for Brandon Rush soon, assuming Mike Dunleavy remains in the starting lineup.
Vince Carter leads team in scoring after missing practice, shootaround with stomach ailment
Tania Ganguli reports on the Vince Carter and the Orlando Magic putting things together just in time to beat the Pacers.
NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent
Well, the Pacers were definitely watchable for most of the game last night. They also fared better than I expected in Mike Prada's rankings of teams simply by their watchability.

Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:35:22 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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The Orlando Magic rode Vince Carter's offense, Dwight Howard's defense, and the superb all-around play of reserve guards Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick to an impressive, 106-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Indiana raced out to a 30-point first quarter and at one time doubled up the Magic at 34-17, but Johnson and Redick keyed the Magic's 21-6 run to bring them back into the game. The Pacers, without All-Star forward and leading scorer Danny Granger, played a great offensive game for the first 42 minutes, sinking open jumpers with ease against an uncharacteristically soft Magic defense. They closed the game out with 4 points on their final 11 possessions, including 3 turnovers. Jon will have more on the Magic's defense in this game later this week, but suffice it to say that Orlando's effort in the game's waning moments more than made up for the porousness that characterized their early defensive stands.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Pacers	92	107.0	51.7%	8.0	15.9	10.9
Magic	94	113.4	47.1%	29.1	22.4	7.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Orlando came out of the gate looking like it was on the second night of a back-to-back, even though it had 2 days of rest after its 4-game, 8-day road trip. Indeed, Howard and Carter were the only Magic players to score until the 10:20 mark of the second period, when Matt Barnes got into the scoring column with a driving layup. Carter nearly missed the game due to a stomach ailment which kept him out of practice today and yesterday, but you wouldn't know it based on his performance tonight. He looked to get to the rim and create contact, and save for a vintage Carter no-no-no-no-yes! shot--a pull-up three on the fast break, with 5 Pacers defenders back, which he made--he didn't appear to settle too often. No, he forced the issue, to the Magic's benefit. 28 points for Carter on 10-of-21 shooting, to go with an impressive 7 defensive boards and no turnovers in 33 minutes.

Redick's strong play limited Carter's playing time a bit, as coach Stan Van Gundy couldn't afford to take Redick off the floor. Redick made plays and baskets, without making mistakes. 13 points on 7 shots, with 4 assists and no turnovers. Redick's growth into a sound all-around player has been a pleasure to watch, and he's playing his way into a decent portion of the mid-level exception when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. We'll save the discussion about whether or not the Magic should keep him until much later this year, however.

Overall, the energy Johnson and Redick brought may have proven to be the difference in the game. Johnson has far outplayed starting point guard Jason Williams of late; Williams missed all 4 of his shots tonight and tallied 1 assist, while Johnson scored 13 and added 7 assists. He simply looks fresher than Williams, and the burden of starting 13 consecutive games during Jameer Nelson's absence appears to have taken its toll. Johnson's the sharper, fresher point guard, and while I wouldn't put him in the starting lineup ahead of Williams, I would make sure he's on the floor with victory on the line, as he has been in each of the Magic's last two games. A.J. has never really dazzled me with his passing ability, his on-point crosscourt pass to Rashard Lewis for an open three-pointer with 2:11 to play was impressive. The Pacers overloaded the right side of the floor to account for Johnson's penetration; he read the defense and threw the ball right to Lewis' shooting pocket. The shot had a certain ring of inevitability to it--play-by-play man David Steele said "He's due!" with the shot en route--and when it dropped, it gave Orlando a 5-point lead, not to mention the momentum.

Even with Indiana's strong start and the Magic's poor shooting, I never got the sense that the Pacers were in firm control, mostly because their offense didn't look sustainable. Howard locked down the middle with 4 blocks, and it never ceases to amuse me when an offensive player drives, recognizes Howard's presence, and dribbles back out to re-set, as Tyler Hansbrough did at least once tonight. But the Pacers were effectively counting on T.J. Ford, Earl Watson, Jeff Foster, and Brandon Rush to knock down jumpers if Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were covered. That well was bound to dry-up eventually. No Pacer seemed eager to drive the ball, even if only to create contact. The result was a meager 10 free-throw attempts 2 of which came quite late with the outcome already decided. Howard shot 22 on his own, while the Carter/Redick shooting guard tandem combined for another 10.

On the one hand, the Magic needed a big rally just to beat a lottery team, on the road, missing its best player, which could be cause for concern; on the other, they looked dominant for almost every minute after the disastrous first quarter, and they won with a team effort rather than a monstrous individual one, which bears noting. Great teams rarely fall into such large holes against lesser ones, but when they do, they (usually) respond. That's what Orlando did tonight.

You know what Howard did tonight? He only rebounded the Pacers' starting frontline of Dunleavy, Murphy, and Roy Hibbert by himself, 23-15. You know, in addition to shooting more than twice as many free throws as the entire Pacers team. Howard needs to deliver more of these dominant performances, especially on nights when the offense needs a kick-start. Orlando exceeded its usual offensive efficiency despite shooting poorly, aided both by Howard's offensive rebounding giving it second-chance points as well as by everyone's taking care of the ball. Of Orlando's 7 turnovers tonight, 2 were obvious offensive fouls, and another was a shot-clock violation with 4 seconds left and nothing at stake except for stats to pad (Johnson missed a layup, Howard gathered the rebound and bungled a tip-in attempt). In other words, only 4 came due to silly passes or ballhandling errors. Sharp decision-making compensates for a lack of sharp shooting.

Overall, Orlando responded fairly well after a lackluster road trip, and can continue looking forward to playing 6 of the final 7 games of the calendar year at Amway Arena. Great to see the second unit deliver when called upon, although it'd be much nicer if Lewis, Williams, and Mickael Pietrus simply played better to begin with.

IC Cold Links: Reserves Lead Pacers To Another Victory With Big Second, Fourth Quarters

spstevenson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:20:05 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

Brandon Rush attacks the basket during the Pacers thrilla-in-Washington win Saturday evening.

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The Indiana Pacers bench players are crushing teams. They are on a seven-game winning streak and should be heading toward a spot in April's NBA playoffs.

But, after toppling the Wizards with a 49-29 advantage off the bench, the Pacers are still only 8-13 after escaping out of Washington with a nail-biting finish for the blue and gold's second straight win. While the bench attempts to the lead the team to victories, the starters pulls the team in the other direction. The bench continues to outplay the starters. As Mike Wells wrote in his notebook today, the second unit scored 49 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds against the Wiz. In the past three games, the bench consisting of Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough, Luther Head, Earl Watson and Jeff Foster have combined for 136 points, 55 rebounds and 34 assists, and have outscored its past seven bench opponents, 293-196.

There are four prominent reasons that the starters continue to get outplayed by the team's bench guys: 1) The starters are playing the opposing team's starters, a definite disadvantage for a starting unit playing without its all-star Danny Granger; 2) T.J. Ford is still starting, a definite disadvantage for any unit that the point guard inhabits, at least until he finally lives up to his billing as a leader and provides some much-needed stability at his roster spot. Until then, he continues to disappoint (including another team-high -13 in the +/- stat department last night which bumps his season total to another team high, -123);

3) The starters are on the bench in the fourth quarter. Last night, Hansbrough, Dunleavy (the free-throw savior with 0.1 seconds remaining) and Watson were killers in the final minutes; and 4) There's this thing called defense and the starters aren't playing it. The starting unit gave up 76 points in the first and third quarters combined. The Pacers gave up less in the second and fourth quarters combined (37 points) than the team did in just one of the other two periods. Obviously, these quarters are played with a mix of both units, but the tone of the quarter is set in the first few minutes and can be maintained for the remaining minutes of the stazna. The bench is setting a good tone in their quarters.

Coach Jim O'Brien on his team's spirited bench play: "I think that they know they are important and we have confidence in them to succeed. Generally you're playing against the other team's bench and I think they're hungry. Earl has done a good job."

The starters, and bench, will have a big challenge come Monday when the team visits the Magic. Watson moved from the bench unit to the starting point guard spot at the start of the second half during Saturday's win. It will be interesting to see if Watson's move is permanent and whether any other changes will occur before Monday's game. Check out the jump for more links.

Box Score
Photo Gallery
AP Story
NBA.com Recap
The Inside the Game report from Pacers.com gives us some good quotables from after last night's crazy finish. Here's coach Jim O'Brien: "It was one for the ages. A great win for us to be able to get that and scratch out everything we did at the end ... I'm real proud of our guys. To scratch out a back-to-back on the road says a lot about the toughness our guys are starting to develop. We feel very lucky to get out of here with a W."
Mike Wells writes about Dunleavy's dedication in the gym during his rehabilitation which helped lead him to casually dropping the two game-winning free throws. Dunleavy told Wells, "Forget thinking about it in the driveway as a kid, I was thinking about that scenario lying in the hospital bed. It's all you think about, being able to have a chance to win it at the end." Wells also noted that Dunleavy played three minutes past his 24-minute restriction. O'Brien said there was "no way" he would take Dunleavy out of the game in the final two minutes because of the limit. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you medical bastards.
In his Pacers Insider post, Wells talks more about Dunleavy, some tidbits on Ford's amazing performance (including a 1-of-9 fourth-quarter shooting display), and more on Troy Murphy's change in his offensive approach.
Wells also reported in his notebook that Dahntay Jones, who left the game midway through the fourth quarter, reported that he had a sore hip and shoulder after the game. Jones said he was "sore, but I'll be fine."
Always Miller Time gives a take on the fun win for Pacers fans.
Wizards fans apparently didn't find the last call to be...well, fair. The Washington Examiner decided that it was a call that would "be debated until the end of eternity". Nothing like a flair for the dramatic. The Washington Post puts the blame more squarely on the Wizards for blowing their lead in their final two minutes. Also, a recap from the Washington Times.
Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen has an interesting read about his recent discussions with the commish, David Stern, about the future of the league including a more lenient zone defense, legalized gambling on the NBA and the potential lockout.

IC Cold Links: Nets Present Challenge As Pacers Strive For Something Positive To Grasp Onto

Tom Lewis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:00:16 -0000

The Indiana Pacers face the New Jersey Nets tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse which makes one wonder just when the Pacers will win again.

Tonight?

Won't be easy. Sure the Nets are 2-20 and the Pacers already beat them in New Jersey, but both teams arrive at tonight's game in vastly different situations. The Pacers are without Danny Granger and in a team-wide shooting slump that is simply puzzling. On his radio show last night, Jim O'Brien made the point that at the law of averages will kick in at some time and shots will begin falling. No better time than the present.

JOB also raised a point about the lack of practice time for so many players. Yesterday, as has been the norm, Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Foster didn't practice. He didn't bring it up as an excuse, he was responding to a caller who thought the players were looked tired at the end of games. JOB responded that he's never had a team that he's practiced less than this group so they shouldn't be tired. First thought: That's a problem.

The team is trying to work through problems but doesn't have key players available to take reps. He mentioned the team working on special situations yesterday and that Hansbrough had to watch instead of taking part fully. Just another reason why it's easy to point fingers of blame but in reality there are myriad issues of varying levels involved in the Pacers struggles right now.

As for the Nets, they're trending the other way with the return of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee to the lineup. The Pacers had their hands full with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez in the last meeting, so remember that tonight's game will be a bear. Harris was a nightmare for the Pacers last year and I expect that will be the case again.

After the jump a few links of interest including some great radio interviews, A.J. Price earning some time and Danny Granger trying to take his time to make sure he returns healthy and ready to play full throttle.

PACERS: Pacers-Nets preview
Bruno's scouting report reminds us that the lowly Nets aren't the same team the Pacers beat in New Jersey earlier in the season.
Coach Dakich had some extra-sweet hoops talk on his radio show yesterday. First, all hoop fans will enjoy his chat with Sam Perkins (audio link) as he and Big Smoov discuss some great Bob Knight stories and Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech. Later in the day, the Mighty One, Mike Wells dropped by the studio (audio link) for an extended discussion of the Pacers' current woes. Miss a little, miss a lot!
Granger disappointed but upbeat
Bruno checks in with Danny Granger with rehab in full swing.
Pacers' Price to get more time
Mike Wells reports on A.J. Price taking advantage of his playing opportunity and quickly earning the trust of Jim O'Brien. "I'm going to find a way to get A.J. some minutes every game just because I think he's going to be a very good player and I think he's going to be a very good player quickly," coach Jim O'Brien said Thursday. "If that means I'm going to have to give some looks occasionally at a three-man rotation at the point, then I'll do it. But I think it's important I grow A.J."
Granger: Comeback ‘going to be hard’
Mike Wells reports on Danny Granger trying to stay patient so he can rehab his injury back to full health.
The Pacers launched a pretty cool campaign yesterday, allowing fans to submit a nomination for people they know who would benefit from a pair of free tickets to either the December 26th game against Atlanta or the December 30th game against Memphis. They're looking to reward Indiana residents who are in need yet continue to make an impact in their community.
Distributing Granger's shots
Andrew Perna takes a look at where the Pacers will find their offense without Danny Granger taking the bulk of the shots.
On the Beat: Hansbrough Adjusting to NBA
John Perrotto checks on on Tyler Hansbrough finding his way in the NBA.
Pacers Crate: Austin Croshere joins the boys
The latest episode of Pacers crate includes Austin Croshere in on the discussion. The group discusses Cro's transition from playing to yakking as an analyst for home game television broadcasts.
New Jersey Nets want Terrence Williams to show more drive
Julian Garcia reports on the Nets and rookie Terrence Williams trying to get on the same page.

Starters Continue To Get Outplayed, Outscored During Losing Streak

spstevenson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:41:46 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Tyler Hansbrough and the rest of the bench has been keeping the Pacers in games, while the starters have been helping the team add up losses.

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They are the players that set the tone. From start to finish, the players who get their names called under the bright lights and rip off their warm-ups first are there for a reason. To compete and get the team off to a good start.

For the Indiana Pacers, the starting lineup is not getting the job done.

In the six-game losing streak, which increased last night after a 102-91 loss to the Blazers, the starters have been outscored 443-314, an average deficit of 21.5 per game. Seven players have cycled in and out of the starting gig during those six games. The culprits? Let's see the lineup: Danny Granger (five games), T.J. Ford (6), Dahntay Jones (4), Brandon Rush (3), Troy Murphy (6), Roy Hibbert (4) and Jeff Foster (2). The starters were outscored 72-51 last night, and it didn't help that the unit gave up the tied game that the bench climbed back for midway through the fourth. As Tom pointed out during his recap, Brandon Roy probably would have destroyed the bench just as well as he pummeled the starters down the stretch. but the starters were there when the possible win waved bye-bye.

With each game, it's taken an unsung bench player to keep the Pacers within striking distance and keep hope alive. It was rookies Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price last night. On other nights, Earl Watson and Mike Dunleavy have stepped up.

Coach Jim O'Brien commended his second unit after Thursday's loss: "I thought they played with a great deal of energy and gave us good tempo. I thought A.J. (Price) did a real good job for us. He's played at a very high level in practice and he's a very mature user of the pick and roll and he's a guy that can shoot the three off the pick and roll."

It's very difficult, as we've seen, to win in the NBA when your starters are treated by opponents like a JV squad and your bench is spending all of its energy trying to claw back into a hopeless game. For the starters, a possible quick cure is arriving at Conseco "Reggie Miller" Fieldhouse on Friday -- the Nets. More links after the jump.

AP Story
Box Score
Photo Gallery
NBA.com Recap
Pacers.com dishes out the quotes and +/- in the latest Inside the Game edition. We'll let guard Dahntay Jones explain this one: "We had a problem with the pick and roll and did not defend very well against it. Couldn't stop it. We've go to learn to finish the ball game a little better. So it's back to the drawing board and get this thing turned around. Losing is not fun." Jones scored a team-high 19 points, but only put two through the hoop in the final 18 minutes of play.
Mike Wells recaps the game as he notes that the Pacers are definitely one All-Star short of competing with the likes of Brandon Roy and the Blazers.
IndyStar columnist Bob Kravitz says that Danny Granger's injury has given the greenlight for Brandon Rush and that we'll know now if he's a bust or not. Kravitz extended his streak of mentioning Shawne Williams in a Pacers-related column to a career-high 25 consecutive pieces.
John Oehser covered the game for his Examiner page.
Here are some previews to the Blazers-Pacers matchup that were posted yesterday: Eight Points, Nine Seconds and Always Miller Time.
Wells posted on his Pacers Insider page about the great game for rookie A.J. Price.
SB Nation's Blazers Edge had the game covered from the enemy's perspective. Rip City Project also chimed in with a recap and Jason Quick covered the game for The Oregonian.
And as the Pacers continue to increase their chances of getting lucky in the lottery, check out the recap of John Wall's performance against UConn last night. Oh yeah, we're already there.

IC Cold Links: Blazers, Pacers Prepare To Play Through Injury Setbacks

Tom Lewis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:39:29 -0000

The Portland Trail Blazers arrive at the Fieldhouse tonight, sorting through their own injury woes, joining the Pacers in trying to figure out which combination of remaining healthy players gives them the best chance to win.

The Pacers of course, are without leading scorer Danny Granger and continue to play with Mike Dunleavy on a minutes limit as he returns from his prolonged injury-related absence. Within the past few days, the Blazers have lost Greg Oden for the season and utility wing, Rudy Fernandez for 4-6 weeks. So just what type of game we'll see tonight is anyone's guess, but I imagine the opportunity for playing time should have some reserves brining plenty of energy to the floor to take advantage of their chance to play.

After the jump, plenty of links on the topic including video reaction from Fieldhouse.

PACERS: Pacers-Blazers preview
Pacers' offense left with big hole
Mike Wells reports on the Pacers looking for offensive answers with Danny Granger and his 25 points per game on the shelf. Jim O'Brien wants to push the pace. "I don't think 97 points (a game) is going to make it with our basketball team," the Pacers coach said Tuesday. "It might work if we had a different group of players. We are individually not good enough to slow it down and play paint by numbers."
PACERS: Pacers Video on losing Danny Granger
PACERS: Pacers Video on Rush getting another chance to play
Pacers F Granger out at least 4 weeks
Cliff Brunt offers up his AP report on Granger's absence.
Pacers progress hinges on playoff pursuit carrying on minus Granger
Tony Mejia thinks the Pacers can still win enough games to remain in the playoff race, but some new faces will have to step up and play a larger role.
Game 23 Preview: Blazers vs. Pacers - Blazersedge
Dave is expecting all kinds of ugly at the Fieldhouse tonight with two teams trying to find their way amidst recent injury setbacks collide, or at least bump into each other.
UPDATE: Blazers' Rudy Fernandez out 4 to 6 weeks after back surgery
Jason Quick reports on the Blazers injury woes increasing with the loss of Rudy Fernandez.
Memo to Pritchard: No rash moves, please
Kerry Eggers is preaching patience for the Blazers, imploring the team not to trade their way out of the injuries issues that have them short-handed.
Conley's drive lifts Grizzlies over Cavs in OT
Michael Conley has always been one of my favorite local players who seemed to make the game simple for he and his teammates. His NBA career has been a struggle so far, so it was great to see him throw a little hesitation dribble at the Cavs defense before blowing by everyone for the game-winning layup last night.
Steve Nash Internet Day!
It's Steve Nash Internet Day, so check in early and often for more.

Ready Or Not, Rush Thrown Back Into The Fray For Pacers

Tom Lewis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:33:51 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

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The basketball gods must really love Brandon Rush. He's frustrated coaches and fans alike in college and the pros. Yet, there he is, playing with that half smile, wide eyes and freakish bounce in his game that leaves everyone he crosses paths with begging for more. He can't seem to seize a game or exploit his physical talent, but basketball continues to shine on him.

Rush could never carry his talented Kansas team, but he showed up big when the Jayhawks won the national championship. Now in the NBA, injuries have created far more minutes than his play has deserved. His rookie season was erratic but ended with great promise. That promise quickly evaporated in this his second year, when once again Rush started floating through a golden opportunity to establish himself as a key player for the Pacers.

In the first 18 games of the season, Rush has had what I would call five good games and three decent games, the remaining ten games saw little impact from Rush. Four of those five "good" games were in wins which shows the impact he can have producing as a third or fourth option on the floor. These weren't great games, mind you, but good games pitching in on the glass as well as on offense.

But simply offering the Pacers "good" 28% of the time rates Rush somewhere below unreliable along with highly frustrating. Ironically, Rush gets another chance to start when Jerryd Bayless and the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. I've watched Bayless and the Blazers quite a bit lately and couldn't help but notice how Bayless and Rush seem like polar opposites.

Bayless has struggled to get any playing time and only after a few injuries depleted the Blazers' rotation has he earned some steady minutes. And even now with a spot in the rotation, Bayless appears to be on a short leash no matter how well he's playing.

Meanwhile, Rush can't seem to play himself out of extended minutes no matter how hard he tries. After starting the first 15 games, Jim O'Brien had seen enough and decided to move Rush out of the regular rotation only giving the second-year guard the scrap minutes left over from Mike Dunleavy's playing limitations.

Just when it appeared Rush wouldn't be heard from for awhile, Danny Granger goes down and Rush is suddenly back in the starting lineup. Jim O'Brien needs to use Rush extensively now because he doesn't want to eat up Dunleavy's minutes too early by starting him. So once again, everyone is pumping up Rush's game hoping the good Rush shows up to help fill the void left by Granger's absence.

The contrast between the two guards extends past their playing time and to how they play. Rush is a hoops specimen with all of the physical tools. He is like a greyhound, with quicks, hops and size at the guard spot. Unfortunately he struggles to sync up all three of those characteristics consistently, instead floating at times and just blending into the action.

Bayless is plenty athletic, as well, although undersized for his guard skills which translate more to a two guard than point guard. But the guy is in full attack mode on both ends of the floor, pedal to the metal trying to make an impact. At times, he's like a wild man on the floor, trying to squeeze a week's worth of production into his 10-15 minutes of time he desperately craves.

Bayless needs to harness all of that energy to become a more productive and complete player, but I'd certainly prefer to slow down a player like Bayless then to have to amp up a guy like Rush. If only the basketball gods could meld these two guys together and create a pair of perfect wings for both teams, everyone would be happy. Actually I think they already did, his name is Brandon Roy.

Granger Out 4-6 Weeks With Torn Plantar Fascia

Tom Lewis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:50:53 -0000

More photos » by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

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The news is in on Danny Granger's MRI and it isn't good.

The results of that MRI led the Pacers to announce Tuesday that Granger will miss a minimum of four-to-six weeks with a torn right plantar fascia (the tissue that supports the arch of the foot).

"No surgery will be required," said the advisory issued by the team, "and rehabilitation begins immediately."

I was hoping not to read the words plantar fascia when the MRI results were revealed but now that they are there in the diagnosis, the good news is no surgery is required. Still, a month or two for Granger to get right is a huge blow. Plus, this is the type of injury that you can't rush to return.

What's done is done. Hopefully Granger and the training staff will take the full six weeks and then some to make sure this thing is fully behind Granger before he returns to the court. Manwhile any other lingering injuries should be healthy and stronger when 33 returns.

Now is the time to make lemonade out of this sour news. How about keeping A.J. Price on the active roster and giving him some minutes to sink or swim? Heck, if the Jazz can play undrafted rookie Wesley Matthews, the Pacers can give Price a look, no?

IC Cold Links: Without Granger, Pacers Must Rely On Next Man Up

Tom Lewis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:37:01 -0000

Here are a few links of interest, including the Indiana Pacers taking a little inspiration for dealing with injuries from the NFL team across town.

Caught in the Web: Pacers preparing for life without Granger
Bruno on the Pacers moving forward as if Danny Granger will be on the shelf for a bit. Like how T.J. Ford tries to pick up the 'next man up' mantra the Indianapolis Colts have used for years now. If only it could work as well for the Pacers as it does for the Colts.
Pacers Notebook: O'Brien preparing for worst with Granger
Mighty Mike Wells reports on all of the wonderful news coming out of the Fieldhouse, as Jim O'Brien prepares to go forward without Danny Granger and with T.J. Ford.
Blazers drop game to Knicks before arriving in Indy
The Portland Trail Blazers are in town on Wednesday to play the Pacers. I have a feeling they'll be fired up and ready to go after an emotionally draining couple of days that included losing Greg Oden and then losing to the New York Knicks. With a day off to regroup, the Blazers will try to get better against the Pacers.
Hinrich out the next two games. So...could VDN really be fired? - Blog a Bull
It appears from this Blog a Bull post that the Chicago Bulls are a step ahead of the Pacers but traveling down the same path, wondering what to do with the coach while players are underperforming. Worse for the Bulls, though, they have some serious young talent.
Tim Donaghy's claims on trial - TrueHoop Blog
Henry Abbott doesn't just take Tim Donaghy's word for it and instead investigates someo the claims he's made about other referees, players and coaches. Another similar post about claims against Dick Bavetta is here.
NBA Power Poll: Pacers slide down the rankings
Sean Deveney from The Baseline has the Pacers sliding eight spots to 27 in his latest rankings which seems about right. Still stings to read it.

Larry Bird Celebrates Birthday With MRI Results

Tom Lewis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:28:32 -0000

What do you give a man who has everything for his birthday?

Well, for legendary NBA Hall of Famer and Pacers' president, Larry Bird you get a present from your training staff in the form of the MRI results on Danny Granger's bruised heel. Bird celebrates his 53rd birthday today while keeping tabs on his all-star player's immediate health status. The team reports that the MRI results will be available tomorrow, but I'm sure the boss has already been apprised of the results.

Bird certainly won't want the MRI to reveal any surprises. The current diagnosis of a bruised heel is annoying and requires rest and treatment. The rest part of the equation includes staying off the foot as much as humanly possible, which is why Granger's appearance on crutches today and reports of his arrival back in town in a wheel chair shouldn't elicit an overreaction.

The scary part of the story is the fact that they're verifying the bruise with an MRI, which raises some unease that maybe there's more than a bruised heel causing the discomfort. Here's a quick primer on a bruised heel which includes this general recovery information aimed at amateur athletes.

If you catch heel pain early and rest then it should recover quite quickly - within a few days. If you ignore the first onset of pain and the fat pad gets damaged beyond easy repair then this is a very difficult injury to treat. Rest means rest. There is no point you stopping running for a week if you put up scaffolding for a living and are on your feet every day. If you have to be on your feet then ensure you put a shock absorbing and cushioning heel insert into your shoes.

Let's just hope the MRI determines the amount of heel pad damage and thus rest needed to get Granger back on the court. The thing we don't want mentioned in the same sentence with Granger is, plantar fasciitis.

With plantar fasciitis we move past the bruise and onto strained tendons and bone spurs which would certainly ruin Bird's birthday.