SB Nation - Shawne Williams

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: Injured Pacers Begin Returning To The Lineup

spstevenson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:43:27 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Dahntay Jones somehow gets a shot off against superhero LeBron James during the Pacers loss in Indy.

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Here come the walking wounded. Or, hopefully, here come the reinforcements.

The injured Indiana Pacers are finally returning to the lineup, allowing the Pacers to play with a near-full roster for the first time since Mark Jackson was doing the shimmy down Meridian. With Troy Murphy posting a comeback (a solid 12-point, 10-rebound debut) during last night's 105-95 loss to the Cavaliers after a six-game absence, the other White Ambulance Brigade members are planning their comebacks as well.

IndyStar reporter Mike Wells notes that Jeff Foster is set to play in Sunday's game at Charlotte. Mike Dunleavy could see limited minutes in Wednesday's game against Washington. Only Travis Diener announced bad news regarding his nasty toe injury -- the point guard is out 4-6 weeks after having surgery on his left big toe.

Foster and Dunleavy's return will obviously be not only important for their on-court presence, but their off-the-court manner and leadership could do wonders to keep this team aloft during the fourth quarter and in practice. Instead of seeing Danny Granger slumped over on the bench during a late-game collapse, Foster and Dunleavy will hopefully help start a resurgence for the team psyche in their jerseys rather than in their stylish suits.

So if you're down in the dumps after the Pacers slumped over and played opossum in the fourth quarter for the second straight loss, well, there's hopefully some veterans who can help remedy that problem. I mean, we're bringing back guys who know how to squander leads in the third quarter, but who also have a history of fun comebacks in the final period. Combine them with guys who know how to dominate third quarters, but can't do anything in the fourth and, well, you've got a second-half team my friend.

While you're waiting for these guys to return to action, check out the jump for links to reports on last night's loss, LeBron's domination, and Jamaal Tinsley's debut week in Memphis.

Box Score
AP Story
Photo Gallery, featuring Pete Rose and the Sign Guy
Bruno's Live Blog
Bruno's Postgame Report gives Player of the Game honors to Brandon Rush (16 points, 6-of-10 shooting), while also noting the casual and quiet double-double posted by Troy Murphy (12 pts., 10 rebounds) after returning from a six-game absence. Stat of the night: "In the fourth quarters of their last two games, both losses, the Pacers shot 8-of-35 from the field (.228), committed 10 turnovers and totaled 30 points." Ouch.
The IndyStar's Mike Wells writes his recap on the game, while also wondering if the Pacers should propose that the NBA switch to three-quarter games, instead of four in his Pacers Insider blog.
Also from the Star, columnist Bob Kravitz attended the game and writes about the current team while referring back to the Brawl. He also praises team president Larry Bird for the Tyler Hansbrough draft pick and the Dahntay Jones pickup. Also mentions Shawne Williams. I think it's in his contract to mention him in every article.
John Oehser recapped the game for NBA.com, and his Examiner page here, and came up with the following quote from Cavs coach Mike Brown about LeBron James:

"He had a big night -- his will and ability to attack . . . when he does that he makes us good. It not only makes us good offensively, but it gives us energy defensively. The shots he takes, there aren't many guys who can take and make those. People ask me every once in a while, 'You think LeBron's taking bad shots?' You have to be careful when you have a player like that. If he wasn't taking and making those shots, we wouldn't win a lot of games. . . . Sometimes the best coaching is to get out his way." -- Mike Brown

Rcaps on the game from Always Miller Time and Pacers Pulse. Also a game preview from Eight Points, Nine Seconds.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Cavs returned to their former selves -- winners -- in their matchup in Indy. Also, here is the game thread from SB Nation's Fear The Sword.
ESPN's Weekend Dime has a one-on-one interview with former Pacers point guard Jarrett Jack about his start with the Raptors.
Another update on an ex-Pacer. Jamaal Tinsley has now played 11 minutes in two games since signing with the Grizzlies last week. He's totaled two rebounds, zero points and zero assists.

Tinsley, The Verb Not The Point Guard

Tom Lewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:08:39 -0000

To Tinsley: to keep a troubled player under contract away from all team activities and facilities while trying to move said player to another team.

Last season Larry Bird had Jamaal Tinsley stay in Atlanta to avoid distracting the rest of the Indiana Pacers while Bird and Tinsley's agent tried unsuccessfully to move the Tin Man to a new team. A settlement this past summer ended the $7.5 million per year sequestering and now Tinsley is still looking for a job on his own. The Pacers dealt with the financial part of the equation as a sunk cost, but the change in the culture around the Fieldhouse was worth eliminating a negative influence.

So now there are a couple of similar situations going on and it appears that Larry Bird has officially created a new verb for the NBA lexicon. Matt Steinmetz wonders if the Golden State Warriors should 'Tinsley' Stephen Jackson because of his erratic preseason behavior.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are already Tinsley-ing Shawne Williams as Ronald Tillery mentioned.

Memphis native Shawne Williams is no longer with the Mavs even though he is under contract. The Mavs told Williams he is no longer welcome around the team because of his lack of maturity, professionalism and work ethic. Williams is in the last year of his rookie contract. Dallas is said to be holding onto his rights in case Williams can be used in a trade.

Man, do you have to be a former Pacer to get Tinsely-ed. All I can say is, it is really nice to have a roster full of players who aren't perfect, but whose conduct is only detrimental to the team when they miss a shot, commit a foul or turn the ball over.

Forget Stats, Granger Wants To Improve Win Total

Tom Lewis — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:31:25 -0000

Danny Granger's production has improved each year since he entered the NBA, but after making the All-Star game and earning the league's Most Improved Player award last year he wasn't happy. Now he's only interested in improving the Pacers win total and pushing the franchise back into the playoffs.

Bruno takes a nice look at Granger's goals for the team this year which will rely on 33 emerging as a leader willing to push his teammates on both ends of the floor.

"Whatever Danny does on the court, they'll follow him," said Larry Bird, team president. "If he's got his mindset to play hard defense and get up into people, the rest of the guys will do that."

After the jump, more links with updates on Luther Head, Shawne Williams, Jermaine O'Neal, the Indiana Fever and more.

Head's 'fresh start' now expanded role with Pacers
Mike Wells takes a look at Luther Head's timely arrival at the Fieldhouse just as an opportunity to play opened up with Mike Dunleavy sidelined with a knee injury.
Fever set records, but can't keep up with Mercury
The Indiana Fever fell short in wild overtime thriller in Phoenix last night. More details on the game here.
Simon wants to keep Fever in Indianapolis
Pacers owner, Herb Simon plans to keep the Fever in Indy next year.
NBA to teams: Replacement refs to start season
The NBA has told teams on Tuesday that they will start the season with replacement referees.
Shawne Williams getting Tinsley-ed by Mavs
The Dallas Mavericksopened camp without Shawne Williams as the team tries to deal him to another team. Any by 'without' I mean Shawne was not in the building or around the team.
HEAT: O’Neal Finally Healthy, Looks Forward To Season
Finally! Wait...isn't this type of proclamation from J.O. an annual rite of Fall? Apparently J.O. has re-defined several parts of his game. Bet he wore out a thesaurus. Good luck, J.O.!
Greg Oden wants to start
Greg Oden appears healthy and ready to compete for a starting spot in Portland.

Pacers Set To Begin Orlando Summer League Play

Tom Lewis — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:28:06 -0000

The Indiana Pacers summer league team is ready to tip off the Orlando Summer League tomorrow at 3:00PM against a Phily/NJ hybrid team. The Pacers will play five games this week (schedule) with Orlando, Boston, Utah and Oklahoma City providing the other teams.

The Pacers roster includes Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert, Josh McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough as well as some other intriguing free agents who should be worth watcing. Get familiar with the numbers on the roster assuming any streaming coverage of the games will involve one camera which makes number knowledge critical in determining who's who on the court at times. Check out Will Blalock's number! The point guard may have the inside track at landing a roster spot just so the Pacers can turn around all of the leftover 11 jerseys at the Home Court Gift Shop.

Here's a closer look at the Phi/NJ roster but among the notables are Marreese Speights and Jrue Holliday for Philly and Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams for NJ.

Now, if you're not familiar with the Orlando Summer League allow me to level your expectations for the week.

On Court Considerations

One thing we've learned from summer league over the past few years is that the games are interesting and fun to watch, but making any final judgments on the merits of any individual play is dicey. For instance, Nate Robinson had his number "retired" in Vegas last summer due to his offseason exploits but it took a few years of play before he showed up as a consistent factor in the regular season. Two years ago, Marco Belinelli had the Bay Area abuzz with his scoring exploits in Vegas but hasn't been heard from much since and now resides on the trading block for Golden State. Last year, Jerryd Bayless burst on the scene with a huge scoring game in Vegas which showed he has all the game necessary to play in the NBA, yet he struggled to find time on a talented Portland team.

On the other end of the spectrum, last year Shawne Williams went into summer league ready to prove he was ready to expand his game and take on a bigger role with the Pacers. His lackluster performance after being directly challenged to step up in Orlando may have been the last straw in the Pacers decision to move the forward just prior to the season starting last year. Effort is one thing you can always measure, whether your in the NBA Finals or in a 3-on-3 workout. Orlando will have rosters bulging with players fighting for their hoop lives and working to keep their dreams alive. There will be effort in Orlando and if a player is giving less than his best it will be easily exposed.

So I caution anyone watching the games to watch for the little things, the effort, the hustle plays, chasing down out of area rebounds and scooping up loose balls. Just don't get too excited if you like what you see or too frustrated if the execution doesn't match the effort and the end result is poor.

Normally, teams play with a general offensive scheme and the games can become a run 'n gun fest quickly. These are the types of games which highlight why the numbers are meaningless. This year the Pacers will have far more structure to their offense with Jim O'Brien hoping to get the most out of the summer work. With three players from last year's roster available to help the rooks work through the offense, JOB hopes to get a better look at the young players.

This leads me to another key for the summer league in evaluation the rookies and free agents. How well do they take coaching? Can they adjust their play during a game and figure out how to carry out the coach's expectations?

This will be tricky especially for A.J. Price and Will Blalock as the only point guards on the roster. They'll be playing a lot with Rush, Hibbert and McRoberts, trying to run an offense they just learned for three guys who already know it. While it is a great opportunity to show what they can do, if the offensive sets aren't vanilla it will be hard for either to play without doing a whole lot of thinking at the same time. A half second of hesitation can throw the timing off enough to make the whole squad look silly.

But that's what summer league is for, to work hard and push yourself to the point of looking silly in an effort to learn and improve. That's how individual players improve various aspects of their game. For instance, we heard about Brandon Rush working to develop his left hand this summer. No doubt, he went through several drills using the left hand that sent the ball off his foot and rolling across the gym floor initially. He had to take his current skill level and push it to an uncomfortable area and then keep doing it until it wasn't so uncomfortable. Repeat a thousand times and expand your game until the honed skill is regular-season ready.

Same thing goes for the team and now is the time to push players to expand their games within the context of a game. Maybe Roy Hibbert takes the 17-footer whenever it's available down in Orlando. It's a part of his game he's been developing and summer league offers the perfect chance to green light Hibbert and see what kind of progress he's making.

Off Court Considerations

The Orlando Summer League games are usually streamed live through Magic.com but not with your typical broadcast. Dante & Galante have become a staple of summer league action with their coverage of the games. Essentially, they set up a camera (one camera) to follow the action and then they chat about anything and everything. However, they say little about the actual game action on the court. Occasionally they'll show the score but there aren't any graphics. I'm assuming they haven't upped the ante this year to improve production, so like I say, keep the roster numbers handy because even D & G don't know who some of the players are out on the court at times.

Sean and I will do our best to cover the action from Orlando and at least give you a nuts and bolts report from each game. Please feel free to check out the games and add your own thoughts in the FanPosts. Just remember to keep things in perspective that the summer league context requires.

Larry Bird Building Pacers With An Eye Toward The Future

Tom Lewis — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:31:02 -0000

After the Indiana Pacers drafted Tyler Hansbrough last Thursday, one of the many thoughts I had was that the pick should ilicit a good round of Pacers' whitewash jokes. You know, because Hansbrough is white and there are currently five other white guys on the roster. Hee hee. Fair enough, just show some creativity.

But then I started hearing some, not a lot, but some comments on the radio and reading a few things on the web that insinuated that Larry Bird was a racist and his priority in running the team was to amass as many white players as possible, regardless of talent. And these people were serious, which ended up being funnier than any of the actual jokes I've heard.

Most of these types of comments seem to arise from people who begin with a bias of their own, normally from one of two camps. Either they hate Tyler Hansbrough and don't think he was worthy of any first round pick, let alone the 13th pick so Bird must be hung up on race to take Hansbrough so high OR they've been longing for Larry Bird to be replaced in the Pacers'front office so they are quick to criticize any move and the easiest (laziest?) dagger to throw with this pick is to hit the racial angle.

It's easy to be led astray when you don't follow a situation real close and instead take a snapshot in time or simply monitor in a general sense. So please indulge me a moment while I offer up a little history along with a glimpse to the future to make sure we're all working with facts. Now my apologies if this is a repeat for regular readers, but I feel the need to lay it out one more time, then I promise I'll stick to basketball.

Front Office History

Larry Bird has been in the Pacers'front office since 2003, working under Donnie Walsh until last summer. The initial plan was to have Bird groomed under Walsh for a few years before eventually taking over all basketball decisions. But in the aftermath of the brawl one year later, Walsh took back a more active role in the basketball operations and after a few francise-marring situations in the community handled the complicated trades that had the Pacers dealing Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson.

Peja Stojackovic was swapped for Artest and played for half a season, not to placate all of the racist fans in Indy, but because Sacramento said, "OK, we'll take Artest." Among the players that arrived in the Stephen Jackson deal were Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Murphand Dun were in a bad situation in Golden State and were admittedly overpriced, hence the reason they were moved. It turned out to be a pretty good deal, since both have played better than expected when the deal was completed. For some reason, though, Donnie Walsh is never pegged as a racist. Probably because he's from New York instead of French Lick.

During this time, Bird worked hard to bring in free agent Sarunas Jasikevicius, outbidding the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Lithuanian player who had lit up some of the NBA's best in the Olympics and had a few huge year in the Euro leagues. At the time, the Pacers had Jamaal Tinsley, Anthony Johnson and Eddie Gill so the reasoning was that Runi would provide a change of pace and be able to knock down threes. This was a huge miss by Bird when it became apparent that the two steps back pushed Runi out of his shooting range. Despite his skin tone, Runi's presence certainly didn't placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy. After two years, Jasikevicius was included in the trade that brought in Murph and Dun.

Bird Draft History

While Walsh maintained the final say in trade negotiations, Bird handled the draft from the time he arrived back in town. Since his arrival, his overt plan to whitewash the Pacers has netted draft picks James Jones (2003), David Harrison and Rashad Wright (2004), Danny Granger and Erazem Lorbek (2005), Shawne Williams (2006) Stanko Barac (via trade 2007), Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert (via trades 2008) and Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price (2009). Yeah, I know, Lorbek and Barac are white, but in fairness they were drafted as assetts to be developed on someone else's dime in Europe as opposed to placating all of the racist hoop fans in Indy.

Bird Trade History

Last summer was Larry Bird's first with full control of the basketball operations. He overturned the roster by bringing in seven new players. In the J.O. trade with Toronto, Bird brought back T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston along with the draft rights to Roy Hibbert. Birds sinister and methodical plan to whitewash the Pacers did produce Rasho, but he was actually more valuable as an expiring contract than as a white player to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy.

The other three new players Bird dealt for came from a draft deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. Ike Diogu and the rights to Jerryd Bayless for Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and the rights to Brandon Rush. Now to say Josh McRoberts was the key piece to that deal in order to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indiana requires the suspension of any basketball knowledge said detractor may profess.

It just so turns out, that in the minimal minutes Josh McRoberts was given last year he actually showed some promise. Now don't go running to a box score or look for old game reports to call me crazy. You actually had to watch the games to see why the team would be willing to bring him back for a minimal salary and he will get the opportunity to earn his way on the team with a good showing in summer league.

Where Is Bird Taking The Pacers?

This is where Bird's efforts to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy gets a little rocky. The Pacers are trying to rebuild with a core of players who treat their game as a profession, focused on developing into the best player they can possibly be. Bird prefers a mature player who has faced adversity and succeeded in hostile environments. Unless the talent overwhelms, he appears set to error on the side of experience.

The problem with this rebuilding project is that the team is desperate to win back fans, and while the shallow thinkers may believe the plan to win back fans is as simple as trotting out as many white guys as possible, the reality is that the fans want a team that plays hard and wins. So instead of gutting the roster for a horrible, lottery-improving season, Bird and team have gathered players to bridge the franchise from the depths of despair a couple of years ago (specifically after missing the 2006-07 playoffs with a nearly unwatchable team) to a future built on the foundation of players described in the preceding paragraph.

This plan is dicey since playing hard is not a problem but the wins part remains a struggle. The team needs to win more this year to build on the positive end to last season. Although in reality, any wins next year won't have a positive impact on the long term future from a basketball sense. But since the team needs to create some excitement to generate revenue, the short-term focus on winning as much as possible is understandable, not to mention far more entertaining to follow.

For lack of a better term, the "bridge players" include anyone currently on the roster whose contract expires after the 2010-11 season. The team prefers to think of it as their three-year plan. Either way, after 2010-11 the contracts for Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford, Jeff Foster and Jamaal Tinsley will all expire. Travis Diener's contract will expire after next season. The Pacers didn't pick up the team option for Marquis Daniels. Parting ways with Daniels was a financial move, since picking up his $7.5 million option would've left the Pacers with about $2 million to fill out the roster while avoiding the luxury tax.

So to look at the future core of the team, check out the 2011-12 roster. There you'll find Danny Granger, Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough. Consider Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and A.J. Price to be wild cards at this point, but obviously not yet considered core players. There's plenty of work to be done for the future team and I expect the bridge players to be used as leverage to gather future assetts between now and the end of the 2010-11 season.

But one thing I don't expect is for Larry Bird to consider all of the racist hoop fans in Indy when trying to fill out the roster. Fortunately, he doesn't care what anyone thinks, he just wants to work with players that want to work to improve the team while also keeping the roster's financial situation in check and under the luxury tax.

So there you go. Make sure you understand me. I'm not saying there's racial harmony in Indiana nor any hoop fans who view the game through a personal racist lens. I'm also not saying the Pacers won't add white players in the future. In fact, I'd love it if they could swing a deal with a bridge player or two to land Ricky Rubio and Brian Cardinal's expiring contract from Minnesota. We can dream, right?

What I am saying is that Larry Bird has enough factors involved in trying to build a roster for the future without also trying to execute some sinister conspiracy to make the team white. And if you actually take an honest look at the basketball decisions which led to the current roster (not to mention who was making the decisions), that line of thinking based on a general, current snapshot unravels. In fact, looking at the core future, if Bird's desire is to "whiten" the Pacers, then he'd be failing miserably.

So to conclude, Larry Bird is wading through several complicated issues while trying to build the Indiana Pacers for a successful future. Race just isn't one of them nor is the opinion of any fan. Oh, and Tyler Hansbrough was a selected as a solid player in a draft that isn't expected to be league-altering. Deal with it.

The Five Stages Of Accepting Tyler Hansbrough

spstevenson — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:46:55 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

After completing the five stages of grief, you will want to buy a replica of the #50 jersey.

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It has taken 24 hours, five stages, several drinks and one trillion text messages, but I have finally done it - I now accept Tyler Hansbrough as an Indiana Pacer, and I'm OK with it.

How did I get here? It was a long, arduous journey that was a montage of crying, smiling, dismissing my Pacer fandom, praising our leader Larry Bird and, ultimately, cowering in the corner of my apartment wondering how the hell to feel about a lottery pick being used on a 6-foot-9 forward from the University of North Carolina who should have taken 10 picks later.

But eventually I got up, brushed the draft off my knees and realized that the world was still spinning and everything was good in PacerLand. So let's take a walk down the five stages of acceptance of Tyler Hansbrough. This process isn't for everyone, so if you need a visual, watch this.

Stage 1: Denial
With the 13th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select...Tyler Hansbrough from the University of North Carolina. Before the Pacers made that pick, I had been frantically scanning the draft board for the player who the Pacers were going to draft.

I needed to update Indy Cornrows as soon as the pick was made, so I loaded all of the YouTube highlights of players who might be drafted by the Pacers. I had each one tabbed: Eric Maynor, DeJuan Blair, Jrue Holiday, James Johnson, Jeff Teague and Ty Lawson.

I even went a step further by making a fake headline saying the Pacers had drafted Holiday. I was certain Bird would take Holiday, trade down in the draft and pick up the player that he and O'Brien had been gushing over for the past week - Tyler Hansbrough. Every time either Bird or O'Brien talked about Hansbrough this week, it became more apparent that they were in love with him. Remember when you were a teenager and your friends asked you about that super, hot chick that you had a crush on? Your eyes gazed toward the ceiling, an innocent smile slid across your face, and you talked and talked and talked about how wonderful she was in every way. That was O'Brien on the radio Thursday before the draft. He did both afternoon sports radio shows, and it was easy to see O'Brien gazed toward the ceiling and transfixed with a love potion when discussing Hansbrough. It was disgusting.

Then, the pick was announced. Like other fans, I was floored. As the great Clark Griswold once said, I wouldn't have been more surprised if I had woken up with my head sewn to the carpet. This just didn't happen, did it? I raced through my mock drafts, thumbed through other people's mockings and found that the Pacers had made a mockery of us all. Larry Bird pulled a fast one. The Pacers really did draft Tyler Hansbrough.

Larry Bird: "We had some point guards we wanted, but we felt if Ty was there, we had to take him."

Stage 2: Anger
The texts poured in immediately after the pick was made. From my cousin, "R u kiddin me? Croshere Junior, that's who we draft?" From a Bulls friend, "I am so happy I get to watch Hansbrough suck on yer team next year." From a Celtics friend, "Hahahahahahahaha."

My wife's response helped out too. "Oh wait!" she exclaimed. "I've actually seen that guy before. He's the guy I always made fun of for looking like a baby! How cute! I can't believe that's who the Pacers drafted." Wow.

Now I was starting to hate the pick, hate Larry Bird and hate the Pacers for ruining my life. If Hansbrough doesn't pan out, I'm going to hear about it forever from everybody. This is your fault Larry Bird. How could this happen? What was Larry Bird thinking? The negatives raced through my mind: too slow, too short, struggles defensively, no potential, undersized, another Josh McRoberts, a younger Jeff Foster, another Austin Croshere.

I started to get angry.

Larry Bird: "Not everybody's going to be happy with who you take, but once they see him play, they'll be very surprised. He fits in well with us, and he's going to have a great career."

Stage 3: Bargaining
I couldn't understand how Hansbrough was the best pick at No. 13. The thirteenth pick should give you somebody who can become a starter and situate your team for the playoffs down the road. Every scouting report on Hansbrough says he'll be in the league for 10 years as a decent role player who thrives on intensity to better the team, but he'll never, ever, ever be an All-Star.

As the draft kept going, I started to bargain with Mr. Bird. "If you just trade this pick down in the draft, or maybe make another blockbuster deal somehow involving Jamaal Tinsley, all will be forgiven. I promise to keep making payments on my season tickets. I promise to buy another Granger jersey. I promise to never doubt you again. Just, please, do NOT keep this pick!"

I started thinking, "Why couldn't we have taken a chance on somebody?" Bird's insistence on drafting experienced collegiate players seemed to be leaving promising young talent on the draft board. Since Bird's return to the franchise in 2003, only one first-round pick by the Pacers played less than three years in college, and that guy, Shawne Williams, didn't set the best precedent for underclassman. So, Bird is scared and scarred by underclassmen. But when you've got Jrue Holiday, Eric Maynor and Ty Lawson available, you go after them, right? They have potential to be stars and be compliments to Danny Granger. Our only true starter needs a wingman, and Hansbrough is not the answer.

In several columns preceding the draft, I pleaded for the Pacers to trade down and pick up some pieces to provide depth in all the weak areas (point guard, wing, post...hmm, everything). The worst-case scenario was the Pacers staying at No. 13 and picking a player who only shored up one roster spot. Consider the worst-case scenario accomplished with flying colors.

The night went on and no trade was announced. It was rumored that the Pacers came close to unloading the No. 13 pick to the Bulls for two first-rounders. Hansbrough still would have been the pick at No. 16. I went to sleep, dazed and confused.

Jim O'Brien: "We're just trying to take the most talented guy when we pick. Last night, for us, it was certainly Hansbrough. [His workout] was by far the most intense workout we had and it was a direct result of what he brought to that workout."

Stage 4: Depression
By Friday morning, I reached the fourth stage of denial. I didn't want to talk about the pick, didn't want to open the paper, didn't want to ask questions and didn't want to get answers. I just wanted to get away from it. I did not care anymore.

But I could not get away from it. Everyone kept texting me. "What do you think?" they asked. People at work asked, "Hey, about that Tyler Hansbrough?" Yeah, how about that, you stupid jerk. Can't you see I'm depressed here? I moped around, head down to the floor and wondered when it would be 1998 again. When will I love to watch this team play night-in and night-out again? Why am I still a Pacers fan after all the crap that went down these past four years? Maybe all those people who shunned the team after the Brawl were right, maybe it was time to move on.

Larry Bird: "He's a mature four-year guy, great college career. He's got good mechanics, he's very well-rounded. He scored in college, he'll score in the league. Tyler's been beat down for four years. Everybody says his game won't translate to the NBA. He'll be fine. He'll do a good job."

Stage 5: Acceptance
Dateline: Friday afternoon. I get a text from a buddy that says, "I don't why, but I like this pick. It was the worst draft ever, so at least we got something from it. Something is better than nothing."

It was the worst draft of the decade. People had been saying that for months. When I pleaded for the Pacers to trade down in the draft, it wasn't just to get more picks, it was to get away from the lottery. There were too many unproven players. Earlier this week, ESPN's Chad Ford said the 2009 No. 8 pick would be the No. 18 pick in a normal draft. So the Pacers were really drafting a player who would've gone in the mid-20's one year ago. If you think about it that way, Hansbrough doesn't seem so bad.

Here's a guy who was massively productive four straight years in college. This is a guy who won a NCAA title, was a big man who could dominate in the paint, score from the elbow and control the ball on the outside. This is a guy who played intense every night. This is a guy who faced one-on-one with a 7-foot-7 behometh and instead of taking the wide-open jump shot, decided to drive straight to the basket and dunk on his face. Jeff Foster would have shot...and missed.

"Maybe it's not such a bad pick," I kept telling myself. "Maybe it doesn't matter if we couldn't trade down. We got the guy we wanted. Bird did good last year, maybe I should trust him again. He's got other tricks up his sleeve this summer. I know it."

People are ticked off now, but I guarantee that come November, Hansbrough will get one of the loudest ovations every time he comes off the bench and leaves the court. That's just how it works at Conseco "Reggie Miller" Fieldhouse. Pacers fans love work ethic and determination. They love players who take charges, go for loose balls and show that they care even in games against Memphis and Washington. Of the 25 games I attended last year, Foster, Josh McRoberts, Jarrett Jack and Granger always got the biggest boost from the crowd when entering the court. Why? Because fans applaud players who give them their money's worth.

There's no guarantee that Hansbrough will be an All-Star. There's no guarantee that Hansbrough will be a starter. There's no guarantee that Hansbrough will be a role player. But he is going to give fans their money's worth. So no matter how much we don't like the pick in June and July, most fans will appreciate him in six months.

I didn't like this pick. I still don't love it. But I'm accepting it. Please prove everybody wrong, Tyler. Otherwise, I'm getting rid of text messaging.

Tyler Hansbrough: "There's nothing to it but to prove some people wrong. I think some people just love me or hate me. That's the way it is. The way I look at it, people didn't think I was going to be a very good college player, and I was successful in college. I am coming in there, ready to prove some people wrong."

The Summer of Shawne Led To Trade

Tom Lewis — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:40:57 -0000

Larry Bird was on 1070 The Fan yesterday afternoon and talked candidly about the failure of the 2006 draft and how the Shawne Williams trade developed. Despite his love for Shawne the person, Bird did not expect to pick up his contract option. Shawne wasn't real happy with his role on the team and valued his talent more than Bird and Jim O'Brien.

But is sounds like Shawne's summer preparation, or lack thereof, pushed Bird to move the player before the start of the season.

When we drafted him (Shawne) he worked really hard and was trying to improve. Then it got to the point where Shawne thought he should be playing more minutes and once that gets in the way, there's some bitterness between the coach and the player probably and I thought him and Jimmy got along real well, but I talked to Shawne quite often and he was dissatisfied with the way they were using him and his minutes and I kept telling him, you gotta get better and once you get better the coach will play you.

So you know, with all these conversations I had with him I think Shawne thought he was a lot better than what he really is at this stage. But I was very disappointed this summer that he wasn't here. He was here off and on but really the last month he wasn't here and he picked up weight. He was out of shape when he went into summer league, then when he came back to camp the first two or three days he didn't look real well, he was out of condition. Eventually he got better, but just the time that he was away from the court this summer bothered me the most.

Well, that explains the poor showing Shawne had in the summer league games in Orlando. With the way he finished the season, Shawne went into the summer on the cusp of carving out a big role on the Pacers by improving the consistency of his play. Instead, he plateaued and now we have a better understanding of why. Maybe he wasn't interested in a bigger role with the Pacers and knew if he didn't follow Bird's advice he'd be moved. That certainly makes more sense than Shawne unknowingly wasting away the opportunity to improve over the summer.

Audio link: Larry Bird interview

Also, check out Kevin Lee's report from Pacers practice this afternoon which includes solid audio with Jim O'Brien, Roy Hibbert and Mike Dunleavy. The Pacers didn't actually practice due to a lack of available players. Dunleavy worked out at full speed and hopes to play on Friday. Roy Hibbert gets it, doesn't he? He has no interest in the 17 points and 9 rebounds he put up against Memphis, but instead wants to learn from the three quick fouls he picked up in the first half.

No Eddie Jones Sighting At The Airport

Tom Lewis — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:01:01 -0000

When I arrived back home again in Indy this afternoon 3:00PM, I couldn't help wondering if Eddie Jones was in the vicinity since he was supposed to report to the Pacers by 5:00PM Sunday night.

According to Bruno's latest Caught in the Web, the Pacers have yet to hear from Jones let alone see him in person. This isn't surprising since it makes no sense for the Pacers to actually use Jones nor does it appear that Jones has any interest in playing for the Pacers. Jim O'Brien did his best to play his part of the uninformed coach just taking care of the players management sends out on the practice court.

"He was in a situation that he wasn't in Dallas' camp," said O'Brien. "We would like him in our camp and we would like him on our team unless he decides he doesn't want to play. And then that's something that Larry (Bird) and his agent are going to have to talk about. We anticipate seeing where he is and getting him up here."

Does O'Brien believe Jones could help the Pacers?

"Until I'm told differently, that's my viewpoint," said the coach. "My anticipation is that we just made a trade and we got a player in the trade and we expect any player we trade for to report. If they don't, then there's an issue. But I'm expecting him to be here and to play. That's my expectation. We expect him in here unless he decides to not be in here an then that's out of my hands and it comes down to his agent and our management."

JOB really wanted to tell us about the contractual loopholes they were covering in order to free Jones and move on, but now is just not the time. Should be interesting too see how all of these formalities are worked out. They have to be, because any minute that Eddie Jones would play for the Pacers would be a minute less for Brandon Rush and simply just hold the Pacers back in their quest to move forward.

Couple of other links:

Jeff Rabjohns reports on Eddie Jones and the possibility of Jones not reporting but instead retiring.
Mike Wells chats up Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Travis Diener and finds no concerns with their injured status during camp so far. Considering the couple of times I saw Dun and Murph after games last year they both had their knees and ankles submerged in ice, there's no sense in putting on any additional miles during preseason. Dunleavy did practice on Sunday which is good news.
Shawne Williams is officially ready for his fresh start in Dallas.

Pacers 102, Bulls 93: Fort Win, Indiana

Tom Lewis — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:10:44 -0000

Ahhh, that's better. Preseason wins and losses don't mean a thing, especially with starters sitting out and random combinations of players filling the various playing rotations. But effort and at least appearing to know what you're trying to accomplish as a team is worth measuring. With that minimal metric in mind, the Pacers put forth a vastly improved performance on Friday night in Fort Wayne and relied on their new faces to put away a 102-95 win.

With the game in the balance in the fourth quarter, T.J. Ford led the team with plenty of help from Brandon Rush and Jarrett Jack. Both Rush and Ford finished with 18 points. Ford can't be stopped with the ball in motion and with the ball in the lane showed he can finish with a bucket or an assist depending on what you give him. He sealed the game shut by taking rookie Derrick Rose to the bucket for a hoop and the harm. Beautiful.

As Quinn Buckner mentioned, Rush contributed a quiet 18 points which is backed up by his efficient 7 of 9 shooting night from the floor. Rush played 27 minutes and really looked comfortable on the floor in the second half. One nice aspect of Rush's scoring tonight was his ability to finish at the rim on several occasions. During the first game against the Hornets, Rush was bumped while going to the hole and kind of gave up on the play. But what would've been a foul last year in Allen Fieldhouse, was a clean play in the NBA. No foul, we're going the other way. Tonight he finished strong and certainly wasn't expecting to draw any fouls. I guess the kid's a quick study.

Late in the game somebody had Larry Bird chuckling from his seat in the stands when the camera was on him. Honestly, I can't remember seeing Bird smiling from his seat while watching a Pacers game over the past couple of years. I couldn't help but share the laugh even though I didn't hear the joke.

Here are a few other thoughts from the game:

Danny Granger continued to struggle shooting the ball, but Marquis Daniels was able to get it going. Danny was getting good looks so at this point that's all that matters. When the lights brighten for the regular season, he'll be ready. Both Danny and Quisy sat out the second half.
Is it just me or does it seem like Del Harris is coaching the Bulls and Vinny Del Negro is his assistant? Seemed like both were up every time they showed the Bulls' bench and the familiar face of Harris had me thinking, wait, who's the head coach?
Mike Dunlealvy spent most of the third quarter on the television broadcast with Chris Denari and Quinn Buckner. Sounds like he plans to start practicing next week and will be ready to go for the start of the regular season.
I could watch T.J. Ford break down his defender, pull up and knock down that 15-17 footer all night.
Austin Croshere is officially in the Jonathan Bender zone. We hear about how Cro is wowin' 'em in practice, hardly misses a shot and then his game results reveal pretty much what we've always seen. He'd be a great veteran presence to have on the roster but any actual production will remain a pleasant surprise.
David Morway chatted with Stacy Paetz about the trade. Difficult to give up Shawne but picking up some financial flexibility and assets while thinning out the crowded wing position is a good thing. But wait, Bird said the Eddie Jones will report to the Pacers on Sunday. Has to be a formality, otherwise the wing position remains clogged.
Great to see Stephen Graham back with the team and playing. Toward the end of the third quarter, Stevie was the only player on the floor who was with the Pacers last year.
I may say this after every game, but watching the easy stroke of Brandon Rush is quite enjoyable. Watching said stroke after Ford finds him spotted up on the wing, even better.
Tyrus Thomas is freaky athletic. While Dun was on the broadcast, Thomas missed an open jumper that Dun mentioned wasn't in the scouting report. In other words, let him shoot it all night. A couple of possessions later Thomas flew through the rafters for a highlight finish. Dun remarked that was a shot he (Thomas) won't miss.
Roy Hibbert forced me to yell out loud when he dropped a sweet back-door bounce pass to Jack for a reverse layup. A few minutes later he converted a difficult past to McRoberts for a dunk. Nice. Love seeing all the young guys (Hibbert, Rush, McRoberts) get big minutes.