The first thing you notice watching the undefeated Indiana Pacers is their intensity. More than the other seven teams this writer has seen in person this season, Indiana plays hard and aggressive basketball for 48 minutes. The Pacers did that again Saturday night – its fourth game in five nights- and came away with a hard-fought 96-91 win over the Nets at Barclays Center to go to 7-0 on the season. “We are just trying to play our style of basketball,” Pacers
Today the Knicks got destroyed by the Spurs. The Spurs are still great, and the Knicks are missing Tyson Chandler, but this can’t say good things about the Knicks’ ability to stay near the top of the East. [Read more…]
When the deadline for contract extensions came and went Thursday night, point guards Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez didn’t get paid. But don’t shed any tears for them. Because when the summer rolls around, they will get their money. And it might be GMs Ryan McDonough of Phoenix and Pete D’Alessandro of Sacramento who are crying. As reluctant as McDonough and D’Alessandro may have been to pony up for point guards with plenty to prove, they should have done so. Both GMs are
The offshore sports book Bovada recently published odds on certain players to be traded at any moment this season, which has created a bit of a buzz in the NBA sports betting industry because of its intrigue. Some offshore sports books have offered these type of proposition bets in previous years, but with the early intrigue and excitement of this upcoming season I believe the exploration of these particular players and their teams’ current situation is definitely of note. As many of you
The dust has settled and the NBA offseason has officially hit its conclusion when it comes to the futures market. [Read more…]
With wing extraordinaire Paul George signing a max-level, five-year contract with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, a legitimate argument can be made that the Pacers have the most secure medium to long-term future of any Eastern Conference team. At just 23 years of age, the 6-8 small forward already is one of the top five defenders in the NBA, as evidenced by his regular season advanced numbers, and is quickly developing a really strong offensive game. [Read more…]
The Indiana Pacers find themselves in a unique position among NBA teams heading into the 2013-14 season in that there are very few concerning questions about what has to go right and what can possibly go wrong. Health willing, we know what can go right: Paul George breaks out, the bench produces, the Pacers have a realistic shot at being the best team in the NBA. But the floor? We saw that already. We saw a bumbling offense, a 29th-ranked reserve
The New York Knicks were stuck in neutral while other Eastern Conference teams improved mightily this offseason. Are they still No. 2 as they were last regular season? Probably not. After a disappointing loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals that denied them a shot at the NBA champion Miami Heat, the Knicks essentially replaced Chris Copeland, Jason Kidd and Steve Novak with Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani. The team also re-signed J.R. Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon