The Indiana Pacers have been mired in all sorts of media controversy amidst their late-season swoon and subsequent first round playoff struggles. For all of the talk about Roy Hibbert and his personal struggles to score and rebound, there have been numerous theories as to the possible cause of both his loss of confidence and the team’s lack of chemistry and general malaise. One of the prevailing thoughts is that the mid-season additions of Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner may have
Who ever said the “experts” knew what they were talking about? After getting drafted behind the likes of Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, Ben McLemore, Trey Burke and C.J. McCollum, Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams was an afterthought when projecting the top rookies in the 2013 NBA draft class. However, after opening the 2013-14 NBA season with a cool 22 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in a four-point victory over the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat, he put
On Thursday night, Philips Arena opened its doors for the Atlanta Hawks first home playoff game of the 2014 NBA postseason. After having stolen home court advantage, the air in Atlanta was heavy, of course it was humid—welcome to Georgia, but it was heavy with hope and expectation. All week long, ever since the Hawks 101-93 Game 1 road victory in Indiana on Saturday, the talk among locals has been upset. Not just a game; the series. The team’s confidence only served to
Do they have to play this series? Do we really have to watch it and pay close attention? Look, we all know how bad the Leastern Conference was this season, and we all knew that there would be at least one bad team crashing the party. And the one we ended up with is an Atlanta Hawks team whose general manager, Danny Ferry, said a few weeks back that it really didn’t matter if the Hawks qualified for the postseason or
Believe it or not, there’s someone out there who doesn’t think the Indiana Pacers are coming apart at the seams. “Everybody goes through this,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said last week after San Antonio manhandled Indiana, 103-77, on the Pacers’ home court. “I’m not worried about them. They’ll still make it to the Eastern Conference finals and they’ll still play Miami.” Parker is somewhat right. From time to time, every championship contender has a stretch during a season where they look ordinary.
Everything is bigger in Texas. Including losing streaks. And the Philadelphia 76ers are on the verge of the biggest losing streak in NBA history. After a couple of relatively narrow losses in which they were more competitive and provided a smidgen of hope for their suffering fans, the Sixers are back to normal and getting clobbered again. Philadelphia is up to 25 straight losses as it prepares for Thursday’s game at Houston. Another loss will tie the 76ers with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the
As the season winds down, several teams are working to put that final piece in place that might make the difference. From my experience, this is a high-risk proposition. Indiana added Evan Turner, hoping that he will change his spots. While an argument can be made that they needed a mature guy to play limited minutes and deepen an already deep rotation, they opted instead to roll the dice with the notorious knucklehead who is playing for a new contract. Wouldn’t they
All season, the Indiana Pacers have maintained that homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, and their chemistry will give them a great chance to dethrone the two-time NBA champion Miami Heat. Are both slipping away? In the last two weeks, Indiana’s grip on the East’s best record has loosened considerably. And the Pacers’ big move at Thursday’s trading deadline, acquiring Evan Turner, illustrated that their belief in chemistry may have been overstated. [Read more…]