O'Brien's task not an easy one

The Pacers are done, they've done nothing to improve this team, they've made horrible trades, Larry Bird as a player was a legend but as a G.M he's a joke he can't run a team, Jermaine O'Neal is a Lazy cry baby ( Wipe out your vagina get out there and play )This team will finish last and by week three I hope no one shows up at Conseco.

Brian, good post...you bring up some original points there, especially having to use a bodily part in your effective assessment of the team.

Kudo's...

Go Pacers. I for one am looking forward to getting the season started. I don't know how it will end, but if they play hard, as they have shown over the 8 pre season games, I will be there. That is what everyone has said that they wanted...a team that plays hard and gives effort, win or lose. So as long as they do that, I will be there.

Isn't the lack of comment from readers an indication of how irrelevant this organization has become. A Kravitz article about the Colt's will generate 200 submissions and an article about the Pacer's 2.
They are now reaping what they have sown.

actually, they are reaping what players who are no longer with the team have sown.....Personally,I think they will be a surprise in the East, mabey a 4 or 5 team.....we'll see

go pacers

I agree, i could see them makin up to the 4 or 5 team in the east. They dont have to play above expectations they just cant play below like they have the past souple of seasons. Tinsley is a very good point and Jo is a top 10 player in the league. I jsut think it is time for these Pacers to play like they are on the Pacers.

Wake me up when Tinsley is gone.

Pacers Guy wrote:

Brian, good post...you bring up some original points there, especially having to use a bodily part in your effective assessment of the team.
Kudo's...
Go Pacers. I for one am looking forward to getting the season started. I don't know how it will end, but if they play hard, as they have shown over the 8 pre season games, I will be there. That is what everyone has said that they wanted...a team that plays hard and gives effort, win or lose. So as long as they do that, I will be there.

No. What everyone has said they wanted is a team that makes more news on court than IN court. When they stop showing up in arrest reports the fans will start to come back, win or lose. This City loves its Pacers. They just don't like THESE Pacers.

We'll be fine, the culture has changed quite a bit and it will be nice playing with no expectations other than what they place on themselves. We're finally going to be treated to what we expect after several years of an embarrassing product/

Brian Goodwin wrote:

The Pacers are done, they've done nothing to improve this team, they've made horrible trades, Larry Bird as a player was a legend but as a G.M he's a joke he can't run a team, Jermaine O'Neal is a Lazy cry baby ( Wipe out your vagina get out there and play )This team will finish last and by week three I hope no one shows up at Conseco.

You're a piece of ****.

GO PACERS!!!!

Prove the haters wrong.

Huh wrote:

<quoted text>
No. What everyone has said they wanted is a team that makes more news on court than IN court. When they stop showing up in arrest reports the fans will start to come back, win or lose. This City loves its Pacers. They just don't like THESE Pacers.

EXACTLY!!! Keep them out of the police blotter for more than 6 months and the fans will slowly come back

I'll say it again...this is not an unusual situation. It's just a down swing thing that is common among professional teams, including MLB and the NFL. Teams rise to the top, then with the loss or retirement (or whatever) of great players they falter and fall. Trace back to some great teams and take a look. What happened to the BUCKS after they lost Kareem and Oscar...the BULLS after they lost Jordan...the KNICKS after they lost Ewing. What about Boston after LARRY left? Wonder how their fans turned on them.

We all have to give the PACERS their chance to recover without chopping off heads. Say something good ever so often.(That includes you Bob Kravitz). The PACERS need support and not critical reports every day in this paper (or column). The PACERS need lots of fans and a little special attention. Then someday, you can say you supported them thru the bad years as well as the good. And like 'Arnie' says..."We'll be back".....

Huh wrote:

<quoted text>
No. What everyone has said they wanted is a team that makes more news on court than IN court. When they stop showing up in arrest reports the fans will start to come back, win or lose. This City loves its Pacers. They just don't like THESE Pacers.

When they stop showing up in arrest reports, eh? So, three incidents in a three year period (one of them a midemeanor traffic violation) is hardly the rampage of crime you people are making it out to be. It seems to me that even if nothing off court happens this entire season, ignorant people like you will still be whining that the Pacers are "always being arrested" and so on. You've built up this carefully constructed fantasy, why let reality interfere with it.

JO had some encouraging statements on Pacers.com .

I included some highlights here and you can check out the full article at...

http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/preview_071031...

"I think we were confident after the first couple of meetings with Coach (Jim) O'Brien," said Jermaine O'Neal. "He instills that type of confidence in each and every player and that's why you see us running up and down the court, you see so many guys asserting themselves at both ends of the floor because he makes players believe they can help the team in a huge way, not just one player. Anything he says, we believe in."

"As a team, we're extremely confident right now. We may be the only ones that have confidence in us in the national spotlight but we know our fans are going to stick behind us and we're going to go and have a good year."

"You work out all summer and you go through training camp just wanting to get out there," he said. "You want to set the tone, especially being on your homecourt. I'm very excited about getting the opportunity and I'm hoping they (the medical staff) feel the same way I feel. I went through the tests and I'm moving fine, I'm doing well, all the swelling is out of my knee.… As far as anybody being concerned about my knee, my knee is fine. It's 100 percent."

Actually things went south when we brought in Larry Bird...

I like the coach, but the same "karma" exists. I like Tinsley and I like O'neal, but I believe one of them will have to move on. I say keep Tinsley and Granger and trade the rest for Kobe. We will win as many games three vs. five. This team is lucky to win 35 games and is lottery bound. Boom Baby!

I agree with Kravitz. Getting a lottery pick next year is not such a bad thing, that is if Bird doesn't waste away our picks like last year. I'll continue to root for the Pacers this year, however if they're going to have a mediocre year like last year I will be pulling for the losses hoping to get a better chance at a higher pick for next year. If O'Neal is not going to be traded for other talent then I'm afraid that this is the only other way to get decent players.
This wouldn't be the first time I've had to root against my teams. I did back in the late '90's with the
Colts hoping we could get the top pick in the draft which turned out to be Peyton, and currently I'm rooting against my Cornhuskers so that Bill Callahan will get the pink slip. Go Kansas!

As long as Jermaine "I consider myself a marquee player in this league" O'Neal is your "leader", you will suck.

No Blood for Pastel wrote:

<quoted text>
When they stop showing up in arrest reports, eh? So, three incidents in a three year period (one of them a midemeanor traffic violation) is hardly the rampage of crime you people are making it out to be. It seems to me that even if nothing off court happens this entire season, ignorant people like you will still be whining that the Pacers are "always being arrested" and so on. You've built up this carefully constructed fantasy, why let reality interfere with it.

How are things in the Pacers PR department these days? Did you forget the brawl? Jackson beating up a handicapped guy? Firing shots at a strip club? Tinsley and Daniels getting into a fight and whatever else happened at the 8 second saloon?? Every year it starts with something new involving the police. Stop enabling this behavior. It won't change until the fans tell the club ENOUGH. I want a better product. You seem to be happy with the same old crap. Take command of your team if you love them so much, and demand better from them.

No Blood for Pastel wrote:

<quoted text>
So, three incidents in a three year period is hardly the rampage of crime you people are making it out to be.

I personally think an arrest a year for an NBA orginization is WAY too many, but then again I have never been arrested.

No Blood for Pastel wrote:

<quoted text>(one of them a midemeanor traffic violation)

Haven’t we been over this before? You keep saying it was just a traffic ticket and legally that’s all it is but...
Who does Mr. Williams hang around with? Hmm, lets see here...Roderick Helton, who was arrested before for dealing cocaine (pled to a lesser charge), and this time for having stolen gun. Then we have Roosevelt Rollins, who was smoking weed in the car while Shawne Williams was driving. This isn’t what I call an upstanding citizen. What would you call it?
And that’s not even asking the question of what a millionaire from out of town was doing driving around a bad part of town at 12:45am? Hmm, I wonder...

Paul wrote:

I like the coach, but the same "karma" exists. I like Tinsley and I like O'neal, but I believe one of them will have to move on. I say keep Tinsley and Granger and trade the rest for Kobe. We will win as many games three vs. five. This team is lucky to win 35 games and is lottery bound. Boom Baby!

Kobe is a cancer. If Kobe came to Indianapolis we'd be about a successful as Philly was with Iverson. Pass.