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Dec. 14, 2003 |
Indiana Pacers now a contender
By Cameron Schuh
The Indiana Pacers have emerged as the early frontrunners of the Eastern Conference, and seeing as how their early record stands up to five potential Western Conference playoff teams, their chances are looking solid. Now sure, all the arguments can be made: it's way too early in the season for predictions; the Pacers started off this same way last season only to fall apart; Austin Croshere is playing major minutes AND contributing, so the planets must be aligned; etc. But let's look at some facts.
1) Rick Carlisle is one of the best coaches in the game today. He took the Detroit Pistons, a team on paper who was lucky to secure the 8th seed, and turned them into back-to-back 50 game winners. Dennis Rodman had a better chance of convincing women that he has never contracted STD! Carlisle got the Pistons to buy into his defensive philosophy and game-play mastery, mainly because he only had one proven scorer (Jerry Stackhouse, then Richard Hamilton) and a man-beast (Ben Wallace) on his team of no-names. People used to say, "Imagine what he could do with a team of talented players?" Well here you go.
2) The Pacers subs are the most talented in the league as a whole. Da Bench Mob consists of no one who could instill fear into anyone: Croshere, Al Harrington, Jeff Foster, Anthony Johnson, Fred Jones, and Jamison Brewer. But these players have bought into their role on the floor and what it takes to get a win. A perfect example would be Brewer. Until last Sunday night's Indiana vs Sacramento game, Brewer had seen less daylight on the floor than a vampire hoops league. Matter of fact, his family members didn't even have him on their NBA Fantasy teams! But there he was, playing a whopping 28 minutes and collecting a solid 8 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was hustling so much that Bobby Jackson told him to calm down! Granted, the Pacers didn't get the win, but the game went down to the wire against the Kings, one of the top five teams in the West.
3) Jermaine O'Neal. Although that is all that needs to be said, I'll continue. O'Neal has become one of the most dominant players in the East and THE best player in the East who doesn't handle the ball from tip to buzzer. The man-child is averaging a double-double (20.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg) and his blood has become the embodiment of the Outkast lyrics "What's cooler than being cool? Ice Cold." He didn't subtly take the torch from Pacers legend Reggie Miller as the go-to scorer and game winner, he snatched that flaming stick from his hands and screamed "HITCH UP THE DEPENDS AND POUND THE GERITOL GRAMPS, THIS IS MY GRAVY TRAIN AND I'M BRINGING HER HOME TO TITLE TOWN!" O'Neal has dominated games night in and night out, regardless of who was guarding him and/or what zone was being used. If O'Neal gets the ball on the blocks, game over. He has incorporated more and more ridiculous moves into his game each year. He can baby-hook with both hands, has a fade away, has a lean-in, has a spin move, and each moved has gathered more lingerie on the floor than a Barry White concert.
When you take a look at the whole picture: losses on the road by narrow margins, a coach who demands and gets results, bench players who do what it takes to win, one of the most dominant players in the conference, and you can see that the Indiana Pacers are looking forward to challenging the "dominance of the West."
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