3 – 4

The Pacers record during the preseason might be the biggest foreshadowing for the season. It extrapolates to 35 wins over an 82-game season, and that sounds about right to me.

.429

This is the opponents’ field goal percentage for the preseason, which was 8th out of 30 teams. This is a point of emphasis for Coach O’Brien, whose pace of play makes the points allowed stat somewhat misleading. This is about two full percentage points below the league average.

105.2

The Pacers allowed almost 4 fewer points per 100 during the preseason. Despite this and the OppFG% figures, Jim O’Brien was still unsatisfied with the teams’ defensive performance, explaining it away as the defenses being ahead of the offenses early. It seems that there’s good reason, because:

24th

Despite the improvement over last year, the Pacers defensive rating ranked 24th in the preseason. The average points per 100 possessions during the preseason were about 103, compared to 108 for the 2009 regular season.

101.4

The Pacers offensive output per 100 possessions was horrendous. In their four losses, Indiana averaged less than 94 points per 100 and shot a paltry 41% from the floor.

40.1

That would be the number of free throws per game shot by Pacer opponents. The league average was 31, and nobody else had more than 39.

60

Points the Pacers were outscored by at the free throw line. They were only outscored by 28 points overall.

27.7 & .335

The number of three-point attempts per game in the preseason and the success rate (or lack thereof). This is almost 7 more attempts per game than last season, but almost 4 full percentage points lower.

50%

Portion of Danny Granger’s field goal attempts taken from beyond the arc. That’s too high.

7.7 vs. 8.2

Solomon Jones’ rebounds per 36 minutes as compared to his personal fouls per 36 minutes. That’s not real encouraging.

24.9

Number of minutes per night that T-Murda (Troy Murphy) needed to average 12.7 points an 9.7 rebounds. Only shot 38% from three, though. Slacker.

6.2

Fouls per 36 minutes committed by Roy Hibbert, which sounds ugly until you compare it to his 7.7 pace last year. Somewhat more encouraging is that he did it with replacement refs that were calling almost 25% more fouls per game than were whistled last season. This is important, because …

13.6, 5.4, 3.6 & 24

Roy’s points, rebounds, blocks and minutes per night in the preseason. If he can do this when it matters, well, boys and girls, we have ourselves a center.

1.4 to 1

TJ Ford’s shot-to-assist ratio, which is down about 40% from last season. He did struggle with turnovers (4 per game), but it does look like he’s at least trying to heed O’Brien’s call for him to give up the ball.

4.1 to 1

AJ Price’s shot-to-assist ratio. The rookie second rounder spent much of the preseason looking more like an undersized ’2′ than any possible future answer at the point.

4

The number of games missed by each of Jeff Foster and Luther Head due to lingering injuries.

Zero

This could mean a lot of things. It could mean the number of wins the impressive victories against Denver and Houston will net us in the regular season. It could represent the number of losses that will result from the ugly defeats to Denver and Orlando.

However, the most meaningful thing related to zero to come out of the preseason for the Pacers is this: number of games played by Mike Dunleavy and first-round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough.

It’s neck and neck as to whether the Pacers’ preseason performance will tell us more about the upcoming season than this fella could.

Related posts:

1. The Summer Losses: Rasho Nesterovic
2. 8p9s/Pacers TrueHoop Network Season Preview
3. Where Have I Seen This Before?
   Bulls 104, Pacers 95

Jarrett Jack was only in Indy for one year, but he had a large impact. In fact, earlier this summer, Indy Cornrows named Jarrett the second greatest “single-season Pacer” of all time. It’s hard to argue against that claim.

It wasn’t so much that Jack was this transcendent player who fit seamlessly with the team and uplifted the franchise or anything. Far from it. But he was the right fit at the perfect time.

Initially, fans disappointed by the 2008 Draft day trade that sent the Pacers first round pick (the 19-year-old athletic wonder and University of Arizona standout guard Jerryd Bayless) to the Trailblazers for Brandon Rush (who was generally viewed as a potentially solid pro, but a player with a much lower ceiling than Bayless) saw Jarrett Jack as merely a throw-in to that deal. As an NBA point guard, Jack had never set himself apart from even a questionable NBA starter like Steve Blake in Portland, so what great value could he possibly be?

As it turned out he brought exactly that to Indiana: great value.

Less of a traditional point guard and more of an undersized two, Jarrett found himself in a situation suited for him to shine. Mike Dunleavy’s knee injury proved much more serious than initially thought, and less than a month into the season, it was already becoming clear that newly acquired point guard TJ Ford, who joined the roster just days before Jack in the pre-draft trade that shipped Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, was probably not going to shape up to be the assist machine or consistent shooter that people such as myself believed he would be in Jim O’Brien’s offense. Don’t get me wrong; TJ was adequate, but once it became clear that Dunleavy was facing an uphill batttle to return to action, the back court desperately needed another capable ball-handler who could create some offense.

Enter Jarrett Jack.

Jack is by no means a big-time NBA player. But he is aggressive and has a bulldog fearlessness that can alternately invigorate an offense and frustrate fans — sometimes during the same possession. Along with Jarrett’s tenacity in the open court and his confidence going to the hoop came head-scratching turnovers. Foolish jump passers were frequent and erratic, guarded jump shots came early in the shot clock. But on a team full of tentative ball-handlers and players who preferred shooting step-back threes in space over driving to the hole or getting to the foul line, Jack’s persona provided cojones.

Eventually, those qualities seemed to be what allowed Jarrett to supplant TJ in the starting point guard role. After the team dropped 11 of 13 games from November 21 – December 1 (a losing streak during which TJ shot 41.3% from the floor) it became clear that a change — any change — was needed. Given the personnel available, it’s not like coach O’Brien had a ton of options. In short order, Jack began getting the nod at point. And when TJ began missing games with injury, the point guard spot seemed to be Jack’s position to lose.

But, once again, Jarrett Jack is not really a point guard. So before long, he did lose forfeit the car keys back to TJ. A five-game losing streak in March, however, led to Jack once again taking over the starting role in this ongoing point guard ping pong routine. And neither option was bringing beautiful basketball to the table. But both did have their moments — particularly in the clutch — and it would be hard for anyone aside from Brandon Rush to argue that the most potent lineup that the 08-09 Pacers could put on the court was one that featured both TJ and Jack in the back court, where, depending on your outlook, either (1) they both played point guard at the same time, or (2) neither did.

Looking at the numbers, it would seem that the Pacers have also lost something significant quantitatively. Here is how Jack ranked among all the players on the Pacers roster, with the numbers in parentheses being his totals in each category.

Jarrett Jack in 2008-09

Traditional
PPG – 6th (13.1)
APG – 2nd (4.1)
A/TO – 3rd (1.84)

Advanced*
PER – 8th (13.1)
TS% – 5th (.554)
ORtg – 9th (107)
DRtg – 11th (111)
WS – 5th (4.1)
OWS – 4th (2.3)
DWS – 4th (1.8)

* PER – Player Efficiency Rating | TS% – True Shooting Percentage | ORtg – Offensive Rating | DRtg – Defensive Rating | WS – Win Shares | OWS – Offensive Win Shares | DWS – Defensive Win Shares

The Pacers will certainly miss Jack’s ability to fill in when TJ is in going through one of his funks — whether it lasts for a few minutes or a few weeks. Earl Waston will bring some nice stability to the fold during those times — something that Jack was not really capable of — but he obviously can not bring the same versatility or penetrating ability that Jarrett did.

Still, as a player, Jack’s game has many holes. He can score, but he’s not a scorer. He can run an offense, but he’s not a floor general. He can make plays, but he’s not a play-maker. He can guard people, but he can’t stop anybody. Ultimately, if he is a starter on your team — particularly a starter at point guard — your team is flawed. And as we all know, the Pacers are flawed. While the offseason did (theoretically) address a few of those defensive failings, it did little to replace Jack’s offensive aggression. Dahntay Jones should bring a similar bulldog mentality to the defense, but he just doesn’t have the offensive talent for that to translate to the other end of the floor. And the Pacers other two perimeter acquisitions, Luther Head and Earl Watson, are relatively passive players in comparison to Jarrett.

What Jarrett Jack brought to the team is definitely going to be difficult to replace. And no matter how much you like his game, that reality probably says more about the talent deficiency in the Pacers back court than it does about Jarrett himself.

Up next: Rasho Nesterovic.

Lamar Odom can attest to to Jack’s fiery demeanor.

Related posts:

1. It’s Official: Jarrett Jack Is Headed to Toronto
2. Toronto Introduces Jarrett Jack
3. The Summer Losses: Marquis Daniels

Without need for any extracurricular ado, let’s kick things off with Marquis Daniels.

Marquis sells some shoes for Yums.

Marquis joined the Pacers in the summer of 2006, coming to the team in a trade for Austin Croshere. While Austin had been a fan favorite for his timely threes and overall quality play throughout the Pacers Finals run in 2000, his bloated contract had, along with the deals given to Jonathan Bender, Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O’Neal, hamstrung front office flexibility, leaving many to view the trade as Indiana getting a quality, young, athletic swing man in exchange for an overpaid player who never lived up to expectations.

Marquis fit in well immediately, providing some much-needed scoring, slashing and ball-handling for the second unit while also playing above average defense on the other end. Unfortunately, he was soon injured — something that would become a hallmark of Marquis’ time in Indianapolis.

Year two was more productive as he remained healthy enough to play in a career-high 74 games, which is 12 more than his second-best total of 62 with the Mavs. Even though he was physically able to play more, he didn’t seem to be as effective as he was during his first year as a Pacer. It would be disingenuous to call his play lethargic, because he almost always played hard and attacked the paint whether he was penetrating or cutting through the lane. But Marquis always had an aura of disinterest surrounding him on the court and a very mechanical approach to most plays. I’m not sure how exactly you can seem as disinterested as Marquis while also being as active as he was, but he managed.

Ultimately, he was one of the worst-shooting guards in the NBA and now playing under Coach Jim O’Brien, who runs one of the most jumpshot-happy offenses in the NBA. Under Rick Carlisle’s system, Marquis’ slashing and perimeter activity allowed him to find seams in the defense as opposing players rotated to double Jermaine O’Neal or stop penetration from Jamaal Tinsley and Stephen Jackson. But with Jimmy’s offense more geared toward maintaining proper spacing on the perimeter and a revamped roster that had few people able to force the defense to rotate by driving or posting up, Marquis was forced to just stand around on the wing more often. And when he found himself wide-open catching a swing pass behind the three-point line, he was beholden to take the shot for the sake of the offense — even when neither he nor Pacer fans wanted to see another flat jumper clang off the outside of the rim. The result: a player who had never taken more than 36 threes in a season during his pro career took 102 in his first year under O’Brien, and that doesn’t even include all the long jumpers he took from a foot inside the line.

In year three, Marquis seemed to shake some of that funk and get back to finding a way to be his old self again; he was again looking like the dynamic, jack-of-all-trades reserve player that a lot of NBA scouts and fans thought he could become. Just as everything was comint together, however, injuries derailed what had been a pretty good first half of the season, during which Quis had recorded 13.3 ppg on 45.7% shooting in just 30 minutes per night. But after the All-Star break, he would only play in 15 more of the team’s 28 remaining games.

And just like that, his tenure in Indiana was over. The team quickly declined a contract option to retain his services for another season and, after the possibility of mutually beneficial sign-and-trade with Boston proved futile, Danny Ainge signed Marquis as a free agent outright.

During a media conference call yesterday, ESPN analyst Jon Barry was discussing what type of player the Celtics had acquired and described Marquis as somewhat of a man without a position. According to Barry, “he’s not a shooting guard because he can’t shoot.” Nor is he a point guard because even though he is a serviceable ball-handler who can push the ball up the court and handle it capably on the perimeter, he really doesn’t have the ability to run an NBA offense. And at a wiry 6’6″, Barry doesn’t believe that Marquis has the frame nor the bulk to really match up with most small forwards.

While Quis may not have a discernible position, he does have one elite NBA skill; the man can finish in the paint. He does not excel off the dribble getting to the rim, although he can take it off the bounce from three-point line to the cup on occasion. More often, however, he will either penetrate into the paint right below the foul line or catch the ball there while slashing and then slither up through traffic and hit a six-foot leaner. His ability to make short jumpers in the paint is uncanny.

And with the Celtics offense in need of some scoring off the bench, yet not reliant on Marquis to do to much, Celtics fans should be happy to see him scoring around the rim, pushing the ball up the court and finally giving the team a guy who can serve as a backup point guard to Rondo if necessary. Marquis can never be a primary distributor, but a combination of Pierce and him on the perimeter will give them enough secondary ball-handlers to let Rajon catch a breather here and there.

But, honestly, who cares about Boston?

Getting back to what the Pacers have lost, let’s look at the numbers.

Marquis Daniels’ 2008-09 PER of 12.88 was the highest total he posted during his three-year Pacer stint, following last year’s 11.65 (12th best on that year’s roster) and the previous year’s 11.67 (which was 13th best on the team that year). Still, that 2008-09 number made him only the 38th best NBA shooting guard last year when ranked by PER.

For some perspective, here are the guys closest to him:

36. Rashard McCants – 13.03 [he's not currently in the league]
37. Tony Allen – 12.96 [the guy who Ainge was trying to unload in a S&T for Quis]
38. Marquis Daniels – 12.88
39. Sasha Vujacic - 12.65 [good shooter, but have you seen his haircut?]
40. Bobby Jackson – 12.40 [a 36-year-old shooter who shot 30.5% from three last year]

And as far as comparing Marquis’ value to that of his teammates, here is how his numbers stacked up against the others on the Pacers roster in a couple of key statistical categories during his Indy years. (Stat – Rank – Total)

Marquis Daniels Stats in 2008-09

Traditional
PPG – 5th (13.6)
APG – 7th (2.1)
RPG – 4th (4.6)

Advanced*
PER – 10th (12.8)
TS% – 13th (49.1%)
ORtg – 12th (99)
DRtg – 10th (110)
WS – 9th (1.3)
OWS – 12th (-0.1)
DWS – 6th (1.4)

Marquis Daniels Stats in 2007-08

Traditional
PPG – 8th (8.2)
APG – 8th (1.9)
RPG – 7th (2.9)

Advanced*
PER – 12th (11.6)
TS% – 12th (.487)
ORtg – 12th (95)
DRtg – 6th (107)
WS – 8th (1.0)
OWS – 16th (-0.8)
DWS – 5th (1.7)

Marquis Daniels Stats in 2006-07

Traditional
PPG – 9th (7.1)
APG – 11th (1.3 )
RPG – 13th (1.8)

Advanced*
PER – 13th (11.6)
TS% – 13th (.506)
ORtg – 15th (97)
DRtg – 15th (108)
WS – 14th (0.6)
OWS – 15th (-0.1)
DWS – 10th (0.7)

* PER – Player Efficiency Rating | TS% – True Shooting Percentage | ORtg – Offensive Rating | DRtg – Defensive Rating | WS – Win Shares | OWS – Offensive Win Shares | DWS – Defensive Win Shares

Going through the numbers and contemplating my view of how his game suits the Pacers needs, I don’t see losing Marquis as a huge blow to Indiana.

If Mike Dunleavy can’t bounce back to form, the loss of a good ball-handling guard will hurt. But the Pacers back court should be no worse for wear, assuming that Mike can at least play as many games as Quis did last year and factoring in the acquisition of Luther Head, who is admittedly not as dynamic as Daniels but is probably a better fit in O’Brien’s offense given his shooting ability. And defensively, Dahntay Jones should make up for any shortfalls on the other end of the court. It would be nice if Larry Bird could find a mad scientist to combine Head’s offense with Dahntay’s defense, but even if that laboratory experiment remains impossible, I don’t think the Pacers will face a huge drop off in any area of the game based on the fact that Marquis Daniels is gone.

The loss of Jarrett Jack, however, will be much more difficult to replace — but we’ll save that discussion for tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. The Pacers Might Sign-and-Trade Marquis
2. Talking About Pacers: July 28, 2009

The game was officiated by replacement refs, but they were largely unnoticeable. They did draw a pretty negative reaction from the crowd, however, when they decided to review a play with 4.3 seconds remaining, and the Bulls up by nine.

The loss notwithstanding, it was still good to have Indiana Pacer basketball back again. Here are some highlights (and lowlights) of the evening:

Pacer Notes

• Solo Performance – Solomon Jones got the start tonight and rewarded O’Brien’s faith with 11 points and 3 blocks in 26 minutes. He showed some nice leaping ability protecting the rim, and his overall quickness allowed him to provide some token pressure in the backcourt defensively. However, he did not show any kind of physical presence, either in the post or on the glass. Jones will need to learn to put a body on people. Otherwise, he’ll be poor, both as a rebounder and a post defender.

• Ford Pinto - TJ Ford had an inauspicious beginning to the new campaign, shooting only 25% and committing a full 1/3 of the Pacers’ 21 turnovers.

• In Case We Forgot – Second-year players Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert decided to re-enact some of their rookie troubles in the first half. Rush was mostly invisible over the first 24 minutes, failing to take a shot. Hibbert just wished he was, picking up three fouls in just about five minutes.  On the plus side, both were more aggressive and more effective in the second half, combining for 23 points after the break.

• TOO EASY, DRILL SERGEANT! – Danny Granger posted an easy 27 points in 26 minutes tonight, despite a so-so shooting night. Most encouraging were the 12 trips to the line (with 11 makes). The five turnovers need to be curbed, but he was still pretty much the best player in the building.

• McWow – Without question, Josh McRoberts’ fourth quarter dunk got the biggest reaction from the crowd tonight.  However, he had a decent all around night, with 6 boards and a couple of steals.  The absence of Troy Murphy and Tyler Hansbrough created an opening for McBob tonight, and he did pretty well in his 26 minutes.

• Don’t Call Him Lex – Luther Head showed some promise tonight, being very active while on the floor. He scored 14 points, hitting two of his three shots from three. He primarily played the “2″ but was playing the point during the 4th quarter rally.

• …and the Rest – Second-rounder AJ Price showed some defensively tenacity, but missed all seven of his shots … Dahntay Jones showed signs of being able to pressure the ball, as well as a decent mid-range shot, but only played 14 minutes. He was grimacing when he left in the third quarter … Rod Benson, Demetris Nichols and Lawrence Roberts all played, but none looked like anything more than camp fodder … Mike Dunleavy, Hansbrough, Murphy and Travis Diener all missed the game due to injuries, while Earl Watson had an excused absence for personal reasons … The Pacers head to the Far East for the next exhibition game, playing the Denver Nuggets in Taiwan.

Bulls Notes

• Taj & Derrick- The Bulls put five players in double figures tonight, led by Taj Gibson with 19. The USC product was the 26th pick in this year’s draft and showed a very nice mid-range game.  He also pulled down 9 boards. Derrick Byars, who averaged over 20 points a game in the D-League last year, drained two killer threes in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach.

• The Third Wheel – The Bulls played three rookies tonight, one being James Johnson, the #16 pick in this year’s draft. A possible choice for the Pacers, he did nothing to make Indiana regret passing on him. Johnson scored 4 points before fouling out in 20 minutes. He seemed passive and was generally unimpressive. The Pacers guarded him for significant stretches with the much smaller Brandon Rush, and Johnson responded by standing at the three-point line and watching.

• Just Don’t Get Hurt! – The cardinal rule of preseason games, but Tyrus Thomas left the game in the third quarter with a possible concussion. He was knocked to the floor while drawing a charge from Danny Granger and did not return. The Bulls entered the game without veterans Brad Miller, Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo, all down with injuries of one degree or another.

• By Any Other Name – Former #1 draft pick Derrick Rose scored 17 points, including some key buckets to stave off the Pacers’ rally late in the game.

No related posts.

Luther Head

Head, a 6’3″ Illinois product, comes to the Pacers after spending the bulk of his four-year career as a Houston Rocket. The combo guard (code for short shooting guard) is a career 39% shooter from beyond the arc, something that should be put to good use under Jim O’Brien. He’s not a big scorer, but he could provide a little quick offense…particularly during the wasteland of the third.

Mike Wells tweeted that he’s signed a one-year contract at the minimum salary, only partially guaranteed. As a four-year veteran, he would be paid about $885,000 for a full season.

AJ Price

Drafted 52nd out of Connecticut, AJ Price showed some promise in the Orlando Summer League, averaging 8 points and 3 assists and generally looking like a nice pairing with 2nd year Center, Roy Hibbert. Jim O’Brien has said he could be the “steal of the draft,” but judging from the contract, the Pacers are hedging their bets.

Price was signed to a three-year contract totaling about $458,000 this season, and $2.1 million over its length.  However, there are very few guarantees. As usual, Sham at Shamsports.com has the most complete and accurate salary info and tidbits.

A.J. Price: Signed a three year minimum salary contract in September 2009. First year is $175,000 guaranteed, becoming $300,000 guaranteed if Price is not waived on or before December 1st, and becoming fully guaranteed if not waived on or before January 1st 2010. Second year is fully unguaranteed, becoming $175,000 guaranteed if not waived before August 1st 2010, becoming $380,000 guaranteed if not waived on or before 2010 opening night, becoming $531,000 guaranteed if not waived or on before 1st December 2010, and becoming fully guaranteed if ntow aived on or before January 5th 2011. Last year is also fully unguaranteed, becoming $200,000 guaranteed if not waived on or before July 29th 2011, and becoming fully guaranteed if not waived on or before opening night 2011. Phewph.

Translation: Rent, AJ, don’t buy.

Cap Ramifications

Both of these deals are very small and easy to exit for the Pacers. Should both stay with the team for the full season, they will be paid a little over $1.3 million, or about what Troy Murphy makes every 10 games. The cap hit would be about $50,000 less than their total salaries, because the league actually reimburses the team for part of his salary – any amount above the minimum salary level for a two-year veteran.

The Pacers’ cap figure after these two signings is approximately $66.7 million, leaving them with about $3.2 million below the luxury tax threshold. They have effectively used up both their Mid-Level and Bi-Annual Exceptions, so the only contracts they could offer free agents at this point are Minimum Level contract.

Nudge, Nudge.  Wink, Wink.

It’s at this point that I suggest you go ahead and get all of the jokes and bad puns out of your system, because they’re going to get very tired by the time the season starts. For variety, I suggest you work in some of the fine Mike Meyers work from So I Married an Axe Murderer.

With any luck, it will distract you from the realization that we are almost certain to see a lineup of TJ Ford, Luther Head, Dahntay Jones, Danny Granger and Troy Murphy at some point this season.

Related posts:

1. Cap & Trade
2. The Pacers Might Sign-and-Trade Marquis

Forsaking extra ado, let’s get after it.

Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald discusses the hold up and potential deal-breaker in the Boston/Indiana sign-and-trade negotiations surrounding Marquis Daniels:

The problem is believed to be Indiana’s lack of interest in guard Tony Allen, whom the Celtics offered to the Pacers. The Celtics also reportedly have attempted to include guard Gabe Pruitt and forward Bill Walker in the package.

Though in the market for another wing player, the Pacers want something the Celtics aren’t willing to offer.

The Pacers, beset by past citizenship issues, reportedly are reluctant to bring in Allen. The guard’s offcourt issues, including death threats in Chicago that required extra bench security during last spring’s playoffs, cut against the grain of Pacers president Larry Bird’s attempt to move away from the legacy of Ron Artest and Jamaal Tinsley.

“They need a third team, and that’s complicated,” one source said. “No other teams have jumped at it so far.”

Fred Kerber of the New York Post speculates about the Nets, who reportedly are interested in Big Baby Glen Davis, becoming that third team:

The Celtics’ proposed sign-and-trade to land free agent Marquis Daniels from the Pacers has run into complications and could lead to the need of a three-team deal. Enter the Nets, with their legitimate interest in Davis, who averaged 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds during the playoffs last season. The Celtics have indicated they will match any reasonable offer for Davis.

“We have not made any offers to anybody,” Nets team president Rod Thorn said.

UPDATE: Forgot to add Mike Wells’ blog post from yesterday about how the Pacers might fill out the rest of the roster, which could include taking a player or two back from the Celtics or, possibly, acquiring former Rocket guard Luther Head.

The Pacers are expected to resume talks with the Boston Celtics about a possible sign-and-trade deal for Marquis Daniels this week. The Pacers aren’t focusing strictly on a trade with the Celtics to get their 14th, and possibly 15th, player.

They’ve still got their eye on former Illinois guard Luther Head, who can play both guard spots like Jarrett Jack but with a better jumper.

Kerber of the New York Post also mentions Knicks GM Donnie Walsh’s plans to meet with Jamaal Tinsley about playing in MSG next year:

Team president Donnie Walsh hopes to meet with free agent point guard Jamaal Tinsley this week.

Bill Simmons’ favorite movie of the 2000s is inexplicably Almost Famous. I mean, it’s a good flick and all, but better than City of God, Anchorman, Adaptation., There Will Be Blood, X2, Children of Men, No Country for Old Men, Snatch, Old School, Ocean’s Eleven, The Assassination of Jesse James, 25th Hour, The Savages, Zoolander, The Wrestler and Thank You For Smoking (among others)? Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, I suppose, but that’s a pretty odd movie to choose as a favorite, especially if you factor in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Knight and Iron Man.

Fortunately, my thoughts are generally more aligned with the Sports Guy about the NBA than about the silver screen. Here, he offers some advice to his buddy Chad Ford in the form of a quote from the movie Almost Famous:

13. Listen, my advice to you — and I know you think these guys are your friends — if you wanna be a true friend to them … be honest and unmerciful.

To my ESPN colleague Chad Ford, who wrote about Indiana’s summer (the Pacers added Tyler Hansbrough and Dahntay Jones) that “I like the strategy Larry Bird and David Morway have been employing the past couple of years in Indiana. Instead of swinging for the fences in the draft, they are trying for singles and doubles, and they’re connecting.” All due respect to my favorite Hawaii-based columnist, but doesn’t going for singles and doubles ensure 38 to 40 wins and a mediocre lottery pick every year? What am I missing? How is flipping Jerryd Bayless for Brandon Rush, then having to spend another $11 million on Jones (who does the same things as Rush), hitting a single or a double? I think we need to lace up the gloves and fight on another podcast soon.

Nate Timmons of Nuggets blog Denver Stiffs (which just merged with the Nuggets blog Pickaxe & Roll) seems to agree with Simmons:

I’m fairly confident when I say that adding Afflalo pretty much cements the starting shooting guard spot for J.R. Smith. Afflalo has the ability to be a pretty good perimeter defender and provides some scoring pop that should pretty much wipe out the loss created by Dahntay Jones accepting a deal with the Pacers.

I can’t fault Jones for taking the money and a chance at a starting spot, but I applaud the Denver front office for finding a player on the cheap (just a second round pick) that can come in right away and solidify a rotation spot.

Charley Rosen of Fox Sports thinks the Pacers are the fourth worst team in the NBA. Here’s why:

The best athletes on the Pacers all have significant limitations: Dahntay Jones can’t score. Ditto for Jeff Foster. T.J. Ford is among the most selfish point guards in the league. And Danny Granger can’t defend.

Even worse, the level of athleticism possessed by Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough is far below average.

Overall, there’s not enough fluid offense and not enough defense of any description for the Pacers to avoid being a chump team.

Ball in Europe speculates about who should be included on an All-Time European Dream Team, and Sarunas Jasikevicius, Detlef Schrempf and Rik Smits all get the nod. Here, he talks about Rik:

When Larry Bird took over as coach in Indiana, the Pacers were transformed into a team which lived and died by perimeter shooting. With four guys out deep, who was there to nail rebound after rebound against the likes of young Shaquille O’Neal and crazed Dennis Rodman? That’s right: The no. 2 overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, Rik “The Dutchman” Smits. Despite chronic foot problems, Smits still managed a fine 12-year career of 12,871 points, 5,277 rebounds, and 1,111 blocks mostly as a Robin to Reggie Miller’s Batman.

Dino Nation did an interview with TJ Ford, where they talk about, among other things, a new Texas Longhorns website that TJ has been a part of. (via Indy Cornrows)

T.J along with some of his fellow Longhorns have put together a site called Texas360Now.com. It is a site that is going to feature a lot of former Texas players and let fans get to see them in new exciting ways.

SP Stevenson at Indy Cornrows talks about an uplifting, if unlikely, Jonathan Bender comeback story:

Obviously, it’s going to be a tough road for Bender to get a roster spot in the league again. I have to wish him the best of luck, but has a 28-year-old ever felt so old before? I couldn’t believe he was only 28 when I read the article, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his body couldn’t believe it either. I’m sure some fans will speculate on a return to Indy, but that’s highly unlikely to happen.

Again, the Disney storyline is compelling: A teen prodigy is derailed by injuries and is forced to retire at an early age; he spends his retirement doing boatloads of community service in New Orleans to help build houses after Hurrican Katrina; he attempts a comeback and scores the game-winning basket in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Sounds like a hit movie to me.

Jonathan Bender certainly oughta wish upon a star if he wants to play in the NBA again.

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