Gold decided to visit each team in their home city to watch them in their respective practice sessions. He stayed in Boston for a night and made the personal decison that, “This city is far too busy and populated. Although the baked beans are great, I could never live here.”

After Boston, he flew over to Oklahoma City. OKC wasn’t Mr. Locks’ cup of tea either. “This city is far too dull. I can’t believe that when I asked the hotel concierge for night-life ideas she simply had the horse and buggy take me to the local IHOP. No way I could live here.”

Gold next spent a weekend in Indianapolis. He felt at home. “You know, this city is just right. Not too crowded, not too dull. I could really see myself raising a family here.”

I’m not quite sure how Gold’s living preferences made it into this article, but more importantly, I was able to get a copy of the notes he took from his scouting report. Since Mr. Locks is such a great basketball mind, I thought that I might share a few of the points he made regarding three teams that Pacers fans have recently become familiar with.

Age

Celtics: “This team is far too old. A few of their players seem too elderly to even run the fast break. This is supposed to be a basketball team, not a retirement home.”

Thunder: “This team is far too young. Young teams can make poor decisons late in games. That James Harden guy might fool some people with his beard, but apparently he is only 22 years old. This is supposed to be a basketball team, not a daycare center.”

Pacers: ”This team’s age is just right. Most of its core is pretty young, but the roster has some great veterans like David West and Danny Granger. Age shoudn’t be a problem for them.”

Superstar’s Personality

Celtics: “This Kevin Garnett guy is far too mean. He’s got a lot of intensity, but I think he takes it too far. He kept screaming incoherent things at practice, and he made Brandon Bass cry four times. I really don’t think this sort of thing helps the team.”

Thunder: “Kevin Durant is a great kid. I think he might be a little too nice though. He could use a little bit more intensity. He wore a Dora the Explorer backpack to practice. Plus, he kept saying, ‘Keep your heads up, guys. Win or lose, when we get back to OKC, IHOP’s on me.’”

Pacers: “Danny Granger still has some room to grow as a player, but I think his personality is just right. He works hard and encourages his teammates, but also has a little tough-guy streek. And he was all business when it came to the most important parts of practice.”

Point Guard’s Shooting

Celtics: “Rajon Rondo definitely doesn’t shoot enough. He seems to have no confidence in his jump shot or his free throws. Teams can play five feet off of him in the fourth quarter because they know he won’t shoot the three. His fear of missing free throws might also effect his willingness to drive to the basket. Plus, I don’t know how he is going to get any better with Kevin Garnett screaming at him while he practices.”

Thunder: “Russell Westbrook shoots far too much. He has a great shot, and he’s a freak athlete, but sometimes he seems to forget that it’s not against the rules to pass the ball. It shouldn’t be too hard to defend Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter if Westbrook refuses to pass him the ball.”

Pacers: “You know, I’m not sure that Darren Collinson is nearly as talented as the other two teams’ point guards, but he might have the best shot selection. He has a better three-point shot than both of them and he can make a pull-up jumper off of a screen. He also doesn’t force up too many shots when there is a better option.”

Xs & Os

Celtics: “This team is far too reliant on perfect execution. Age prevents most of their best players from creating anything off of the isolation. They run great plays and set great picks that often lead to open three-point shots for Ray Allen, but the problem is that if the play isn’t executed perfectly then they aren’t very likely to get any points out of the possession.”

Thunder: “To be honest, this team doesn’t really run a lot of plays. They run your basic pick and rolls, but they also just rely on the one-on-one skills of their best players. They seem to be able to get away with it for the most part because Durant and Westbrook (and sometimes Harden) are so good, but when the defense is really locking down you need to be able to draw up some plays to create a few easy buckets.”

Pacers: “The Pacers’ play-running skills are just right. They run a number of simple plays that the team executes well. They spread the scoring around to a number of different players. When plays break down they have a couple of scorers who can make something out of nothing late in the shot clock.”

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. Gold E. Locks is usually pretty spot on with his game analysis. The Thunder and the Celtics are going to get a lot of hype going into the playoffs. But sometimes it can hurt to be too far in one direction for certain aspects of basketball.

With a just a handful of games left to polish their execution, it’s starting to seem like the Pacers are “just right.”

Dave Navarro said it best when he released Trust No One. When it comes to NBA trade rumors, the trust old journalism axiom also applies: If your mother says she loves you, check it out.

Unfortunately, I have no sources to either confirm or deny the validity of the most recent Chris Paul-related rumor from Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski. But if they come to fruition, good lord, the Pacers would be proving just how valuable having some cap space can be. Just by jumping in to help facilitate a Paul-to-Boston deal, Woj is saying that Larry Bird can get Rajon Rondo without giving up all that much.

We have heard about this rumored deal before, but never with some many of the moving parts so fully detailed.

Ainge and Rivers believe they can convince Paul to stay with the Celtics beyond this season. That’s why Ainge has been so relentless on the phones, trying to secure the players beyond Rondo and Green that New Orleans would want for Paul.

The Celtics had discussions with the Indiana Pacers about the framework of a deal that could’ve sent Paul to the Celtics, Rondo to Indiana and a package, including former Hornet Darren Collison, Tyler Hansbrough,Brandon Rush and draft picks, to New Orleans, sources said.

New Orleans would have keener interest in small forwardsDanny Granger or Paul George, but Pacers president Larry Bird has declared those players “untouchable” in trade talks, sources said.

Losing Collison is something but not really when you upgrade to Rajon. So all you’re really losing there is Hansbrough, a valuable piece but not irreplaceable, and a few picks, which are crap shoots anyway and unlikely to be of the lottery variety, and Brandon Rush, who isn’t good.

This doesn’t really pass the smell test though.

Really, New Orleans can’t get anything better for the league’s best point guard than Jeff Green, Darren Collison, Tyler Hansbrough, Brandon Rush and a bunch on non-lottery picks? I dunno. There are a few fringe starters there, sure, and I like DC and Bro Hands (and very much don’t like Jeff Green), but this sounds like the opposite of the Herschel Walker deal.

Then again, if Paul is only a four-month rental who won’t commit to an extension and no teams will give up a sizable asset on that type of gamble, perhaps this is the best offer? It’s a least good volume. They do need warm bodies just to field a team next season, particularly since it’s hard to believe David West will re-sign with a team that lacks both an owner and, soon, an all-world point guard.

The Hornets have only six players under contract, and had hoped they could find a trade for Paul – who has told them he will leave as a free agent after the season – before the start of Friday’s training camp. That scenario looks less likely, because, as one executive in the talks said Thursday, “They’re bringing in more teams, more scenarios, when we thought they wanted to narrow it down.”

More than anything, however, I’m just shocked that the Warriors and Clippers have put, repectively, Steph Curry and Eric Gordon “off limits” in a Paul deal. Really? Then again, who am I to judge. It’s decisions like these that have left the Clipps and Dubs mantle’s littered with Larry O’Brien trophies.

Oh wait …

Playing against a banged-up team, the Pacers benefited from solid bench play and great showings from point guards Darren Collison (18 points on 8-of-9 shooting) and AJ Price (15 points in 20 minutes).

It was a night that both teams needed a win for different reasons. The Pacers, trying to hold off quickly closing Charlotte, began just one game ahead of the field for the 8th and final playoff spot. Boston needed help to catch Chicago for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The game was a Jekyll-and-Hyde night that encapsulated a Jekyll-and-Hyde season thus far.

Predictably enough, the Pacers got off to their typical slow start. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Indiana trailed 22-12 due mainly to an inability to control Celtics star Rajon Rondo. Rondo was doing anything and everything he wanted to such a degree that, at the time, it seemed as though Collison would be incapable of redeeming himself for the poor defense he was playing.

With Boston shooting lights out in the opening period, Roy Hibbert kept Indiana within striking distance. Throw in a Price buzzer-beater as the quarter expired and the lead was cut to a manageable six at 33-27.

Enter the Bench Brigade.

Led by Price, Dahntay Jones, and the sharp-shooting Brandon Rush, the second string turned the 6-point deficit to a 5-point surplus in just 5 minutes. The starters capitalized off this energy. By halftime, Indiana had shot 60% and gotten 19 points from Roy Hibbert, who simply out-classed whoever Doc Rivers threw at the big fella (including Nenad Krstic, Big Baby Davis and even Jeff Green). The good guys led by 8.

The third quarter was the opposite story. Teams began trading baskets to start the half, the kind of back-and-forth against a superior team that makes conditioned Pacers fans ask “How long can this last?”

As it turns out, not very long. A 16-6 Boston run put the Celtics up by 2 midway through the period. But the Pacers weathered the storm.

Needing an impetus at the beginning of the final quarter, the Pacers responded to a Boston drought by going on a 7-0 run to grab a 3-point lead. Sloppy play and turnovers (I consider a jump shot by Josh McRoberts to be a turnover and am currently drafting up a proposal to the commissioner on the subject) prohibited the Pacers from stretching that lead any further. (I joke, but despite what the box score may tell you, McRoberts played very well, making several nice passes that led to buckets in the second half.)

The most surprising aspect of the game came with the Pacers new-found lead dwindling. With his team down one, Ray Allen went to the line for an automatic pair.

Then Allen missed his first foul shot since the Eisenhower administration, Indiana notched three quick buckets in under a minute, and the usually reliable Kevin Garnett shot off on a couple more free throws. Collison was at the center of the Pacers attack, hitting four big buckets late including a pull-up jumper, a steal/dunk alone in transition and a driving layup at the rim (on which he might have also gotten fouled).

Another big hoop by Hibbert, who had 26 on the night on 12-for-17 shooting, put the Pacers up 8. Whenever Indiana opened the door up for a potential Celtic comeback in the final 4 minutes, Boston was uncharacteristically quick to give the ball back.

On a night when they really needed a win — particularly with the Bobcats winning a thriller over the Bucks — the Pacers got it. With 9 games left and a 1-game cushion for the last playoff spot, nothing else matters.

Other thoughts:

• Can we stop calling Pierce, Garnett and Allen The Big Three, please? None of them are currently the best player on their own team, and none of them even had the best career of all players currently on the team.

• James Posey stands farther away from the team huddle than TV sideline reporter Stacey Paetz