GDT: Game 53, Miami @ Pacers

[Indy2thaWindy]

frankly, I don't know whether I want to trade Mike or Danny after a game like that.

This is the 2nd time this season you've said this.

[Wizop]

frankly, I don't know whether I want to trade Mike or Danny after a game like that.

This is the 2nd time this season you've said this.

so it's the second time I've wondered whether Danny is the budding perennial all star we've hoped he'd become. it's clear he's a long way from LeBron and Wade. with the game on the line tonight and the ball in Danny's hands on one end and LeBron's on the other it was about 10-3 in favor of LeBron. has me thinking whether we could sell high and pickup a couple of younger prospects. I see it as a time line consideration. how many years away are we?

[Indy2thaWindy]

frankly, I don't know whether I want to trade Mike or Danny after a game like that.

This is the 2nd time this season you've said this.

so it's the second time I've wondered whether Danny is the budding perennial all star we've hoped he'd become. it's clear he's a long way from LeBron and Wade. with the game on the line tonight and the ball in Danny's hands on one end and LeBron's on the other it was about 10-3 in favor of LeBron. has me thinking whether we could sell high and pickup a couple of younger prospects. I see it as a time line consideration. how many years away are we?

It doesn't mean he's not a good player. So you think if he's not a super star we should trade him. I think he's the perfect second option. Let's see what Paul can turn into, before we trade Danny for less than what he's worth to us.

[jcodbf2]

Tough loss.

Neither Granger or Collison stepped up in the 4th and that hurt the Pacers.

[Indy2thaWindy]

7-2 under Vogel. Both losses to one of the best, if not the best team in the league. And both prettty close games.

Vogel made a few mistakes that killed us in the end, but they might have been his first major mistakes this season. We need to comeback and beat these next few teams.

[writerman]

Every time I watch a game like this, my blood pressure goes sky high--not because we lost, but because of the nauseating and blatant favoritism` NBA refs are clearly directed to show certain players--in this case, Dwayne Wade, and he's a perennial recipient of star treatment.

None of these bogus calls cost us the game, but they are infuriating nonetheless. There was one in particular--I think it was the fourth quarter with the score tied, either Dahntay Jones or Paul George on Wade--where there was CLEARLY no, zero, zip, nada, justification for awarding Wade a trip to the line. And that was just the worst one--there were a couple of others earlier in the game nearly as bad. I replayed them several times, challenging myself to see if it was just the angle I was getting that made it look like a bad call. In the end, I concluded that it was not. In one play, the ref who made the call was in lousy position to make any call at all, something any half-decent HS ref would have been embarrassed to do.

Keep in mind that I've reffed for years--maybe not for NBA players, but I know the fundamentals quite well, and they are regularly violated by these "professional" officials.

I guess you just have to accept that it's all part of the NBA's devolution toward matching professional wrestling for lack of integrity, but it's nauseating nonetheless.

[Boneman2]

The only way I'd move Danny is if the returning package was too irresistable to pass up.

That said, Danny has basically spent his entire career playing for a struggling team, and now that we're showing signs of life, I think he should be a part of it.

There was a moment in tonights game where George and Granger hit back-to-back threes, it was a sight that I hope to see a lot more of. They could be a deadly tandem, primarily because PG is quick enough to defend almost anybody, allowing them to co-exist on the wing.

Collison & AJ need to distribute the ball more. Both seem intent on scoring, unfortunately they took too many stupid shots too early in the shot-clock.

[Miller4ever]

7-2 under Vogel. Both losses to one of the best, if not the best team in the league. And both prettty close games.

Vogel made a few mistakes that killed us in the end, but they might have been his first major mistakes this season. We need to comeback and beat these next few teams.

I honestly believe you're overreacting a bit on both counts. In hindsight it's too easy to say the coach cost us the game, but those were reasonable choices. Sticking your starting lineup minus the really bad player in the last 5 minutes I would treat as a positive. As for giving minutes to Dunleavy at all, why can't we let one of our expirings accumulate some trade value? He was bad today because he was coming off an illness, but between statistics and watching him play, he isn't the D-Leaguer you make him out to be. In fact, he's our second-most efficient shooter and actually makes our team better when he's on the floor, according to plus-minus, which I realize is a flawed statistic, but there's never been a plus-minus leader (he is #1 on the team in total plus-minus) that has been bad for the team.

That being said, I would rather see him not play. I wouldn't call it a mistake, though, I would just call it preference.

[Grang33r]

Vogel's post-game press conference

http://www.nba.com/pacers/video/2011/02 ... index.html



Good stuff right there. No wonder the players love this guy.

[jcodbf2]

On the topic of the refs...

The Heat board was up in arms about the refs being awful.. I wonder what they are like when they get the calls their fans expect?

There was one no call in particular that annoyed me.. I forget when it was.. Maybe it was the 4th but Tyler split 2 defenders and had an open lane to the bucket.. Then all of a sudden you see those 2 guys hanging off of him and the ball popped up when Hansbrough started to go for a layup. Now that was annoying.

[Miller4ever]

^^Yeah. That was really annoying.

Heat fans are spoiled.

[216pacers]

writerman- the NBA has been rigged for over 20 years. i finally turned it off for good, 10 years too late. honestly im surprised i even follow the pacers at all now but i've been a die hard fan my whole life and love basketball. if you thought last nite was bad wait until the playoffs. NBA creates superstars and you are not allowed to breathe on them. its the national business league. if the pacers played the heat in the playoffs you'd see them get away with everything, kinda like game 7 of the 98 ECF when the bulls were allowed to play illegal defense the entire 4th quarter.


i found it funny that heat "fans" were referencing donaghy as if $tern would actually want them to lose

[Wizop]

So you think if he's not a super star we should trade him.

nothing that strong. just an expression of mid-game frustration with both Mike and Danny. something in between "we should trade him" and "we shouldn't even consider offers." plus I didn't mean we should trade both of them just that I'd listen to offers that would get us still more young prospects and that last nights play left me wondering which of the two could be moved to maximum benefit. I intended to express a good deal of befuddlement.

now that it is morning and I've read the paper I wonder if standing pat might be better for the players confidence.

[PR07]

I thought a lot of guys played well yesterday, namely AJ Price, Hansbrough, and George surprised. I was disappointed in Collison. It simply wasn't his night yet he just kept shooting.

All-in-all it was another solid victory for this team, but this team is past moral victories. They need to learn to close games.

[Miller4ever]

Collison didn't chuck, though, he was just blocked.

[jcodbf2]

writerman- NBA creates superstars and you are not allowed to breathe on them. its the national business league.

I will agree with that.

There are guys that play in the NBA who are really good players but do not get the calls to get to the line 8-15 times a game to boost their 12ppg to 20+ppg like the supposed stars do.