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Living in Northwest Indiana, I decided to come down for a game during the Spring of 2015 against Miami, knowing they were likely our biggest rival.

Once I arrived at the Fieldhouse, they were handing out signs at the gate that read "Welcome Back PG"...I told my dad at the time that this was BS and that it completely opposed team concept. What my point was, we were fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the east in a game against the hated Heat, yet the only thing the Indy media focused on at the time was George's return from his broken leg and had a ceremony celebrating his return with a member of the U.S. military and yada yada....

Even though the Pacers won the game, literally the only thing that day accomplished was that it helped allow for Mr. George to develop an unwarranted sense of entitlement within the Pacers organization.

For the long haul my hope is that this could provide a lesson learned for the Pacers fan base and media, myself included. And that lesson is not to overvalue individual talent to that extent (unless the player happens to be Michael Jordan, which he won't be). We win as a team and we lose as a team...

If you were kept out of work for a year and had to have major surgery and rehab and then no one gave a **** when you came back, would that really instill team loyalty in you?

We won the game. Saying "literally the only thing that day accomplished" is ignoring how welcoming PG back got the crowd going which gets the team going. What do you want instead? Basketball communism?

I don't care how "spoiled" a star is whether we win or lose, only if it starts detracting from their on-court performance. And if they do turn out to be a rotten apple, that's not on the organization, that's on them.

Miller4ever wrote:If you were kept out of work for a year and had to have major surgery and rehab and then no one gave a **** when you came back, would that really instill team loyalty in you?

We won the game. Saying "literally the only thing that day accomplished" is ignoring how welcoming PG back got the crowd going which gets the team going. What do you want instead? Basketball communism?

I don't care how "spoiled" a star is whether we win or lose, only if it starts detracting from their on-court performance. And if they do turn out to be a rotten apple, that's not on the organization, that's on them.

Yup. Morale matters, and it has to be managed. Little things like celebrating his hard work is something the pacers would have done for any of the players, too.

I agree, it was just one game but that was probably the highlight of the entire season for myself. The way PG worked and insisted on coming back early deserved to be celebrated.It was one of the better stories in the entire NBA that year, no need to be sour.

I kinda wish we as fans stop talkin about this guy. He's not a Pacer anymore

Miller4ever wrote:If you were kept out of work for a year and had to have major surgery and rehab and then no one gave a **** when you came back, would that really instill team loyalty in you?

We won the game. Saying "literally the only thing that day accomplished" is ignoring how welcoming PG back got the crowd going which gets the team going. What do you want instead? Basketball communism?

I don't care how "spoiled" a star is whether we win or lose, only if it starts detracting from their on-court performance. And if they do turn out to be a rotten apple, that's not on the organization, that's on them.

What would I want instead? Not handing out flyers at the gate as if we were hosting an NBA Finals game would be a good place to start.