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And no fine from the league. Does this bother anyone else? Or am I alone on this one?

This league never ceases to amaze me. They absolutely should be fined. The tanking business is out of control as well.

Nolan wrote:[tweet]https://twitter.com/CandaceDBuckner/status/453945808518254592[/tweet]

And no fine from the league. Does this bother anyone else? Or am I alone on this one?

You guys misunderstood the Spurs-Heat situation. Yes, clearly what caused the fine was that it's a big game on national TV. But Stern didn't fine the Spurs because they're not allowed to rest players. He fined us because we failed to notify the league of this decision. The Spurs (I can't remember) either had our big 3 fly home or they were on street clothes. So they had no chance of playing. And even the starting lineup when the game was about to start had our big three. The rule the Spurs broke was about notifying the league about this. Not that they're not allowed to rest guys, even though that's exactly what got Stern mad. We've done this million times before that big Miami game.

On to the Pacers though. I just don't see their issue being simply because of fatigue. They're not clicking.

What is obvious to me is Paul George's inability to score efficiently. He's forcing shots up. Look at the kind of shots he takes and that's like Kobe/MJ type of hard shots. I think he's not playing within his capabilities. He's a good scorer thinking like he's a great one. He's not there yet.

And then with Stephenson's rise to stardom, he's getting more and more aggresive on offense. But with him and George looking to score and create, now David West isn't getting enough scoring touches. When David West isn't scoring, he's not really bringing much defense. And when Roy Hibbert isn't getting touches, he's not as engaged defensively.

They were sharing the ball early on, and Paul George's tough crazy shots was falling. They're not now, and the ball stops with everyone trying to do too much. This is why role players are important. Guys have to know their roles. Pacers' starting lineup has stars and rising stars and they're clashing.

That's my take.

My take on this is that the Pacers are mentally weak. I can't believe Larry Bird signed off on them sitting. I was hopeful they could compete with Miami but after this I'm convinced the Heat win the East.

co_laper wrote:You guys misunderstood the Spurs-Heat situation. Yes, clearly what caused the fine was that it's a big game on national TV. But Stern didn't fine the Spurs because they're not allowed to rest players. He fined us because we failed to notify the league of this decision. The Spurs (I can't remember) either had our big 3 fly home or they were on street clothes. So they had no chance of playing. And even the starting lineup when the game was about to start had our big three. The rule the Spurs broke was about notifying the league about this. Not that they're not allowed to rest guys, even though that's exactly what got Stern mad. We've done this million times before that big Miami game.

But how many times a year do we see players pulled as game time decisions? I personally think the whole reporting it to the league thing is complete BS. The Pacers released the news to the media less than 8 hours before tip off Pops basically did the same thing.

Nolan wrote:

co_laper wrote:You guys misunderstood the Spurs-Heat situation. Yes, clearly what caused the fine was that it's a big game on national TV. But Stern didn't fine the Spurs because they're not allowed to rest players. He fined us because we failed to notify the league of this decision. The Spurs (I can't remember) either had our big 3 fly home or they were on street clothes. So they had no chance of playing. And even the starting lineup when the game was about to start had our big three. The rule the Spurs broke was about notifying the league about this. Not that they're not allowed to rest guys, even though that's exactly what got Stern mad. We've done this million times before that big Miami game.

But how many times a year do we see players pulled as game time decisions? I personally think the whole reporting it to the league thing is complete BS. The Pacers released the news to the media less than 8 hours before tip off Pops basically did the same thing.

Stern said about the fine.

"The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."

Teams are required to report as soon as they know a player will not travel because of injury.

And the Spurs sent our big 3 home, to be exact. But the Spurs didn't inform the league 8 hours before the tip off. No one knew about the big three being out until it was game time. Frank Vogel is quoted today after the game saying that he ran the decision by the NBA league office, which he said found no problem with the move.

The Pacers are in freefall. I've never seen an elite team falter this much so close to the playoffs.

Hibbert looks like he simply doesn't want to be playing ball any more. I don't get it. He apparently worked out with Duncan a couple years in a row now, had some big games last year (particularly on D in the playoffs) and suddenly he is grabbing 1 rebound in 30+ minutes and barely scoring.

I think the problem is George. He isn't a superstar, yet is trying to play like one. This not only hurts his game but to me, it looks like it upsets the rest of the Pacers, who at times, looked like a mini Spurs when they shared the load and no one cared about stats.

I'd be very, very surprised if they make the Conference Finals and actually expect them to lose first round to whoever they play.

Phreak50 wrote:Hibbert looks like he simply doesn't want to be playing ball any more. I don't get it. He apparently worked out with Duncan a couple years in a row now, had some big games last year (particularly on D in the playoffs) and suddenly he is grabbing 1 rebound in 30+ minutes and barely scoring.

I think the problem is George. He isn't a superstar, yet is trying to play like one. This not only hurts his game but to me, it looks like it upsets the rest of the Pacers, who at times, looked like a mini Spurs when they shared the load and no one cared about stats.

I'd be very, very surprised if they make the Conference Finals and actually expect them to lose first round to whoever they play.

Agreed. But I still expect them to make the ECF simply because as bad as they are right now, the competition really isn't any better. Indiana at their current state is probably at the same level as Atlanta or Charlotte in their good days. So I expect them to still get out of the first round. It might be tougher to get past Chicago but should get past Toronto in the 2nd round. There's just not enough true challengers for them in the East outside of Miami and Chicago.

They're not going out in the first round. If they were in the west they'd probably get swept but as it stands, they have it easy in the east. If they make it out of the second round they will get owned by Miami in the ECF, HCA or not.