So that back SF we need.... Bruce Bowen??

[Dunthreevy]

Let me clarify, I KNOW that Hansbrough is NOT a 3. I was simply saying that I think it is more likely that we see him play the 3 over McBob if we were forced to play one of them at that position. McBob has next to no ballhandling ability and ZERO outside shot. Hansbrough at least has a decent spot-up mid-range jumper and fair slashing ability.

[fienX420]

Dahntay Jones has one thing on his mind when he's on the court, and it's not scoring. Jones, who agreed to a four-year deal with the Pacers on July 8, plans to set the tempo for the Pacers defensively. "I'm very, very competitive and I take (defense) as a personal challenge," Jones said. "I have been taught by the coaches I played for that defense wins championships." Jones can defend point and shooting guards and small forwards. The Pacers gave up 106.2 points per game, near the bottom in the league last season. "We're trying to guard people," team president Larry Bird said "We talked about that right after the season. We know we're going to score points, but on the defensive end, we've got to get better." - Yahoo! Sports

Yahoo seems to disagree.

Sorry to go into a Dahntay Jones tangent - but this was laughable. Yahoo? I have no doubt that Jones isn't 'thinking offense' - Denver scored 6.6 points less per 100 possessions and had an effective FG% of minus 1.3% while he was on the floor. Defense? Well, per 100 possessions, Denver allowed 1.8 points more AND their effective FG% allowed was plus 3.6%. Basically, Denver was significantly worse on offense AND defense with Jones on the floor. His Plus/Minus was nearly the worst on the team (edged out by Johan Petro) at -87 on the season (which is really, really bad when the rest of your team was actually pretty good). Sadly, he was a starter and can't even use his cohorts as an excuse.

Maybe Jones is a great 'set up man' - maybe he telepathically plays amazing defense from the bench - maybe his defender rep is all hype. I just hope we see a huge improvement over his effectiveness from last year, because if we give this guy a bunch of minutes doing the same thing he did with Denver, we will tank hard.

[Dunthreevy]

Here's a question.

Who knows a player's ability better, professional scouts and GMs in the NBA and sports publications/networks/websites/etc., or fans on message boards?

Ever since we signed Dahntay Jones, I've seen Nuggets fans come on here and a few select few Pacers fans, saying that Dahntay Jones is actually a liability on defense, his defense isn't that good, or just he flat out can't play defense. I would like to think that Larry Bird, and the numerous sports columnists that have referred to Jones as a defensive specialist, are a little more intelligent and better at scouting players than some message board gurus. Bringing up the +/- is about as relevant as what color shoes the player wears. Season before last, Danny Granger had the WORST +/- on our roster, by a landslide. Rush was dead last on the team last year. So that should speak volumes of exactly how meaningful that statistic is.

I don't care what Denver's %'s were when he was on the court as opposed to when he was on the bench. The fact of the matter is, he was a contributing member of one of the best teams in basketball last year. I find it hard to believe that he won't help our team.

[freeman]

If Jones evolves into something more than just being a "mediocre defender" as most of these so-called experts call him, they will be the very first ones to write an article about how good and valuable he turned out for Indiana. They will flip their integity in an instant and say Jones is a natural born defender, and he was an excellent signing.
Nobody knows how "the plan" and "the system" will work for Jones and the other new guys. And how the returning players blend with the new rotation.
I just hope these "experts" could always give their thoughts on both sides of the situation. Pros and Cons, Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
I'm optimistic about Jones. More than his stats, i like his potential.

[fienX420]

Don't get me wrong. I'm optimistic about Jones as well. And I've always liked him as a player (one of the few I've like coming out of Duke). And Jones definitely appeared to have a significant defensive impact in the playoffs, especially when guarding some of the smaller guards like CP3. I'm just pointing out the fact that there is little tangible evidence (such as the evidence that exists for the unquestioned good defensive players) to justify the defensive reputation that much of the media (especially local) has bestowed upon him. And note that some prominent analysts, including John Hollinger, aren't all that impressed with Jones - and I think that his opinion is probably a little more learned and unbiased than, say, Conrad Brunner's.

Also...

Who knows a player's ability better, professional scouts and GMs in the NBA and sports publications/networks/websites/etc., or fans on message boards?

Very debatable. Who among us would've given Croshere his obscene contract? Who would've let Steve Nash leave via free agency? Who would've drafted Darko over Carmelo? Or Marvin Williams over Chris Paul? I'm sure such a list could go on and on. There are plenty of instances in which the opinion of Joe Message Board would've proven far better than Joe GM.

[DC2]

McBob has next to no ballhandling ability

Woahwoahwoah. Do you know ANYTHING about Josh McRoberts? One of his best qualities is that he is a great ballhandler and passer for his size. He regularly took the ball up the court for Duke. Don't go talking out your butt next time you want to talk about basketball.

[fienX420]

Yeah. McBob is awesome. And he can 360º dunk yo.

[cdash]

Very debatable. Who among us would've given Croshere his obscene contract? Who would've let Steve Nash leave via free agency? Who would've drafted Darko over Carmelo? Or Marvin Williams over Chris Paul? I'm sure such a list could go on and on. There are plenty of instances in which the opinion of Joe Message Board would've proven far better than Joe GM.

Hindsight is 20/20. It's easy for us to say these things now, but we also have the benefit of knowing Croshere wouldn't live up to his contract, Nash would turn into a 2 time MVP, Darko is a bust, CP3 is the best PG in the game, etc.

[Dunthreevy]

Looks like we may not need to search for a SF at all. We may just need to manage with what we have for a short period of time.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... ery_early/

THANK YOU JESUS!

[fienX420]

Hindsight is 20/20. It's easy for us to say these things now, but we also have the benefit of knowing Croshere wouldn't live up to his contract, Nash would turn into a 2 time MVP, Darko is a bust, CP3 is the best PG in the game, etc.

Come on. I picked these examples because hindsight doesn't play into them. I can honestly say I was on the correct side of these beforehand as I'd imagine a lot of people can. I'm not saying I'm never on the wrong side of things, but these were 'gimmes' (not necessarily the results - ie, nobody thought Nash would be an MVP - but the decisions).

[fienX420]

Looks like we may not need to search for a SF at all. We may just need to manage with what we have for a short period of time.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... ery_early/

THANK YOU JESUS!

Sweet. It's been sounding like he's been getting close for awhile now. I think he'd open up the season if the doctors would let him.

[Dunthreevy]

Looks like we may not need to search for a SF at all. We may just need to manage with what we have for a short period of time.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... ery_early/

THANK YOU JESUS!

Sweet. It's been sounding like he's been getting close for awhile now. I think he'd open up the season if the doctors would let him.

Yeah I've been reading all of his blogs since the surgery and the way he talks, he feels great. I've been thinking "it would be awesome if he didn't miss any of the season", but was still expecting him to be out until at least January. How awesome would it be if he came back at 100% just a couple weeks into the season?

I'm ready to break out my jersey already.