TJ Ford loses starting PG spot to Earl Watson

[RAW]

I still think it's hilarious for the fact that whenever I go into a Champs store here on the Southside, the ONLY Pacer stuff they sell is T.J. Ford Jerseys and t-shirts.

I actually like Price and would like to see him play more often *?*

Funny you should mention that. My buddy went to Sports FANatics in the Greenwood mall and said the only Pacers stuff they had was like 2 shirts and they were hanging on the wall, directly behind one of the support beams in the store (basically hidden). Fandom is in a sad state of affairs here in Indy

I was just there the other day and your buddy is correct. And I think all they had were Granger Swingmans and maybe some Pacers shorts. But that's about it. That store used to be wall to wall Pacers back in the day. I echo your sentiments, Pacers fanfair here in Indy is probably at an all time low. I was listening to Kravitz and Eddy the other day (against my will), and they were saying something along the lines of how it's one thing to have your fans be mad at your organization and the front office like what the Colts are going through right now, but when they just don't care anymore, that's when you know you have a problem. And sadly, they're right.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

I hate hearing that, man.

It's those same fans that wanted to sacrifice talent for nice guys and now that they have them, they don't care because the team is losing.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

[Dunthreevy]

I hate hearing that, man.

It's those same fans that wanted to sacrifice talent for nice guys and now that they have them, they don't care because the team is losing.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I have cake I tend to enjoy eating it. What kind of jerk would give you cake and not let you eat it?

[Miller4ever]

It's a tough situation right now, but we've come back from apathy once. The season Reggie was drafted, there were curtains covering the upper decks at Market Square Arena. If the team gets some wins, we have fans. Us hardcore fans know that there's a lot to look forward to. Even if it means that we have to be the annoying Pacer guy who pesters everyone about seeing the team.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

I hate hearing that, man.

It's those same fans that wanted to sacrifice talent for nice guys and now that they have them, they don't care because the team is losing.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I have cake I tend to enjoy eating it. What kind of jerk would give you cake and not let you eat it?

[Dunthreevy]

It's a tough situation right now, but we've come back from apathy once. The season Reggie was drafted, there were curtains covering the upper decks at Market Square Arena. If the team gets some wins, we have fans. Us hardcore fans know that there's a lot to look forward to. Even if it means that we have to be the annoying Pacer guy who pesters everyone about seeing the team.

We should have t-shirts that say that

[TJFordisGod]

@Dunthreevy

His numbers vs New York may not be stellar but it is definitely better than the horrid stats that watson and price put up. The only reason Ford is being benched is for is inability to hit a three ball in this joke of a system. If any one of the three point guards need to be benched, it is watson.

What about the fact that he's not shooting the 2-ball or the 1-ball very well either, considering his FG% is the lowest it's been since his first season with Toronto, and his FT% is a career low. Oh and how about his 3.6 assists per game...which is also a career low?

Well his 2 ball and 1 ball % is still higher than Watsons and they pretty much average the same amount of assists. T.J. is obviously not playing the same this year but I don't think it's entirely his fault due to Obriens system. I think a Price/Ford pg duo would be more effective than a Watson/Price pg duo. It also doesn't make sense to bench T.J. completely especially if you want to trade him. This isn't helping his trade value. I like the way Price has been playing and I wouldn't mind him starting and Ford coming off the bench at this point.

[Miller4ever]

Watson is getting the same assists in less minutes. You could blame it on Obie's system, except that he had a great year last year in the same system. What I don't understand is why you hate the guys who replace TJ Ford, like Jarrett Jack and Earl Watson. Earl racked up 9 dimes with only 1 turnover today. Right now he's our best starting PG, and TJ is in the doghouse. He was shopped, and now that he can't be traded, there's no point in playing him because he's terrible, and nobody wants him anyway. Hence, the benching.

[basketballwacko2]

What is this like Dew and McLeod or Oomph and Saras? Groupies!

[Oomph]

What is this like Dew and McLeod or Oomph and Saras? Groupies!

Beware my friend as I'm very high on AJ Price at this moment

[basketballwacko2]

What is this like Dew and McLeod or Oomph and Saras? Groupies!

Beware my friend as I'm very high on AJ Price at this moment

Well that makes two of us! But I'm not making a life size bobble head of him out of maccaroni!

[CoachD]

Ford for Banks/Evans?

Done where do we sign!

You can sign on the Hobo Gonzolez list of deals that make too much sense for Colangelo to make.

WTF?
Trade a guy who will be a servicable rotation big (or at very least insurance against an injury) and the Raps's best defensive 1 for a guy who won't play, WILL be a cancer in the locker room and potentially takes money out of Bosh's pocket in the off season??

Ya you're right. BC is a moron for not pullin the trigger on that one.

[ajizzle]

Earl starting is the best thing Obie's done all year. He's perfect for our team of scorers. He's a pass-first, he collapses the D by driving ALL THE WAY to the cup, instead of halfway then pulling up for a fadeaway J, and he's great as an OTB defender. He doesn't leave his teammates out to dry, ala Iverson. And he's very cheap for what he does.

Here's my question. Hypothetical scenario. Not predicting a playoff run or anything, but say Earl can consistently get performances out of the team like the recent home win vs. Toronto or Pistons, where he has something close to 10-10 (pts & assts), the team scores 100, wins in the high 30s, low 40s or basically put together a run where they win 5-10 games over .500 in their last 35.

Do we, for next season...
1) Keep Earl at that cheap rate, allow him to see how good he can make the team? He's a bit older, but for a franchise who has been terrible since the Brawl, he's a glue guy that makes it all work.
2) Draft a PG who we think can replicate that production? Someone like Warren or Bledsoe, or some other player to has a big tourney in March. It may not be instant success, but that's the chance you take with potential.
3) Sign a FA PG who we think could do that? Ray Felton would be awesome IMHO. He's SuperWatson, a player who does everything Watson does, only better, and we know he can handle that role after playing with Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace. It may be costly, but could pay off in a big way if he can do what I think he's capable of. Plus, Kyle Lowry will be out there, and he's like a younger Watson.
4) Hand the keys to Price? He's played well in a backup role, but he's not the same style as Watson or Felton or Lowry. Do you want to take that chance if you know what you get out of Watson, even though he's toward the end of his career.

Thoughts anyone???