Did Larry Bird Screw Up At The Deadline?

I was in Dallas and my friend had free tickets to the Mavs-Pacers game so I decided to go (it's not like I would be able to watch the Rockets anyway). Paul George was in foul trouble so Turner got extended minutes, but all he did was stand in the corner on offense. He looked so disinterested and you could tell by the look on his face. No one really gave him the ball either. I bet he was just so depressed from going from being a first option to a bench player, even if that team is a contender.

 

The assetization of Danny Granger didn't account for goodwill value.

Poor move, Bird. Stick to what you know.

 

Yes and he helped the Clippers get better too. Now they have Granger who is gradually improving his play.

 

Not really. Maybe if Turner was still on a rookie scale you'd have a point, but he was gonna be a FA this year or next year, do you really want to commit long term money to him?

Bird has never been one to study analytics, and now he's paying for it big time. As an "old-school" GM he's always been one to rely on nothing else but his gut, and that instinct told him to go for the big names Bynum and Turner, not realizing the impact bringing cancers like those two can have on a locker room. Well as a Mia/LBJ fan I'm quite happy to see the Pacer hype dissapate, LBJ should have no problem reaching the Finals again, hopefully to lose against the Rox.

 

Both players are allowed to find their footings during the regular season due to their circumstances (young player learning his place in a new team and previously injured, main player of his team that no longer requires him) and are the type of players capable of suddenly getting hot and able to help his team.

If they both turn out to be serviceable during the playoffs, none of this right now will matter.

 

I don't think that the Pacers struggles have anything to do with Granger or Turner.

The Pacers were better prepared than other teams when the season started and they added some wrinkles defensively that teams were not sure how to handle. You add that up, with Paul George playing very well and you have a team that got off to a great start.

Also, you can only ride a horse that hard for so long. The Pacers were mentally focused and competed every single game. It is crunch time now, and they don't have another gear to shift into like teams like Hou, LAC, Miami and SA. Thus, they are running on fumes.

Concerning their defense, Vogel and Burke were very cleaver, essentially relying on analytics to construct their defense. They force teams to take mid range jumpers. They cover the three point line religiously, and rely on Hibbert to keep the land clear with their PF switching inside when needed. It worked really well but teams are figuring it out a little bit, and attacking and running more.

 

Honestly, I have no idea. It's really hard to say for sure since the information from locker rooms is sketchy at best.

Was Grainger that big a veteran influence? Is Turner that disruptive? The players losing focus/showing immaturity? The coach losing the locker room? Too much pressure?

I suspect we may never know until a tell all or someone is traded and hits the media...

 

Whoa. J.R. Repeated himself. A déjà vu of words.

That means there's a glitch in cf.net doesn't it?

I'm scared

 

In their last 38 games, they are something like 20-18 (I think that's what I heard on the radio).

That's hilarious. Hope they lose in the 1st or 2nd round so I can laugh some more.

 

Also there is a rumor circulating on the Pacer site that George Hill and Lance Stephenson got into a fist fight in the locker room after the Spurs game. Not sure if true, but it sounds plausible.

 

Evan Turner is a rich man's Shandon Anderson who got drafted higher for the better handles/passing. He didn't get to benefit from having stars on his team give him easy buckets. Now who's going to be the Carroll Dawson who overpays for him this offseason?

 

haha remember a few years ago when the spurs considered trading parker and letting george hill take over...wow

 

Funny how chemistry works.


People wanted to trade Parsons for Rondo. Imagine how that would have blown up our locker room.

 

All you had to do is look at Dwight this year vs last year.

Dwight + Kobe = disaster
Dwight + the Rockets = happy Dwight

I can't imagine Dwight + Rondo's temper tantrums ... I just have a hard time seeing that end well.

If Doc Rivers had a hard time controlling Rondo and Still made Ray Allen of all people want to leave, I can't imagine how McHale and Co. would keep him under control.

 

I have been hearing that Granger was their leader, even though he hadn't been playing well people used to recognize the Pacers as his team, you never know what little things a guy does that help a team he could have been the glue.

 

You don't know, that's the thing, how do we know Rondo wasn't being that way because of the Celtics.

 

I think that was more because Parker was supposedly porking Brent Barry's wife rather than George Hill's play. Pops wanted to send a message to Parker to stop his Frenchy shenanigans.