The Indiana Pacers lost their sixth straight game today, going down 111-96 to a hot shooting Orlando Magic team.
Let’s forget about how the game went because it’s always the same old story. Bad decisions, horrendous defense, shots not falling. What is more interesting is that the discontent in Pacer country is really starting to boil over.
There are articles all over the net about how to fix the Pacers’ myriad of problems, starting with firing coach Jim O’Brien (according to Bob Kravitz of IndyStar) and getting Bird or someone else to coach the remainder of the season. There are rumors that former All-Star Danny Granger is in danger of being traded, and everyone is wondering how Roy Hibbert (and while we’re at it, Solomon Jones and Brandon Rush — who is out for 2 weeks) can ever regain his earlier season form.
Truth is, the Pacers are struggling and will continue to struggle for the rest of the season. Right now, I don’t have a big problem with the Pacers trading Granger as long as they can get value in return. I think Collison is starting to emerge as the leader and the team’s ‘big time’ player, as long as he can start to defend people the way he needs to be. With the team on target to finish 32-50 (like they did last season) and miss the playoffs again, I’d like to see them play Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough as many minutes as possible. Whenever these young guys have been on the court, I’ve liked what I’ve seen. They are inconsistent and mistake prone, but why lot leave them out there and let them learn if the team is going to lose anyway?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
