The Off-Beat Pacers
There is no team in the NBA harder to figure out than the Pacers. Just look at how they started last month. They lost to Minnesota and Philly, then beat Orlando, lost to the lowly Wizards, and then beat Cleveland. They almost beat the Celtics, did beat the Nuggets, yet I wouldn't bet against Sacramento tomorrow or the Clippers in a few days.
And the crazy thing is that these last few wins have come without their All-Star Danny Granger. Troy Murphy has turned back the clock while Jarrett Jack is living up to the potential he flashed back at Georgia Tech. I'm not sure if Jim O'Brien should get Coach of the Year consideration because of the way his team is somehow surviving despite injuries and are close to a playoff spot or if he is doing a mediocre job seeing as nobody knows which Pacers team will show up on any given night.
Maybe the Pacers live or die by their point guard, TJ Ford. Ford is one of the most underrated point guards in the league. Every team he goes to improves while his former team falls apart. When he went from Milwaukee to Toronto, the Bucks fell from 40 wins to 28 while the Raptors went from 27 to 47. The Raptors have fallen from a playoff team to last place in their division. The Pacers haven't exactly improved but, despite injuries, they are competing in every game and should be able to eclipse last year's win total. However, for all of Ford's positives, he's still an injury prone little man who can be taken advantage of on the defensive end.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, I'm not sure if things are going to change for the better this offseason. The Focus on 2010 hurts their trade chances since most of their guys have contracts that run to 2011. Marquis Daniels is an expiring deal this offseason so maybe they'll be able to get something for Daniels, Brandon Rush, and a draft pick. Also, they have to sort out what they want to do with Jarrett Jack, who is a free agent at the end of the season. It should be interesting.
If the owners can afford it, the Pacers might be in the contract swallowing business this offseason. While their players have contracts that go to 2011, perhaps they can take on some longer deals like Baron Davis, Luol Deng, etc.
