anyone watching this game? Man, I don't mean to be harsh but the Pacers just look like they have completely fallen apart since the trade. They've lost 16 out of their last 18 games! They just seem to have NO identity, especially when JO sits. The biggest thing that stands out to me is that Dunleavy and Murphy seem like shadows out there, just quiet back-ups with NO ability to take over the game. Conversely, AL and Sjax have both taken this team to the next level, single-handedly taking over games at times, and keeping the fire alive in many other close contests. They seem like true starters while Dunmurphy seems like so-so bench players. The kicker is Ike vs. Powell, which has gone nothing like critics thought, so far. Looking over Ike's game log, he's had a few games with 15 points, and a bunch of games with 0, 2, 3, or 4 points. He hasn't even gotten in the game tonight. Meanwhile, Powell hasn't done anything stat wise, but he's been great defensively in limited minutes. I haven't seen Ike's games so I don't know how he's impacting otherwise, but you'd figure if he was an impact player, Carlisle would have brought him in by now (losing by 10). So this is a wash, IMO. Economically, Mullin pulled off a steal on Larry Bird with this trade. Forget production for a moment -- ho wthe hell is Bird ever going to be able to trade Dunleavy or Murphy? He won't. Dunleavy is decent at times, but not for the fat contract. And Murphy is worse. Meanwhile, AL and SJax are both very movable, IMO, and in fact I wouldn't be suprised if teams come asking this summer. They both have much smaller deals, for fewer years, and they are LEGIT starters with a winning attitude. Lastly, Indy will be forced to keep Murphleavy, who will NOT spark a playoff run, IMO. Meanwhile, SJax and AL have lit a fire into this team and I can see them, maybe not this year but the next, definately contending for the lower seeds and causing some trouble in the post season. Wow -- 16 losses in the last 18 games. I don't think SJax or Al would EVER let that happen to THEIR team.
I watched a little bit of the game, looks like the same old Dun and Murphy. Ike hasn't played. Mullin completely raped Walsh/Bird, who are considered to be among the best GMs in the league. Dunleavy and Murphy were average role players with major holes in their game, it might even be a stretch to say that they are fringe starters even though they are paid like quality players. Al and SJax are legit starters, not that they are without their warts, but they are significant improvements over Murphleavy. Jackson is everything Dunleavy was supposed to be. Hes a guy who can penetrate, shoot, get to the FT line and convert, make plays, cause mismatch problems with his height. Inconsistency is still an issue with him but he brings great defense every night and actually plays with passion. Also a bonus that he doesn't get completely shut down by 5'10 PGs. Harrington hasn't proven to be an option in the post and really isn't much better at finishing on the inside than Murphy but I like what he contributes to the team. He can shoot very well and effectively spreads the floor, defense and rebounding aren't his strong suite but he shows some ability in both areas. I've found my self liking him a lot more when hes the 4th option taking spot up jumpers off of dribble penetration from the guards and drawing charges rather than a first or second option like he was when Baron and J-Rich were out. Even despite the lower numbers in rebounding and scoring it seems like hes more effective as a guy who hurts the opposing teams because they forget about him with Baron, JR, Monta, Jackson, and Biedrins being their main focus. Hes no star but you have to like that he shows more hustle, scrappiness, toughness, and problems for the opposing team than Murphy did while also having a smaller contract. The Ike vs. Powell trade off is pretty interesting. I'm naturally inclined to say that Ike has more potential but Powell has the advantage with size, athleticism, and experience while only being 7 months older. Powell is a pretty good rebounder and defender and has a very nice jumpshot but he still needs more playing time to develop into a regular rotation player. Hes got great quickness for his size and a few good off seasons of improvement could make him into a Udonis Haslem type of player.
The thing I love about Powell, is that for a young player he looks remarkable calm and under control. Like Biedrins, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He has sure hands. He has a reliable jumper. He RARELY tries to force anything. For a guy who's trying to make a case for himself, suprisingly he does a great job of letting the game come to him. Most likely his years overseas have helped him forge a "professional" attitude. Meanwhile, though I was a HUGE Diogu fan when he was here, I must admit he had trouble with the mental game at times, such that he'd take himself off the floor with bad fouls and defensive lapses. Granted, he was a scoring machine, but teams would render that ineffective by getting him into defensive trouble and doubling him on the offensive end, causing turnovers. Hopefully he solves that, but right now, though Diogu has much more offensive potential than Powell, I still think Powell is a more EFFECTIVE player because he doesn't shoot himself in the foot.
If Powell can develop an inside game that would be sweet. I think too many nba big players have no polished offensive game because they can't do the footwork without traveling or losing their balance. It's physically hard work and it requires a lot of smoothness to the game. Also, it seems like a lot of nba big players can't do anything with their off hand, rendering them useless on the opposite side of the post. If more nba big players worked on their strength and footwork and have some finesse to begin with, there's nothing to stop such players from becoming like Tim Duncan lite or a Mehmet Okur. I think they should force big players to stay in school or something so the coaches can make them even better. It's just an idea. An extra year or two of school might propel some of these guys with lots of potential and average skill into one-time all-stars or perennial all-stars. But that's only if they got the heart. Also, a lot of these guys lack heart and just go for money too. I've become really cynical about big players in the nba like Andrew Bynum and others... Beans, I definitely like, but I think he needs to develop some kind of power forward's game so he actually has strength and quickness against 4's. Powell... I'm not sure about. It's wait and see with him. I think Beans has more fire and potential. He was his team's star player back in Latvia (I think) and he did extremely well against older, stronger guys. Powell could have also been a star (I'm not sure), but a lot of his game to me seems like he's a hustle player type contributor that primarily just rebounds. Beans, on the other hand, he has some offensive moves, but nobody throws him the ball and he never has a favorable mismatch which to use strength because he plays center, when he's not really a center type body.
Yeah, I flipped by ESPN and I thought they were showing an old game from like the 90s, possibly with Shaq and Penny playing on Orlando, because of the jerseys they were wearing, so I flipped back. I liked those Magic jerseys. But yeah, I watched a little bit to see what Dunleavy and Murphy are up to. But since they are like "shadows" on the court it was kind of hard to notice them at first or tell which one was which, but then I got bored because it really isn't exciting watching shadows on the court. I remember one play where the Pacers were on offense and a shot went up and there was a chance to grab an offensive board for the Pacers and three players crashed and of course Dunleavy and Murphy were all ready to go back to stand on the other end of the court. I really don't know why any team would want Dunleavy on his roster. I don't know why anyone would want to pay Dunleavy as much as he is getting either; it's a good thing Mullin was able to trade him. Now our problem is Foyle. Who would want Foyle on his roster? Especially with his contract. Maybe some GM will go for a plug about how great of a shot blocker Foyle is, just how Bird got duked by the "Dunleavy is a good shooter and a smart player" claims. I would take inconsistent players over consistent shadows. Harrington is very inconsistent. But he is better than Dunleavy. Stephen Jackson has been great as well. Diogu is just short, and not athletic enough to overcome his lack of height. Diogu is a matchup guy. Powell is more of a conistent role guy. Thus I guess Powell is much more efficient like AO was saying.
The ideal situation for Foyle is that we squeak into the playoffs and due to a matchup, he gets low minutes and blocks a ton of shots. Then some team looking for a shot blocker/good guy in the locker-room in the east agrees to take on his contract. (PS.. where is the Alan Houston clause when we need it)
<div class="quote_poster">CohanHater Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The ideal situation for Foyle is that we squeak into the playoffs and due to a matchup, he gets low minutes and blocks a ton of shots. Then some team looking for a shot blocker/good guy in the locker-room in the east agrees to take on his contract. (PS.. where is the Alan Houston clause when we need it)</div> Isn't that what happened with Wilcox? Or was it Jerome James? One of theose guys had a great playoff series after a mediocre year, and then got a huge contract.
It was James, and it wasn't even a mediocre year. He didn't play at all untill the playoffs and beat up on the Kings who can't stop anyone inside. I think he averaged like 5 or 10 min/game during the regular season that year.
<div class="quote_poster">ryanfish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">It was James, and it wasn't even a mediocre year. He didn't play at all untill the playoffs and beat up on the Kings who can't stop anyone inside. I think he averaged like 5 or 10 min/game during the regular season that year.</div> He was alright during the playoffs but only Isiah and the Knicks would give such a big contract to an unproven player like James. They really should have done some more digging because one series isn't enough to judge a player's talents, especially one you are about to spend big bucks on. Just another mistake by the New York management.
<div class="quote_poster">AlleyOop Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Isn't that what happened with Wilcox? Or was it Jerome James? One of theose guys had a great playoff series after a mediocre year, and then got a huge contract.</div> Same thing happened with Tyronne Lue...
<div class="quote_poster">Warriorfansnc93 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Same thing happened with Tyronne Lue...</div> And Bonzi Wells last season - to a lesser extent.
Austin Croshere also is one of the guys that flat out got overpaid as a playoff hot role player. Makes me wonder why Indiana has an infatuation with overpaid jump shooting tweener small forwards... Is it GM Larry Bird's infatuation?
