And just like that, it’s over.
I’ve been mysteriously silent on the plights of the Indiana Pacers this season. And rightfully so. They had a horrible season.
Yes, making the playoffs and taking a 3rd seeded team to six games is horrible. It was horrible because it was so disappointing. Sure, they had injury and personnel problems.
But that’s no excuse. Not for me. This team could have done something special.
From the start of the season, I should have known the Pacers were doomed. The Sports Illustrated cover jinx struck again. Both Larry Bird and Ron Artest stood together on the front of this season’s NBA Preview issue. They were buddies. They were ready to put “The Season of the Fight” behind them, move forward, become contenders. They were selected as the #2 team in the East, behind only the Pistons. They were groomed to be great – a deep bench, the best defensive player in the game, and a perennial MVP candidate.
Instead, Ron Artest flipped. Again. He asked to be traded. And the Pacers obliged, but not before making him sit at home for the rest of his time as a Pacer. In fact, until the trade deadline, the Pacers played without their second best player. With nothing to substitute for the loss.
When Artest finally was traded, the Pacers were already in trouble. They were below .500, and they were slipping out of playoff contention. The arrival of Peja seemed like the answer, and he was very good for a while. But then he injured his knee. And then Jermaine O’Neal spent some time with injuries. Same with Jamaal Tinsley.
The Pacers ended up with a record of 42-40 – good enough to face the Nets in the playoffs. And the Nets beat them, even after the Pacers took a 2-1 lead in the series. This is the second straight year the Pacers went up 2-1 against a superior opponent (they did it last year against the Pistons) and both times they finished the season with three straight losses.
I hate to say it, but I’m feeling some severe disappointment from all of this. It’s just a game, yes, and I knew my team wouldn’t have made it much further than the second round. But the end of the season for my favorite team in my favorite sport is always a time of mourning. Of lost opportunities, and the curse of bad luck. Of knowing there is nothing left to look forward to on the sports landscape until basketball starts again next year.
Someday, I’ll see the Pacers get their act together. They’ll put together a season free of injury. Anthony Johnson will explode for the entire year, as he did against the Nets, and Jamaal Tinsley will never curse our team with his constant injuries. Jermaine will have another MVP-type season. Peja will regain his range, if he even re-signs. Some day, I’ll be watching the Pacers in the Finals, and this time they won’t be playing the dual headed behemoth of Kobe and Shaq.
Some day. I swear.
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A quick note – the Phoenix Suns, who were down 3-1 and seemed dead after the dagger-that-was-Kobe’s-amazing-shot, are back. And they’re back at home. And the Lakers, who everyone tried to call the greatest team since the Jordan Bulls, will be exposed as a one-man team with some role-players that got real hot.
I’m excited for this. I’ve become a big fan of Kobe’s – he changed my entire view of him with his unselfish (at times) play and killer instinct. But I don’t like how the media has latched onto the Lakers, the idea of a L.A. Clippers/L.A. Lakers second round match up and the perceived fact that the Phoenix Suns are done. Gone. Take away Nash’s MVP, and give it to Kobe Bryant. I hate that.
But the fact that this will end up going to a seventh game, this weekend, on national television, makes it all worth it. If the Lakers beat the Suns – whose post presence is on the bench wearing a couple of suits – they’ll certainly be trounced in the next round. But if the Suns win, I think they can match up well against the Clippers, and then (hopefully) we’ll get a Mavericks/Phoenix Western Conference Finals.
Now, if only we could get a Cavs/Nets Eastern Conference Finals, the league would be revitalized by two great match ups and lots of run and gun fun.
Anyway, go Phoenix. With the Pacers out, I’ve got no one else to root for.
dude, i can’t believe yer assuming the spurs will lose to dallas? but who cares about that, here’s what i really have to say. kobe is the mvp, there’s really no need to think about it. without him the lakers would have won 10 games. i hope that the lakers win the series as well, and it’s all about them facing the clippers. how great would it be to have the lakers lose to the clippers in the playoffs. the only team i even remotely care about in this years postseason is the clippers, everyone else can kiss my ass. i am tired i shouldn’t work on saturday. go sammy, go elton, go caveman chris, go fuckin clips.
Feh. Are you even a basketball fan? That was the lamest thing I’ve ever read.
Go Suns. Basketball made watchable.
wait wait wait. what was lame about it? the part where i said “don’t count out the champs”, saying that the mvp was the most valuable player to his team (they named the award after that), the part where i said that it would have been great if the clippers would have beaten the lakers in staples center, or the part where i decided to root for the underdog?i understand, your love for overrated basketball players(nash) is just trying to find a new home since reggie retired.
BAM!
Overrated? Nash has two MVP’s, but Kobe’s a much more revered player. So Nash is only overrated because he’s proven he can win WITHOUT a big man, with injuries, etc. etc.
Keep in mind, Eric — the Suns would have won 30 fewer games without Nash. That’s proven — they won 30 fewer games with the same lineup, except instead of Nash they had Starbury. No Amare, no Kurt Thomas. No size whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong — I appreciate Kobe’s drive, etc. But I don’t think he was the MVP.
The second half of game seven proved that. Should an MVP candidate take only three shots and score only one point in the second half of the most important game of the season? No. They should try to take over. Sure, Kobe was in a lose/lose situation — take over, he’s selfish; pass to his teammates too much, he’s not doing what it takes to win. But the simple fact is that he didn’t do what it took to win. When Smush Parker and Kwame Brown are on your team, you take over. You don’t pass it to them so they can miss a four foot lay-up.
As far as your other points, I never counted out the champs (I said “hopefully, Mavs/Suns” because that would be fun to watch), but I don’t think the Mavs can be taken lightly. As was proven last night. The Spurs are a better team, but with TDunc being a little limpy, they’re not at full strength.
I think the Clippers beating the Lakers in the Staples Center would have been wonderful. Hopefully, we’ll see that next year.
And rooting for the underdog? Feh — that’s chivalrous and cliched. I’m rooting for the 97′ Bulls.
Wait, they’re not in it?
Anyway, rooting for the Suns is the same thing as rooting for the Underdog. Second seed or not — no one’s giving them the slightest chance against the Clippers, let alone against the Spurs or Mavs.
So the lame part was the MVP talk. The sportswriters have spoken — Nash = 2, Kobe = 0. Maybe next year they’ll give Kobe a token MVP, like they did to Barkley and Malone during the Jordan era.
And I ignored the Reggie comment. It’s too bad you’re so blinded by hate to realize he’s a Hall of Famer — it’s hard to be overrated when you’re bound for first ballot inclusion.
Bam.
dude, saying that the team was better without marbury is obvious, the guy sucks and every team he is on, is bad. remember the nets? have you heard of the knicks? that’s no reason to say nash is the mvp. here’s what i think is the REAL case. they just gave it to him cuz he won last year. remember a few years ago when there was no clear candidate for mvp in the mlb american league and so they just gave it to arod? that was bullshit too. this is pretty similar, but since kobe’s team sucks they didn’t give it to him. think about it. first remember that the mvp is supposed to reflect the regular season. the reason that kobe wasn’t the easy favorite was because people say he’s selfish, but really his team is just bad.
now here’s my only real argument. in two years (not even ten or five, TWO) what will people remember about this season? nash, who played solid basketball and led a good team to the playoffs, or kobe who scored 81 once and 50 a lot and lead a bad bad team to the playoffs by himself?
don’t lie.
Here’s what I remember about the 2001 season, five years ago: The Lakers won the title. I don’t remember what anyone did, aside from that the Lakers won the title. I honestly don’t even remember who they played off the top of my head.
This year, I’ll remember who won the championship. I’ll remember that Kobe had an 81-point game. I’ll remember that Steve Nash won his second MVP. I’ll remember that the Pacers were bumped in the first round.
I won’t remember Kobe’s 50 point games, because that’s not an abberation. That’s common place. Tony Delk’s had a 50 point game. So has Cliff Robinson. I will remember that Kobe’s a great player. I’ve already conceded that point. I’ve never denied that.
I will remember, however, the fact that Kobe Bryant dissolved any MVP-status in my mind by his performance in game seven. And I don’t care that the MVP is a regular season award — you’re talking about the playoffs every time you mention what he did. He led his team to the 7th spot. Hell, LeBron led his team to the 4th, which is about equal in the East. Hell, Steve Nash had a better season statistically than he did last season, when focus was directed towards Amare. Hell, give the MVP to Dirk, who is a sole superstar on a team of green guards and cast-offs.
If we’re going on team performance, split the award five ways and give it to the Pistons. Give it to Manu Ginobili, or Duncan. Give it to Dwayne Wade — Shaq’s not been around enough to make a difference in their season. Give it to Chris Paul — he took an even worse group of players and nearly brought them to the playoffs.
Here’s how I feel about the MVP. If you’re truly going to be the Most Valuable Player, shouldn’t you have led your team somewhere other than the 7th seed in the playoffs and a total meltdown after being up 3-1? And bringing the “he has horrible teammates” won’t cut it — remember, Kevin Garnett never won an MVP until he led his team to the #1 Western Conference record, and he never did that until he had two capable, playoff ready guards by his side. When they started dogging it, his status again slipped.
Yes, the award is given based on the regular season, but it’s proven in the playoffs. And Kobe hasn’t proven anything to me since Shaq left his side, except that he’s a great player who can turn it up when he wants to.
But in game seven, he showed he couldn’t turn it up when he NEEDS to.
Kobe’s a great player. But he’s not the MVP. Sorry, Eric — that’s Steve Nash, and there’s no amount of arguing that will change that.
(P.S. — I wasn’t rooting for Nash to win this year anyway. I wanted it to go to either Dirk or LeBron.)
Dude, Nash is way hotter. And that’s really the reason he was voted MVP. (And the reason he deserves it)
Skill, stats, helping out one’s team…. that’s nothing compared to greasy hair.
True. Pantene Pro-V’s got nothing on Nash’s Canadioil.
i know that nash is the mvp, all i’m saying is he shouldn’t be. oh yeah, sure tony delk may have had a 50 point game, but kobe had 6, two over 60. he also had 27 40+ games. that’s a lot dude. if kobe got hurt nov 5th and missed the rest of the season, the lakers would have won maybe twelve games. it’s called the most valuable player. not the most valuable player with a good team. sure kg didn’t win it until they were the 1 seed, but he should have won it the year before, not tim fucking duncan. just because it’s happened before doesn’t make it right. just because the writers say it’s so doesn’t make it right. they are bullshit anyway, i think the REAL reason they gave it to nash is because he’s not the ugliest basketball player that fans know anymore. that is now chris kaman in a landslide.
We’ll just have to agree that you’re wrong. Wait… that’s “agree to disagree.” Well, whichever.
And Chris Kaman = my favorite Hulk Hogan look-a-like in the league. I want him to start coming out to “I’m A Real American” during the starting lineups.
how about if we just agree to agree that for some reason you have pledged blind allegiance to whatever the sportswriters say, no matter how stupid.
I could say the same about you — the sportswriters have been harping about Kobe all season — in fact, he was #2 in first place votes. So I may be pledging blind allegiance to some sports writers, but you’re doing the same thing — there are just more sports writers on my side.
Of course, I defended Ron Artest when he was a Pacer as well — and the sportswriters sure didn’t do that, for the most part. I guess I pick and choose, eh? I also backed Garnett as MVP during that Duncan year you talked about. Whoops. Before you start throwing sweeping statements, you’d better get your facts.
Now, can we talk about something else? My opinion’s not going to change. Either is yours. Maybe we can bash our skulls in about some other trivial thing — like Dante to the Dolphins.
yeah well, i would have believed it even if he received 0 first place votes.
i don’t wanna talk about daunte (with a u, you bastard) i’m not making fun, i’m just pissed about it.
my prediction brad johnson breaks his hip in game one, mike mcmahon comes in plays until the vikes are eliminated from playoff contention (game 9) tavarius jackson (who? right.) plays the rest of the year. the vikes go 0-16. too bad we don’t get reggie bush for that (or mario williams?)
Haha… well, if it makes you feel any better, the Dolphins are so confident in Daunte that they just traded for Joey Harrington.
Anyway, to follow the usual formula, Brad Johnson will break his hip and be traded to the Dolphins, where all Vikings quarterbacks go to die.
i saw that. i also saw today that they signed marcus vick. i’m sure that he’ll step on daunte sometime during next season. but really here’s what’ll probably happen. daunte won’t get hurt and he’ll be totally sweet and i will shit all over myself, again.
I hope so. If that happens, then I’ll be a happy Dolphins fan, though we’ll just get blown out in the first round 52-0.
Seriously, though.. I wish this trade would have happened three years ago, when the ‘Phins defense was a threat, and not just an aging crew.