2014 Playoffs: (1) Indiana vs. (2) Miami

What a non sequitur. What does this even have to do with anything? lol

Everything. Was saying that it was better for the Pacers to keep Kawhi over Lance. (not that they couldn't have kept both but...)

Looks like Bill Simmons is a Heat fan now:
https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/ ... 3767175168

Also looks like we're heading for another blowout, with the Heat taking care of business and moving on to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance. A lot of time left but still, the Pacers look finished and LeBron's having the kind of start we're accustomed to seeing from him. Even Wade's knocking down threes for the Heat.

Will be interesting how Pacers fix this roster for next season. They've got serious chemistry issues.

Looks like Bill Simmons is a Heat fan now:
https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/ ... 3767175168

Lance is a jackass. Throw him out. This was coming for 2 games.

Yeah, biggest question is what will they do with Lance Stephenson. He was really really good this season and was a big part of the successful Pacers that finished #1 in East. But he brings baggage that nobody knows how to deal with. How big of a contract should the Pacers give him?

And should teams like the Bulls chase after him?

He expanded upon the point during the halftime show and frankly, he's being a bit hypocritical. He points to the Bad Boy Pistons with admiration and calls it an art form, but there's really not that much difference with what Lance Stephenson is doing, except he's just one man instead of the whole team (minus Joe Dumars). I think the main difference is the Nostalgia Goggles.

Wow @ scoreboard. 84:48 with 17 minutes to go.

Swwwwmacked. In typical Spring Pacer fashion.

RIP game 7 at Pacers

Still missing the first round.

but there's really not that much difference with what Lance Stephenson is doing, except he's just one man instead of the whole team (minus Joe Dumars). I think the main difference is the Nostalgia Goggles.

I have to disagree to this. Lance Stephenson's doing is immature and unprofessional. He's even detrimental to his own team (locker room issues then there was stat thief rumour), and then he also acted psycho like off the court. His problems expand beyond. Bad Boy Pistons had built their identity as Bad Boys but Lance just has been a psycho. It's even embarrassing to his team and fans. The evil Heat are looking like the saints because of his unprovoked trolling.

I was referring only to the things that could be considered "gamesmanship" - the trash talk, the physicality and whatnot. No question he's also had some knucklehead moments and troubling off-court issues.

It's hypocritical for Bill Simmons to claim Stephenson should've been thrown out for an aggressive steal that caught Cole in the face, while gushing about the dirty play and flat out muggings that the Bad Boy Pistons would engage in.

It's hypocritical for Bill Simmons to claim Stephenson should've been thrown out for an aggressive steal that caught Cole in the face, while gushing about the dirty play and flat out muggings that the Bad Boy Pistons would engage in.

True.

To be fair, half the fouls that were committed on Michael by Bad Boys would have been easily flagrant fouls by today's standard. Things are just different nowadays.

I guess that's where Simmons is conflicted. He's talking about today's NBA with a contemporary attitude towards that stuff, which is fair enough. However, he's also wearing the Nostalgia Goggles as far as the Bad Boy Pistons are concerned, so he's tried to reconcile the two different points of view with the suggestion that it was somehow different, or an "art form" when they did it.

There may be some element of truth to that, and you do raise a fair point about it being their "identity" whereas Stephenson still has his fair share of flat out knucklehead moments. If we're to be completely fair in making a comparison though, some of the stuff those Pistons teams did shouldn't really be looked upon so fondly, and would be rightfully treated very differently today.

I imagine Simmons would also defend this:

phpBB [video]

...which is certainly no less dirty than the play he criticised Stephenson for.

Sooooo, did Lance really going from having a contract extension in the first two games of the ECF, to getting kicked to the curb by Larry Bird? A la the J.R Smith postseason?

The Heat will be heading to the Finals, again.

Sooooo, did Lance really going from having a contract extension in the first two games of the ECF, to getting kicked to the curb by Larry Bird? A la the J.R Smith postseason?

Quite possibly. The Pacers are facing some tough questions moving forward, not the least of which is has this group gone as far as it can go? Referring to that Grantland article on whether or not this is the Thunder's last shot at being a serious contender, it may not be the case for Oklahoma City, but it could actually be an accurate assessment of the Pacers.

I don't think you do anything too drastic, like blowing up the entire roster and starting over from scratch. There are players that you'd keep, Paul George being an obvious example. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to consider shaking things up a little as you build around him. I also have to imagine that Vogel is on the way out; he's been a good coach, but his inability to make adjustments has been exposed and I'd say it's time for a new coach, a better coach, with new and better strategies.

I think that the very least, you have to consider a coaching change. The Pacers did have the league's best record, made back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances, and were two wins away from the NBA Finals this year after coming within one win a year ago. You might keep a bulk of the roster together while making some improvements, but again, it's probably time for new leadership on the sidelines.

I still think Lance Stephenson will stay in Indiana. He was valuable this season and there virtually is no one to replace him unless Evan Turner suddenly becomes a NBA caliber player.

His maturity is questionable but it might gradually improve with time. Too early to give up on this team. Vogel gone? Might be the biggest change in next season Pacers but I don't think there will be a change in their starters.

Turner was certainly a disappointment. I'm not sure that Granger necessarily would've made a difference, but he couldn't have been any worse.

They really need to retool this off-season. George Hill is not a starting caliber PG, I think he needs to be replaced. And they should keep Lance Stephenson.

I'd say he's a capable starter, but hardly irreplaceable. Perhaps not a bad place to start tinkering.

https://twitter.com/WorldofIsaac/status ... 7930211329

George Hill is not a starting caliber PG

lol

I bet you Stephenson gets his wisdom from rap songs. "If they hate you then you doin' something right."

BTW even after Bird spoke to him directly, Stephenson continued his silly BS in game 6. I'm guessing they wouldn't wanna keep this guy around. Obvious distraction.

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/05/30/step ... ef:nbahpts

Stephenson was caught by television cameras blowing into the ear of Heat star LeBron James. That led to a conversation between Stephenson and Bird.

"He said, `Don't do it again,"' Stephenson said Friday, recalling his talk with Bird. "So I'm not going to do it again."

This shit storm is coming out now. Watch out!

Their season over, the Pacers now face the question: Do you want Lance Stephenson back?

A reporter asked Paul George after Game 6 whether he'd like to see the Pacers bring Stephenson, who entered the league alongside George as members of the 2010 draft class, back into the fold for next season. The answer from Indiana's All-Star forward raised a few eyebrows:

"I mean, I don't know," George said. "That's for [team president] Larry [Bird], [general manager] Kevin [Pritchard], for them to decide. You know, it'd be great. We came in this league together. It'd be great for us to continue our journey together. But he's played a huge year this whole season and in this postseason, so it's definitely put pressure on us to make decisions going forward with Lance."

[Roy] Hibbert didn't come out and identify the player directly to NBA.com's David Aldridge, but he was talking about Lance Stephenson on March 28 after a loss in Washington, when he said "there's some selfish dudes" in the locker room. [...]
After Stephenson missed out on the All-Star team, he changed. He started a bit of a personal vendetta against East coaches, wanting to personally send a message in those games, which took him further out of the flow on some nights, sources said. Overall, the team noticed a shift in Stephenson from a more team-oriented approach to a more self-oriented focus, where he started obsessing about his statistics. People within the team believed his upcoming free agency was also a motivating factor for Stephenson, who wanted to enhance his value, something he believed suffered when he didn't get an All-Star nod.
As a result, Stephenson started annoying his teammates at both ends. Not only did he start dominating the ball more — his assist rate dropped dramatically in the second half of the season — but he was robbing numbers from his teammates. He has always had a habit of so-called "stealing rebounds," jumping in front of or over a teammate who had an uncontested rebound to get it for himself. This phenomenon reached a new level in the back half of the regular season. Hibbert, who had his rebound totals heavily analyzed by the media and fans, was often a victim in these friendly-fire rebounds.
Stephenson's act had long worn thin by late March. When the players had meetings to address issues with the sudden struggles, Stephenson sometimes wasn't involved. Occasionally he appeared to be unaware they were even happening. Most players on the team, now that they were losing, shared similar feelings about Stephenson, but did not vocalize their problems publicly.

George Hill is not a starting caliber PG

Just wow.

If Hibbert continues bitching about a 6'5 teammate stealing his rebounds, he should seriously consider being a part of a physical team.

The Pacers are now a joke. I thought they were a true team that's relentless. But no, they bitch to the refs and accuse each other as the reasons they lost. And yet people called them contenders. Please.

With Lance being the lunatic that he is(although I'm a big fan of his), it's appropriate he gets shit on by everyone, resulting in him leaving so the Pacers can get soft again.