A Breakdown of the Pacers Roster

Larry Bird is more excited than he's letting on.

You think it would be the opposite, but when a good team loses, the world seems to be splitting along its fault lines. Fans stick their heads in the oven and Kendall Gill suggests the Bulls "pick up another big man," as if there's a pile of them decomposing on Madison Ave. The Bulls lost at home without Luol Deng and Taj Gibson to a much-improved Indian Pacers team. No Taj Gibson means Brian Scalabrine, originally substituted for defensive purposes, ends up missing the potential game-winning shot. There are no mysteries surrounding the injury-free Bulls. They'll be back to the ECF against Miami, everything until then falls under "team building" or "ego stroking." The injuries are the only IF. We know how good the Bulls are when healthy. For that reason, the Pacers are much more interesting. How good are they really?* Below is my -- as always -- very serious opinion of each player on their roster.

* - Pretty damn good.




DAVID WEST - If you kept a close eye on West during yesterday's game you saw a player who was thoroughly enjoying himself. His overall demeanor -- big whooping laughs, reckless flailing of the arms, and childlike enthusiasm, gave the impression he was the Pacer most looking forward to avenging last year's playoff loss. Except West was not a member of last year's playoff team, yet still seemed to have a personal vendetta. West relishes contact. He's the increasingly rare player who doesn't mind fighting for a board and then puffing his chest out when he's accidentally smacked in the mouth. His toughness is a welcome addition to a team that was already pretty tough. I get the impression he tattooed the 'X' on his left arm himself.

DANNY GRANGER - So much of what the Pacers have been building the last three years is dependent upon Granger playing like a superstar. He'll churn in the occasional performance, like last night, where his stat line looks nice because he converts some easy baskets around the rim and hits three of his four three-point attempts. Then you see he missed three of his four 17-19 footers and got lit up by Ronnie Brewer on the other end and you just have to tip your cap on this particular day. The chaos he created ultimately worked to his benefit. Frustrating as it is, Granger will follow this game up with a 5-18 and five more turnovers. The Pacers always rebound and play solid defense, but they live and die with Granger's outside shot falling and that is not a particularly good spot to be in.

ROY HIBBERT - Hibbert broke his nose on Sunday and now wears the same style mask popularized by Rip Hamilton. There is no player in the NBA who looks better in a face mask. Hibbert always struck me as the horror movie villain. He's enormous, lumbers down the court in no particular hurry, and seems to be confused about everything except shanking the guy face guarding Granger. He probably owns a shed with a lawnmower and a chainsaw and a closet full of flannel sweaters. Hibbert looked confident in the post yesterday and his confidence on the basketball court is the most terrifying thing of all. His improvement spells disaster in the form of the frontcourt slasher film he released last night.

DARREN COLLISON - The Pacers are on the verge of contending in the East. They're good enough defensively to put a scare into someone in the second round. All teams on the verge are a piece or two away from being perennial conference favorites. Collison is the guy everyone thinks needs to be replaced. He's lighting quick but plays out of control. He can get to the basket, but doesn't have the strength or size to finish consistently around the rim. He's just there. A good player but not good enough for a team with title aspirations. His presence is a sobering reminder that in all walks of life, despite doing your job competently and occasionally brilliantly, you can always be replaced.

PAUL GEORGE - George is the Wild Card. He already is an excellent defender who, at 6'9 can guard positions 1-3. How his offense comes along will be the biggest question. Should George live up to his promise of being a 20 ppg scorer, Danny Granger all of a sudden becomes expendable. Danny Granger becoming expendable, I would argue, is a good thing. At the same time, if George stays an elite defender and never polishes his offensive game, the Pacers still got a steal with last year's 10th overall pick. Every year, a guy drafted in the 8-10 spot ends up becoming an impact player that a team drafting earlier foolishly passed up. George is that 2010 guy. In hindsight, you think Minnesota might have preferred him over Wes Johnson?

DAHNTAY JONES - Jones is the designated guy who is always overly excited on the bench. Good play by a teammate, better play by an opponent, it doesn't matter. Jones is happy to be courtside and he's happy to let his voice be heard, and he's happy to piss off the people who paid for front row seats because he's waving a towel in the their face all game. Every good team needs a guy like Dahntay Jones for no other reason than he gets under the opponent's skin. When Jones enters the game, the adrenaline rush could prompt him to lift a vehicle or rescue a child from a burning building. He'll probably turn the ball over trying to do too much instead.

LOUIS AMUNDSON - Enough with the ponytail. A ponytail has no place on a the basketball court (cue WNBA joke). At least Noah rectified his situation by opting for the bun. The bun looks even more ridiculous but at least curbs the problem of hair flying in everybody's face when jumping for a rebound. Here's my suggestion: like the NFL, ponytails in the NBA should be free game. If it's there, you can pull it without being assessed a foul. Amundson would think twice about trotting that stupid-ass look out onto the court if this was the case.

GEORGE HILL - Hill spearheaded the "Collison Is The Weak Link" Movement. Someone should have told him Collison's replacement is going to start in front of him too.

TYLER HANSBROUGH - I like Hansbrough. I know, as a Bulls fan, I'm supposed to feel the opposite. Nope. If you thought West relished contact, then Hansbrough worships it. Hansbrough brings a fullback mentality to the game of basketball, which is why he's so loathed. Fans appreciate style and finesse and Hansbrough possesses neither of those things. He's probably taken Adderall since age seven, which has permanently fixed his face into a stupid scowl, but also contributed to his laser-like focus. I'd love to go to war with this guy. I just wouldn't want to ride in the passenger seat of his Hyundai Elantra because he'd clearly have no problem driving over the median.

LANCE STEPHENSON - Regardless of records, it looks like the Chicago-New York rivalry is never going away. Bulls fans, I know, are enjoying the collapse of the Knicks. I'd prefer the Knicks be good because I'd prefer the games mean something. Anyway, Stephenson is the latest New Yorker supposed to be the "Next Big Thing" who, like the Knicks, has repeatedly face planted. So if you take joy in the continued failures of New York, look no further than Lance Stephenson.

A.J. PRICE & JEFF PENDERGRAPH - Oh Hey! Of course I recognize you guys. High school, right? Junior-year Spanish? No? Oh RIGHT! That time at the mall eating Sbarro. No? Listen guys, I've gotta run. It was nice catching up with you.

JEFF FOSTER - Fuck Jeff Foster.

Day 1: Bulls-Pacers (Game 1)

Due to his slightly over exaggerated comments about the Bulls, Danny Granger became the story of Game One even before the game started. When asked whether he would prefer to face the Bulls or Celtics in the Playoffs, Granger said Chicago. "Chicago, they go as Derrick Rose goes," he stated. "If you can make a concerted effort to stop Derrick Rose, you have a better chance of beating them."

To be fair, Granger didn't say anything inflammatory, or even ridiculous. Many people feel Boston, because of their playoff experience, will be a tougher out. And the Bulls do tend to lean heavily on Rose for their offense.

Part of the lore surrounding Rose during his 2011 MVP campaign is the Jordan-esque memory he seems to have developed regarding past performances. Jordan was the master of self-motivation. He scoured the Earth for anything that could be perceived as a slight against him or his team. Rose is the same way. It has been no coincidence that some of his most dominant performances have come against teams that beat the Bulls earlier in the season. The Bulls' 115-108 overtime loss against Indiana the last time the two met, coupled with Granger's comments, figured to fuel Rose to a monster performance. Much of the onus then fell on Granger's shoulders, as many looked to see if he could back his words up in Game One.

While Granger is Indiana's best player, I felt Tyler Hansbrough was going to be the key to this game. He torched the Bulls for 29 points on 10-19 shooting in their last meeting against the Boozer-less Bulls. I thought he'd be able to exploit Boozer on the offensive end and he did. Hansbrough provided the usual hustle plays, crazy eyes, and ability to knock down that damn mid-range jumper that Boozer gave him all game. Granger's 18 points in the second half (including the first eight to start to half) fueled the Pacers, but he won't go off like that from behind the arc all series. Hansbrough is the disconcerting match up because he can do what he did today every game.

I'm not normally one to harp for too long on stats, but today I will make the necessary exception. The Bulls are the best team in the NBA at defending the three-point line. They held teams to 32.6 percent shooting during the regular season, best in the league, and gave up less threes than anyone this year. The Pacers went 10-18 from three-point line. That's an  unacceptable 55.6 percent.

The Bulls are also the best rebounding team in the NBA. They out rebounded Indiana 49-34 (21-13 on the offensive glass) but were outscored 9-8 on second chance points. They gave up 10.1 offensive rebounds a game during the regular season. With a rebounding advantage as sizable as the Bulls' was today, there's no excuse for being outscored in second chance points. Three-point shooting and second chance points were what kept Indiana in the game. If the Bulls performed even remotely close to what they normally do in these areas, this is a double digit victory.

The Bulls closed out the game on a 16-1 run. After two Deng free throws, Rose scored or assisted on 12 of the Bulls' last 14 points. I'm not sure there is any other player I would want on my team at this point to close a game. Rose adjusted during crunch time. His shot wasn't falling (he went 0-9 from three) so he attacked the basket, as he did all game. He attacked the basket with reckless abandon, hammered home an "And 1," spun into the lane to finish off a 7-foot floater, made two more free throws and set up a wide-open Korver three with his penetration.

Watching the end of this game, it's easy to see why Chicago's critics think the Bulls are too dependent on one player. But look at the shots Deng and Korver knocked down this game. Those two, along with Boozer will have to pick up the slack when the ball is inevitably forced out of Rose's hands. Deng and Korver stepped up today. I'm not buying that this game somehow exposes an offensively flawed team. Team defense and rebounding were the two biggest issues today. Bigger than anything that happened on the offensive end.