Pacers-Rockets recap? Pacers-Spurs recap? No thanks.

I'm not going to post a recap of the Pacers-Rockets or Pacers-Spurs games because I'm still mad. Every time the Pacers win two-three games in a row, everyone gets excited and thinks that the Pacers are finally coming together only to get blown out and prove they were just pretending to be a real NBA team. I realize that Tinsley and O'Neal are hurt so you can't expect a lot, but the same thing happened last year to force Carlisle out and things have not changed with a new coach.

So if it's not the coach's fault, whose fault is it? The players' faults? It's easy to blame them because they're making millions of dollars and not winning, but I think the blame starts with Bird and Walsh. For the past few years we've been promised improvement through off-season and in-season trades, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe they just don't know where to start?

Well, first let's decide who we would keep. Granger for sure. Young, talented, and even though I would never try to build a team around him he would be able to fit into any plans for rebuilding the team. Who else? If we can sign him to a reasonable contract, Kareem Rush. Sure he jacks up a lot of 3s, but that's the only way the Pacers can stay in games and he hits them 42% of the time. It's a contract year for him and he'll undoubtably want more than the $700k a year he's pulling down now, but if we can sign him for 4-5 years at a fair price we should keep him.

Everyone else? Get rid of them. Blow the team up. Do whatever it takes to get Mike Conley from the Grizzlies (who don't seem to mind trading away their stars) and try to get as many 1st and 2nd round picks out of the other guys as you can. Tell Pacers fans the truth: It will probably be a few years before we are playing like it's 2003, but we're committed to building a young team who will come out and play their hardest for you. Come out and watch Mike Conley play in Conseco again! Who better to build your team around than a guy who grew up in Indiana and is going to sell tons of jerseys? And you won't have the problem of him getting bored of Indiana and wanting to start shooting people, because he grew up here and is already used to it.

So you have Mike Conley, Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy, and Kareem Rush before the draft even happens. What Pacers fan isn't excited about this core already? What season ticket holder is going to give up his tickets and risk not having good seats 2-3 years from now when this team is running by everyone in the league? This team will be instantly fun to watch and will be a team Pacers fans can be proud of and grow to love.

Ok, so who do we draft? I say a guy who has proven to be a defensive stopper. We need a guy who can lock down the other team's best guard or forward. We'll probably never have someone as good as what Artest was in terms of the range of sizes he could defend, but we need to find someone who can take the other team's star out of the game.

So there's Step 1 Larry Legend. Go make this happen. I'll go order my Mike Conley Pacers jersey, now.

Pacers vs Rockets Preview

The Pacers head to Texas tonight as they begin their three game road trip in the West. The first team the Pacers will face is the very focused Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets have been playing some of the best basketball in the league. Even with the loss of their All-Star center Yao Ming, they are still playing with high intensity every night. Houston has won their last 15 games in a row including their last three without Yao.

The Pacers have won two games in a row against the 76ers and Raptors, and have looked very well offensiviely during those games. Their only downfall is their defense, averaging 108.5 points given up in those two games.

To win tonights game the Pacers will have to find away to slow down Tracey McGrady and Rafer Alston. With Yao being out, they won't have to focus as much on scoring down low, but Dikembe Mutumbo is a big force defensively. Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy are both going to have to score above their average, and the bench is going to have to contribute as well. If Travis Diener and new acquisition "Flip" Murray can run an offensive that opens up shots for other players, the Pacers can keep it close. Now it just depends on how they want to play defensively to decide whether they win or lose.

Pacers loss puts them in 5th place in Central Division

Not really much to say about this game. The Dunleavy and Granger Show put up its usual numbers while Troy Murphy added 19 and Travis Diener added 22. Jeff Foster was the only starter who didn't score in double figures, but the bench backed them up with only 18 combined points.

The Pacers went into the 4th quarter all tied up, but never led during the final period and at several times were down by 9 points. The Pacers had the opportunity to come back with 00:57 left in the game being down only 110-105, but they could not capitalize on the situation. The final score was 113-107, Chicago.

With Pacers in the news lately for hanging out with alleged rapists and murderers, it doesn't surprise me that so many fans have quit supporting the team again. No one wants to pay tickets to see a professional sports team with no ties to their city or state lose most of their games and give up in the fourth quarter of nearly every single loss. I don't expect for Walsh and Bird to turn the team around overnight, but if we don't see even an attempt at improvement starting this summer and through the draft, then we need to start thinking about getting new executives.

Raptors maul Pacers, forcing me to write corny headline

So the only prediction I had even close to right was SuperRush hitting 3 three-pointers. The Pacers played close all game, and were ahead quite a bit throughout the first quarter and second half, but all of that means nothing when you aren't ahead when the clock hits 00:00.

The game played out how every Pacers game plays out: The Lone Granger scores a bunch of points and gets a lot of rebounds, Dunleavy scores a bunch of points, and SuperRush does okay from three-point land while trying his hardest to miss difficult shots from all over the floor.

Bosh and Granger both came up big with double-doubles consisting of 20+ points and 10 rebounds a piece to lead their respective teams, but it was the Raptors' teamwork and consistent play down the stretch that won the game for Toronto.

The Pacers play Chicago at home Wednesday and a win will give them sole possession of third place in the Central Division standings. Everyone keep Jermaine O'Neal in your thoughts as he valiantly battles the flu.

Tornoto Raptors visit Conseco tonight (Predictions)

Starting tonight with their game against the Pacers, the Toronto Raptors play 9 of their next 13 on the road. Chris Bosh and his guys are coming off a big win at home against the New York Knickerbockers and are hoping to start a win streak tonight. Unfortunately for them, they're coming to SuperRush's house... and SuperRush hates Canadians (as far as I know that's a lie.)

My predictions for the game:

Chris Bosh scores 29
Jose Calderon has 12 assists
The Lone Granger scores 25
Dunleavy scores 21
Rush goes 3-7 from behind the arc, 2-5 from the paint, and 2-2 on his free throws

Pacers win

Those are my predictions. Expect a better and more in-depth preview later today before the game.

The Lone Granger Steps up.. Pacers still lose

Box Score

The Pacers proved last night's win against the New Jersey Nets was a fluke by losing 102-91. Danny Granger was the sole bright spot for the Pacers tonight, scoring 29 points while going 4-7 from beyond the arc. The rest of the Pacers went 5-22 from 3-point land.

Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson stepped up to combine for 60 points while Josh Boone turned in a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Marcus Williams added a career-high 13 assists. That's 21 assists for Williams over the past three games since becoming the starter.

Awesome Stat of the Game

After Danny Granger's final basket with 2:22 remaining that cut the Nets lead down to 96-91, the Pacers did not score another point for the rest of the game. Awesome job, Pacers!

SuperRush Update

Rush was 4-10 from the field, 2-4 shooting 3s and 1-3 from the paint. This is an improvement over last night, when he was 1-4 from the paint. Don't let your poor numbers from the paint discourage you, Rush! Keep jacking those 3s!