After defeating the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers are now heading to the Conference finals to play the Miami Heat.
This win was much more than that.
Winning this series officially brings the Pacers back into the elite group of NBA teams. The win makes a statement not only to the league, but to the fans that they are finally back.
Gone are the days of Reggie Miller and Co. paving the way in the Eastern Conference. However, this new team has rebuilt after so many seasons of mediocrity and controversy. Now, they are heading to their first Conference finals series since 2004.
The "Malice at the Palace" was the beginning of the decline of this franchise. For the next few seasons, the team was in disarray. Issues on the court were problem enough, but serious problems off of the court that included multiple shooting-related incidents and players constantly coming in and out created a real disconnect from the community.
The Pacers began turning things around slowly, working on forming a team around Danny Granger, but the team wasn't able to take the next step.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Tyler Brooke
Indiana Pacers: The Rebirth of a Franchise and a New Mentality
May 18th, 2013 by Tyler Brooke Leave a reply »
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