For the past several years, my interest in the Indiana Pacers basketball team has been minuscule. Ever since the Pacers/Pistons brawl in 2004 and the retirement of Reggie Miller in 2005, the team has gone on a downward spiral.
They have endured numerous off-court issues, bad draft picks and transactions and shaky leadership on and off the court.
All of these factors have attributed to my lack of interest in Pacers basketball. However, I will come out from behind my facade of apathy to say that the Pacers need to make serious personnel changes.
When Donnie Walsh hired Larry Bird to replace him as team president in 2003, Bird had inherited a team that had made the playoffs for six consecutive years.
By hiring Bird, Walsh suggested a return to the dominant Pacers teams of the late 1990s when Bird had been the head coach. Walsh also hired Bird's former assistant, Rick Carlisle, to replace Isaiah Thomas as the head coach.
The Pacers seemed to be headed in the right direction. They had the best record in the NBA during the 2003-2004 season, winning a franchise record 61 games, but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to Detroi ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Greg Judy
The Indiana Pacers Owe Their Fans a Personnel Change
January 27th, 2011 by Greg Judy Leave a reply »
Advertisement