The Indiana Pacers struggles have continued this year. After going 36-46 the least two seasons, the Pacers have only gotten worse. After their Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2003-04, the Pacers have lost more games each year for the last six years. And they are now assured of their fourth straight losing season. The Pacers haven’t had a winning record since the 2004 brawl.
Coaching—Many people are calling for the head of Coach Jim O’Brien. While I do not think he is the ultimate long-term solution, he has certainly tried to be a short-term fix and clean this program up. And he has done that, though it has not translated into wins. First let me say I do not think it was right for Larry Bird to give Coach another year before this season. The Pacers did that with Rick Carlisle, only to then fire him before his last contract season. I understand they didn’t want him to be a ‘lame duck’ but at the same time, progress and improvement is important.
Dropping O’Brien now, 20 games before the season ends wouldn’t accomplish anything. Larry Bird is not coming down from the front office to coach this team. It would be top assistant Lester Connor coaching this team and it wouldn’t change much. Sure he has a little different approach and style but at this point is the goal still to win games?
Play to Lose–I would argue at this point, management and fans just want to see the young guys develop. If the season ended today, the Pacers would have the fourth worst record, and one of the top picks in the upcoming draft. The Pacers for the past couple of years should have traded wins for a higher draft pick. The last two years Indiana has had the 13th pick in the draft, and not spent that pick wisely. This year and next the Pacers need to focus on getting a top draft selection and then choosing wisely.
Players Attitude—One of the biggest problems the past few years is the players’ attitudes. The players heads aren’t in the game. A veteran like TJ Ford who should be one of the team’s leader, is one of the last in the locker room, and first out. After the game he showers and heads out before most even make it to the shower. Fans got a culture change over the past few years as management cleared out the troubled players like Steven Jackson and Ron Artest. But the change hasn’t been for the better. I’d argue at this point that man fans rather have “dirty,” bad boy players rather than this losing team. This team needs another culture change. The Pacers must start with a marquee player that can lead by example. The environment and attitude in and around the locker room is nothing but negative vibes which doesn’t help the cause.
Change is coming, it’s just a matter of time. There will be big change in players after next season because the Pacers will have over $41 million dollars free. Meantime, change in management may be in the near future. Do fans trust the present guys to spend their upcoming money wisely? The last six years have been challenging for us all. It is hard to be patient after all these years, especially while the guys over on 56th Street (the Colts) have been nearly perfect and made just about all the right moves.
It’s not an easy process with outrageous guaranteed contracts. That’s one of the biggest problems with the NBA right now. Hopefully in the summer of 2011, the Pacers will make the right moves and it will be a team that the city of Indianapolis will embrace and support.