Ari's Take: The Pacers Matter in Indy After Yesterday's Trade

Ari Kaufman, who has written in this space several times before, and is a recent transplant to Indiana, has reacted to the 8 player trade that brought Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, and Ike Diogu to Indiana while sending Al Harrington and psychopath Steven Jackson packing. By the way, if you are looking for my Eagles wrap up, it is in the post below. My NFL picks for this weekend will be posted tomorrow morning.
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I am not an NBA fan, but I am a resident of a city without a major league baseball team, so I do follow the Indiana Pacers a bit.

Today, as I got home from work, I heard news of the "blockbuster" trade that WE (Stitzer term) made. I am now officially (somewhat) excited about the remainder of the NBA season.

Though I had attended a few games at Conseco this season, I found the Pacers to be unlikable, boring, undisciplined, etc, etc. Rick Carlise is a drab coach, and a pretty darn bad one, to be blunt. But he also had to coach three thugs--all of whom were starters--along with many other misfits. Two are now gone, and though I wish it had been Jamal Tinsely (one of the most overrated busts in NBA history) instead of Al Harrington, the key is the biggest thug of all, Stephen Jackson is gone.

It wasn't just his abhorrent off the court behavior (which will land him in prison soon after his career is over) that kept attendance way down this year, but his game is AWFUL. His stats may show 14 points per game, yet maybe 2-3 of those come in the second half. He also averages fewer than three rebounds per game and just over three assists. That's weak. That shows no effort. He turns the ball over too many times in clutch time and his shooting percentages, especially from downtown, are abysmal. Danny Granger, who will take his place in the starting lineup, and who is my favorite Pacer by far, often plays in place of "Jack" when the game is in doubt.

Al Harrington's return to Indianapolis after two seasons away proved ephemeral. Although he scores 16 per contest, his play has regressed the past month, thus all the billboards with welcoming back Al that dot Interstate 65 from Chicago--thru Indy--to Louisville will have to be altered.

Consistent, former Maccabi Tel Aviv player and subject of an upcoming article of mine for the Jewish Post, Sarunas Jasikevicius, is gone too. I'm saddened by that. But to get what we got, it's okay.

I like Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and especially "I like Ike" Diogu, who I watched for a few seasons in the Pac-10. The Warriors refused to part with him last when Indy wanted to deal Ron Artest to the Bay Area.

I won't analyze the aforementioned newcomers because I choose to spend my sports time following local college squads like Butler and Indiana State, rather than the NBA, so I'd be shortchanging the reader.

But this trade has piqued my interest greatly. Not only because of the new faces, but because it shows Larry Bird and Indiana's front office care about the team, their fans, and of course, their wallets.

And that's nice to see. Judging by the callers I heard this afternoon, my sentiments are not alone in this city that has been literally painted blue in preparation for the biggest sporting event in Circle City history come Sunday evening.

For more on this trade, here is a link to an article that appeared yesterday on nba.com:
http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/trade_lead_070117.html