Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 50 – NBA Blog

Larry Bird is a Dirk Nowitzki fan

While I am not a fan of comparisons between Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird (I’m cool with discussing their scoring and shooting ability, but I give Bird a huge advantage when it comes to passing and various other stuff), it’s certainly fun to hear Larry Legend share his thoughts on the big German.

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

“He’s had a great run (in the playoffs), but I’ve always been very impressed with him,” Larry Bird said [about Dirk Nowitzki]. “His work ethic, his loyalty to his country. It’s really an honor for me to have people compare us.

“He rebounds. He plays at his own pace. He sort of controls the tempo on offense. It’d be nice to be 7 foot and when they run plays and switch (defenders) on him, it doesn’t bother him at all. He can see over everybody.

“He’s got the step-backs. He gets to the rim. The difficulty of some of the shots that he makes … one thing about him is that he’s always got great balance. His shot looks like he’s falling away, but he’s got a lot of balance when the shot goes up.

“I understand (the comparisons). I’ve always felt it’s an honor when they compare anyone to me, because I haven’t played ball for 20 years.”

Asked how much he would have enjoyed the opportunity to take Nowitzki on in one of his legendary post-practice shooting games, Bird said: “I would have loved to compete against all these young guys: LeBron (James), (Kevin) Durant, Dirk. When you play this game, you want to go up against the very best. But I can’t even beat Magic (Johnson) in a H-O-R-S-E game any more. That’s how far I’ve fallen.”

One more comment on passing ability: Bird is my favorite passing forward of all time, but it has to be said that he had teammates who cut to the basket far more often than Dirk’s stand-in-three-point-range teammates do. Still, Bird passed the rock as well as almost anyone who ever played the game. I can’t come close to saying anything like that about Dirk.

Pacers increase season ticket prices

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

The Indiana Pacers are increasing their ticket prices for the first time in five years.

The Pacers are offering full- and half-season packages and taking deposits on 11-game packages for the 2011-12 season at rates that are about 9 percent higher than this season.

Single-game ticket prices have yet to be determined.

“The ticket packages we’re selling today are higher than last year’s packages, but they’re still less than what they were five years ago,” said Rick Fuson, Pacers Sports & Entertainment chief operations officer.

Larry Bird and David Morway stay in Pacers front office

Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird met Tuesday in Los Angeles and have announced that Bird will remain in his position.

“I’m quite pleased with the success we experienced this past season and pleased with the direction our team is going,” said Simon. “I’m glad Larry is staying to help us continue in the positive direction we are going.”

“The past few months have been the most enjoyable since I took over as President of Basketball Operations,” said Bird. “To see our young players develop, to see us make the playoffs and then to see us compete in a hard-fought series with Chicago are indications we are headed in the right direction and it has made me even more determined to help this team improve further and go to the next level.

“I hope we can keep our core basketball group together and one of my first priorities will be to address the coaching situation.”

Simon and Bird also announced that David Morway will stay as general manager.

Danny Granger supports Pacers coach Frank Vogel

Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Here’s some potentially sobering news for the refreshingly revived Bulls.

If the Indiana Pacers players have their way, we’ve seen the last of “interim” head coach Frank Vogel.

Danny Granger supports Pacers coach Frank Vogel

“We want that ‘interim’ taken off his title,” said forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer.

“Management usually asks for the players’ input on important decisions like this,” Granger said. “I expect [team president Larry Bird] to do so again. If he gives us who we want, he’ll make Vogel the full-time head coach — not interim. Vogel really improved our play overall. Of course, that’s a decision that management makes. And they don’t always make it the way the players want.”

Pacers coach Frank Vogel wants interim tag removed

The AP reports:

Displaying the positive attitude that energized the Indiana players and fans, interim coach Frank Vogel explained why he believes he should be the next head coach.

Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien at midseason, went 20-18 and led the team to its first playoff berth since 2006. The Pacers were competitive in losing their first-round series to the Chicago Bulls.

“One thing I learned the last three months is that I can do this,” he said. “I’m confident in my leadership abilities, my management abilities, my coaching abilities. It’s been an honor to coach the last few months, it would be an honor to coach in the future.”

Team president Larry Bird was impressed with Vogel’s performance. He said the 37-year-old would get the first interview for the head coaching position.

“I think Frank did an excellent job, stepping in without the experience of a head coaching job,” Bird said. “The way he conducted himself, he brought positive energy to this team. We won more games than we lost. We did it with a young team, a team that’s trying to grow.”

Danny Granger says Joakim Noah played dirty

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Danny Granger had to be restrained from going after Bulls center Joakim Noah as the teams exchanged handshakes on the court at the end of the Bulls’ series-ending 116-89 win.

Granger accused Noah of playing dirty throughout the game, taking cheap shots at Pacers, including forward Josh McRoberts, who was ejected in the third quarter.

Granger was in the hallway outside the locker room using expletives to describe Noah’s play.

“Everybody saw what Josh did and he got ejected,” Granger said. “Nobody caught what happened first. It’s always the second man. (Noah) was playing dirty the whole game. My teammates got caught with it and nothing happened.”

McRoberts was ejected in the final seconds of the third quarter for throwing an elbow at Noah. The former Carmel High School standout said he was retaliating for an “elbow to his throat” from the Bulls center.

Rose, Bulls eliminate Pacers, 116-89 in Game 5

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Luol Deng added 24 and Chicago finally played like a top seed, knocking off the Indiana Pacers 116-89 in Game 5 to wrap up their first-round playoff series Tuesday night…

Rose seemed just fine after spraining his left ankle in Game 4. He had it taped and acknowledged he was a bit apprehensive at first, but he wound up hitting 8 of 17 shots. He dominated in the early going and came up big in the third after the Pacers pulled within four. He scored 10 points over the final six minutes after returning with four fouls, and Chicago ended the quarter on a 23-8 run to blow the game open.

The Bulls hit 14 of 31 3-pointers, including five by Keith Bogans (15 points) and three each by Deng and Rose. Deng also had seven assists and six rebounds.

Joakim Noah added 14 points and eight rebounds, and the Bulls won a playoff series for the first time since they swept Miami in the first round in 2007 and only the second time since the championship era. It was clearly their most impressive performance of the postseason even though Carlos Boozer scored just two points…

Danny Granger scored 20 for the Pacers and had some strong words afterward for Noah. He accused Noah of throwing elbows that ultimately led to a technical foul for A.J. Price after an altercation with Tyler Hansbrough and an ejection by Josh McRoberts later in the game.

Derrick Rose OK to play Game 5 vs Pacers despite ankle sprain

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports:

Derrick Rose OK to play despite ankle sprain

Derrick Rose participated in the walkthrough portion of Tuesday’s morning shootaround and got individual shots up afterward, reiterating he planned to play on his sprained left ankle as the Chicago Bulls try to close out the Indiana Pacers in Game 5.

“It’s good,” Rose said. “I gotta get treatment and then I’m out there. (Monday), it was a little stiff. Today, I got more more motion in it.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau said of Rose: “He’s feeling better. We’ll see how he feels before the game.”

Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination

The AP reports:

The Pacers sent the red and black-clad swarm back home disappointed. After fourth-quarter collapses in each of the first three games, Indiana avoided elimination by holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls 89-84 in Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference series on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers not only faced superstar guard Derrick Rose and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, they dealt with an unexpected roadblock—a hostile environment on its home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played for the Pacers for his entire 12-year NBA career…

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, including four free throws in the final 14.1 seconds while being booed. He said the team remembered its earlier failures in the series…

Chicago’s Carlos Boozer missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game in the closing seconds. The Bulls were looking to set up Luol Deng for the final shot.

“I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol,” Joakim Noah, who led the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds, said…

Rose, who averaged 32.7 points in the first three games, finished with 15 points and 10 assists. He sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter and scored eight points on 3-for-16 shooting the rest of the way.

D-Rose leads Bulls past Pacers for 3-0 lead

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose was beaten up and shaken up by Indiana’s trapping defense, which was intent on shutting him down at all costs.

The Chicago Bulls guard struggled all game long and even lost his cool at times, but he still found a way to be the difference-maker. He scored 23 points, including the go-ahead layup with 17.8 seconds left, to help the Bulls beat the Pacers 88-84 on Thursday night and take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series…

Danny Granger had a chance to give the Pacers the lead, but his 3-pointer was off, and Chicago’s Ronnie Brewer rebounded. Brewer was fouled, and he made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to put the game out of reach…

Rose made up for his shooting difficulties by making 13 of 15 free throws. Chicago can close out the series on Saturday…

Luol Deng had 21 points and Korver added 12 for the Bulls.

Granger, who led the Pacers with 21 points, said the Pacers wanted something better than the contested 26-footer that bounced off the rim with 2.2 seconds remaining.

InsideHoops.com notes: It was a brick-fest (or a defensive struggle, if you prefer that), as the Bulls shot 38.9% while the Pacers hit 37.9%. But the Bulls hit an impressive 9-of-20 three-pointers, the Pacers a miserable 1-of-10. Rebounding was even, but the Bulls won the assist battle, 20-11… Pacers point guard Darren Collison was limited in his return from brief injury, scoring nine points on eight shot attempts and only creating two assists with four turnovers.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.