Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 57 – NBA Blog

Knicks sign Jon Bender

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that free agent forward Jonathan Bender has been signed to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

InsideHoops.com assumes that the deal is a nonguaranteed contract for one season.

“Jonathan has worked extremely hard in preparing himself for a return to the NBA,” said Walsh. “I know him to be a young man of the highest character from my relationship with him that dates back 10 years to his rookie year and I think he will be a fine addition to our team both on and off the court.”

Bender, 7-0, 230-pounds, has career averages of 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 15.0 minutes in 237 games (27 starts) over seven NBA seasons, all with Indiana. The Picayune, MS-native was selected out of high school by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall selection in the 1999 NBA Draft and was acquired by the Pacers on Aug. 1, 1999 in exchange for Antonio Davis.

Bender enjoyed his most productive NBA season in 2001-02 when he averaged career-highs of 7.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.1 minutes in a career-high 78 games. Injuries forced Bender to miss 172 games over the next three seasons before he was forced to stop playing due to chronic knee pain on Feb. 4, 2006, after playing in just two games in 2005-06.

Bender founded The Jonathan Bender Foundation in New Orleans that has adopted elementary schools, taken on real estate ventures, offered free finance classes for some of New Orleans’ poorest residents and run free basketball clinics for teens in the New Orleans region. He also founded a construction company called Kingdom Homes that buys and restores flood-damaged properties in New Orleans’ most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

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Pacers drop Nets to 2-21

In Indiana, playing in front of what looked like about 375 fans (OK, maybe 7,000-8,000), the Pacers beat the New Jersey Nets 107-91. New Jersey drops to a 2-21 record.

Indiana is playing without injured star Danny Granger.

The Pacers had a nice balanced offense as six players scored double-digits. Rookie Tyler Hansbrough came off the bench for 21 points (though he took 18 shots), seven rebounds and three steals. Starting center Roy Hibbert (8-of-17) had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Troy Murphy added 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Mike Dunleavy, still working his way back into condition, had 15 points off the bench. Brandon Rush, back to starting at shooting guard, had 10 points and 8 rebounds, though he committed five turnovers. And point guard T.J. Ford had 10 with 3 steals.

The Nets tossed bricks all night and shot 36.3% and hit just 3-of-13 from three-point range. They did earn 29 free throws, hitting 22. They were led by Brook Lopez (just 8-of-23) who had 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Devin Harris scored 18 (on 16 shots), Rafer Alston had 17 (on 16 shots) and Courtney Lee scored 14 (on 15 shots).

Starting Nets forwards Chris Douglas-Roberts and Josh Boone combined to shoot 4-of-15.

The Nets were out-rebounded 55-41 and out-assisted 22-12. No Net dished more than three assists.

Danny Granger out 4-6 weeks

Danny Granger will miss a minimum of four to six weeks with a torn right plantar fascia. No surgery will be required and rehabilitation begins immediately. Granger sustained the injury during the third quarter of Saturday night’s game at the L.A. Clippers.

Granger has played in 17 games and is the Pacers leading scorer at 24.4 points per game. He also averages 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.59 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

This is a huge blow to an Indiana team that has a 6-12 record and relies heavily on Granger. Their next leading scorer is Dahntay Jones (15.3 ppg, followed by Mike Dunleavy (12.2 ppg).

It’ll be tough to make up Granger’s scoring. There aren’t a lot of offensive weapons on the roster.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Pacers still finding their rotation

With 6-12 record, the Indiana Pacers aren’t off to the best of starts. Star Danny Granger is having a very good season, though he needs to raise his 40.1% field goal percentage. But he simply doesn’t have much help. And head coach Jim O’Brien is still searching for the best player combinations to help turn things around.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Jim O’Brien has used many starting combinations. Dahntay Jones replaced Brandon Rush at shooting guard and O’Brien has used both Roy Hibbert and Jeff Foster at center.

O’Brien may also want to take a look at point guard. T.J. Ford didn’t do anything to earn the confidence of teammates during the trip.

Ford had a total of 10 assists and 11 turnovers in four games. O’Brien went with Earl Watson in Ford’s place for most of the second half against Sacramento and the Los Angeles Clippers last week.

The Pacers must have stability at point guard if they expect to win.

O’Brien hopes to eventually settle on a nine-man rotation.

Considering the limited roster, Mike Dunleavy being hurt until just five games ago, Troy Murphy missing some games, etc., I’d say the Pacers are doing about as well as expected.

Jeff Foster out two weeks

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Veteran center Jeff Foster is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a high right ankle sprain, which he suffered in the first half of last Friday’s loss to the Miami Heat.

Foster’s injury leaves the Pacers (0-2) with a relatively inexperienced frontcourt, which has been abused by Atlanta’s Al Horford and Miami’s Jermaine O’Neal in the first two games.

Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said rookie Tyler Hansbrough could make his season debut Friday against the Washington Wizards as long as he has no setbacks in practice this week.

In the two regular season matchups Indiana has played, Foster only received 9.5 minutes per game, averaging just 1.0 points and 2.5 rebounds.

Pacers exercise options on Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush

The Indiana Pacers announced Sunday they have picked up the options on second-year players Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush.

Rush, a 6-6, 210-pound guard, entered the league in the 2008-09 season and averaged 8.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game.

Hibbert, a 7-2, 278-pound center, also began his NBA career last season and averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 14.4 minutes per game.

NBA tells bench players stay seated so fans can see

Good NBA seats are expensive. Fans shelling out big money to sit near the court should expect a good view of the action.

But what about when players get off the bench and remain standing for a while? On the one hand, it’s nice to see guys cheer their teammates. On the other, these giants prevent fans from seeing what they paid to see.

The Cavs are one team with players who remained standing a lot, and now the league office has reportedly taken action.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

The NBA has issued a memo to its teams directing players on the bench to remain seated during games. Game officials will be keeping a closer eye and will issue faster warnings and possible technical fouls if not followed. Players are permitted to cheer, but standing during regular-game action and blocking the fans’ views apparently isn’t going to be allowed.

That goes for Tuesday night’s first preseason game at The Q, where the Cavs will host the Charlotte Bobcats in the first of eight practice games before the season opener.

The Cavs weren’t exactly thrilled that their custom has been legislated.

“It is hard to take that out of the game,” LeBron James said. “Part of the game is emotions, your teammates are all you have. That was part of the reason we played great basketball, because we cheered each other.”

I support the league protecting the paying fan’s view.

Oct 2: Bulls 104, Pacers 95

The AP reports: Rookie Taj Gibson had 19 points and nine rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 104-95 on Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Derrick Rose added 17 points, and Luol Deng and John Salmons had 15 each for the Bulls. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 27 points in 26 minutes. Luther Head scored 14 points, and Brandon Rush scored all 13 of his points in the second half for Indiana. Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas left the game in the third quarter because of a concussion.

Pacers extend contract of coach Jim O`Brien

The Indiana Pacers today announced that they have exercised the team option to extend Coach Jim O’Brien’s contract for one additional year.

Pursuant to team policy, terms of contracts were not disclosed.

“We are very happy to get the option done on Jim’s contract,” said Larry Bird, President of Pacers Basketball Operations. “When I interviewed Jim for this job, he was committed to everything we want to do. We both feel we’re moving in the right direction.”

“I appreciate (owner) Herb (Simon) and Larry’s confidence as we move toward getting this franchise back to where it belongs,” said O’Brien. “I love Indianapolis and all of the fans in Indiana, and I remain committed to bringing a championship to the Indiana Pacers.”

Pacers sign Luther Head

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have signed free agent Luther Head to a contract. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Head, a 6-3, 185-pound guard from Illinois, has played four seasons in the NBA with Houston and Miami. He has a career scoring average of 8.6 points with a career-high of 10.9 in 2006-07 with the Rockets. That same season, Head shot .441 from 3-point range, which was fourth in the NBA that season and third best in Rockets’ history. He is a career 39 percent shooter from beyond the arc.

“Luther is a guy we have had our eye on,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He can shoot, he has speed and quickness and he will fit in well in our up-tempo game. I think he’s going to be a good addition to our basketball team.”