Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 64 – NBA Blog

Granger’s double-double leads Pacers past 76ers

The AP reports: Danny Granger had 20 points—five under his season average—but five other Pacers finished in double figures to pick up the slack in Indiana’s 100-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night… Troy Murphy scored 17 points, eight in the fourth quarter, Roy Hibbert and T.J. Ford each had 14, Jarrett Jack chipped in with 12 and Marquis Daniels had 11 for the Pacers, who led by as many as 20 points in the first half… Andre Iguodala had 20 points and nine assists, Louis Williams scored 17 and Thaddeus Young added 16 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Pacers notes

Positive-leaning team notes on the Indiana Pacers:

A leading candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, Danny Granger is on course to become the first player in NBA history to improve his scoring average by at least five points a game in three consecutive seasons. Granger is fifth in the NBA this season with an average of 25.5 ppg, which is nearly six points per game more than his average (19.7) of a season ago.

T.J. Ford headed into the All-Star break with his best assists game of the season, having dealt 13 against the Bucks in Milwaukee, Feb. 11. Ford has handed 10 or more assists three times this season and has averaged 7.2 assists per game in his last six games.At Milwaukee, Feb. 11, Troy Murphy’s 23 points included five 3-pt field goals, giving him a career-high 104 3-pointers this season, and giving the Pacers at least two players with 100+ 3-pt FGS for the second straight season. Indiana had more than one player with at least 100 3-pt field goals in the same season just two times in their first 30 NBA seasons.

Over his last 25 games, Murphy has shot 64-132 from long distance (.485) and he is now 11th in the NBA with a career-best 43.5 percent from beyond the 3-pt arc.

Jermaine O’Neal to wear No.7

The South Florida Sun-Sentinal (Ira Winderman) reports: Jermaine O’Neal will wear No. 7, Shawn Marion’s former number, with Jamario Moon to wear No. 8, which means the Heat will not, after all, be retiring Antoine Walker’s number. (Moon wore No. 33 in Toronto, which soon will be retired in honor of Alonzo Mourning. The late Alec Kessler is the only other Heat player to have worn No. 33.)

NBA to borrow $175 million

The Sports Business Journal (Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo) reports: The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA’s media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing. While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Loan me three fiddy. I want some ribs.

Danny Granger on how his jumpshot improved

Indiana Pacers swingman Danny Granger is an All-Star, and has made his strides in improving his shooting ability. Here’s what he said Friday at NBA All-Star weekend:

Question: How did you improve on your jump shot? It’s clearly gotten better.

Danny Granger: I had surgery on my shoulder in my junior year and I started altering my jump shots to make them more efficient. And my rookie year I changed them, just to fine‑tune, and it has been helping me.

Question: So you changed it twice in two years?

Danny Granger: Not dramatically. I don’t know if anyone else would be able to really tell other than myself, but I actually did change it.

Question: What did you change the second time?

Danny Granger: A lot of times I was shooting the ball with all my fingertips. Actually, I’m better shooting off my palm I found. I’m much more accurate with it.

Pacers plan on renegotiating arena lease

The Indianapolis Star (Jeff Rabjohns) reports: NBA commissioner David Stern expressed confidence professional basketball would remain in Indianapolis but stopped short of saying he was certain it would. The Indiana Pacers have the right to renegotiate their Conseco Fieldhouse lease after this season, and plan to do so. The team has lost a reported $7 million the past two seasons, but co-owner Herb Simon told The Star at the end of January the amount is more than that… The Simons pay the cost for operating Conseco Fieldhouse, estimated at $15 million. The Capital Improvement Board pays the operating costs for Lucas Oil Stadium, which it says were $27.2 million in 2008.

No surprise Danny Granger is All-Star

The Indianapolis Star (Jeff Rabjohns) reports: Several fellow All-Stars said they were not surprised Danny Granger has become an All-Star. Denver guard Chauncey Billups worked out with Granger in Las Vegas over the summer. “He’s stronger than people think. He’s long. He can score. He can shoot it from anywhere. He can post up and score. He puts it on the ground pretty good. He’s a difficult cover,” said Billups, the former Detroit Piston in his fourth All-Star game. The 6-9 Granger entered All-Star weekend sixth in the league in scoring, behind LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant. “Danny’s been doing it for a while now. We played against each other in college when he was at New Mexico, and now he developed a great confidence and his teammates have that confidence in him,” said New Orleans star and Wake Forest product Chris Paul. “Every night, you expect 30 from Danny, and that’s the way you become an All-Star.”

Jefferson scores 32, Bucks beat Pacers 122-110

The AP reports: Ramon Sessions scored 15 points and added a season-high 17 assists, and Richard Jefferson scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half, leading Milwaukee to a 122-110 win over Indiana on Wednesday night. Milwaukee (26-29) tied its win total from last season and improved to 2-1 without starters Michael Redd (knee), Andrew Bogut (back) and Luke Ridnour (thumb). Sessions is averaging 28.3 points per game and 12 assists in the starting role… Troy Murphy scored 23 points and Jack had 21, but Indiana fell short again after a wild win over Cleveland on Tuesday night because the Pacers allowed the Bucks to shoot 53 percent.

Pacers notes

Positive-leaning Indiana Pacers team notes:

Including 4-5 on his way to a team-high 18 points vs. Cleveland, Feb. 10, Troy Murphy has shot 24-45 (.533) from 3-pt range in his last nine games. Murphy has made a career-best 99 3-pt field goals this season.

With an average of 11.5 rpg, Murphy is fifth in the NBA, and he is the only player ranked in the top 20 in both rebounds and 3-pt field goal accuracy. Murphy’s 43.0 percent from long range is 13th best in the NBA.

With their win over Cleveland on Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Pacers became the first team in the NBA this season to post a win against each of the four teams (Boston, Cleveland, the Lakers and Orlando) with the best winning percentages in the NBA.

The only Indiana player with more steals than turnovers, Travis Diener has accumulated 14 steals and committed just 10 turnovers in his 33 appearances this season. Diener leads the team in assists-to-turnover ratio with 77 assists and 10 miscues (7.70:1).

This weekend Danny Granger will not only make his first appearance in the NBA All-Star game on Sunday, but he will also participate in the 2009 Foot Locker 3-pt Shootout during All-Star Saturday in Phoenix, Feb. 14. Granger joins the NBA’s all-time 3-pt field goals king, Reggie Miller, as the only Pacers’ players to participate in the 3-pt Shootout. Miller took part in the long distance shooting competition five times, finishing second in 1990 and 1995.

Players union files grievance regarding Tinsley

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: The NBA’s Players Association took the first step in trying to resolve point guard Jamaal Tinsley’s situation when it filed a grievance on his behalf Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers. Tinsley’s agent, Raymond Brothers, said last week they planned to file the grievance because he wants the Pacers to trade, release or buy out his client. Tinsley was barred from the team before training camp. He will make more than $14 million in the final two years of his contract, which expires in 2010-11. Pacers president Larry Bird said they have no intention of buying out Tinsley’s contract.