The AP reports: Danny Granger scored 20 points, new point guard T.J. Ford added 19, and a sellout crowd watched the Pacers beat the defending champion Boston Celtics 95-79 on Saturday night in their home opener… Ford, the key acquisition in the trade that sent Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, also had four assists. Backup point guard Jarrett Jack, picked up in a trade with Portland, added 11 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Pierce scored 15 points, but shot 3-for-15 from the field. Ray Allen finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting… The Celtics had 24 turnovers and shot 21-for-35 from the free-throw line on Saturday.
Category: Indiana Pacers Blog
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Pacers sign Danny Granger to contract extension
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that Danny Granger has signed a contract extension with the team. The Indianapolis Star reported that the extension is for five years and between $60 and $64 million, and that it will start next season.
“I’m very happy we were able to get an extension done,” said Granger. “I’d like to thank the Simons, Larry Bird, David Morway, Jim O’Brien, the assistant coaches, my teammates and the entire Pacers’ organization. I’m very excited about the direction our team is going and I’m glad that I can have a part in the future of this franchise. I think we can have something very special here.”
The 6-9 Granger, the Pacers’ first-round draft pick (17th overall) in the 2005 NBA Draft, has averaged 13.7 points per game in his three seasons. Last year, he registered career-best averages in points (19.6), rebounds (6.1), steals (1.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (.404).”
“Danny is a very good player and a great young man on and off the court,” said Bird, the Pacers’ President of Basketball. “He is a very important part of our future. Danny always keeps himself in top condition during the season and the off-season while always working to improve his game. He’s a player we feel very confident with going forward.”
Oct 29: Pistons 100, Pacers 94
The AP reports: The Detroit Pistons played well enough to build big leads only to allow the Indiana Pacers to rally before beating them 100-94 Wednesday night in the opener for both teams… Tayshaun Prince had 19 points, Richard Hamilton scored 15, Chauncey Billups added 13 points and seven assists, and Walter Herrmann had 10 points to help Detroit’s reserves easily outscore their counterparts. Danny Granger led the new-look Pacers with 33 points and got some help from new teammates T.J. Ford, Jarrett Jack and Rasho Nesterovic… Troy Murphy had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Marquis Daniels scored 12 points for Indiana. In their debut with the Pacers, Ford scored 10 points, Jack had nine, Nesterovic eight and first-round picks Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert added seven and two points, respectively.
Pacers team notes
In addition to leading the team with an average of 15.1 ppg, T.J. Ford also led the Pacers with 38 assists (4.75 apg) and 12 steals (1.5 spg) in preseason.
Among those that played at least half the preseason games, Roy Hibbert led the team with an average of 6.0 rpg. He was also the team’s top offensive rebounder with a total of 18 and the best shot-blocker with 15 rejections. Hibbert recorded one of the Pacers’ two double-doubles in preseason with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the team’s win vs. Memphis, October 17.
The Pacers finished the 2008 preseason with a record of 4-4, their 16th preseason at, or above, .500 in the last 19 years. All-time, the Pacers have had a sub-.500 record in preseason just seven times.
Led by Roy Hibbert’s four, the Pacers blocked 13 shots against the Memphis Grizzlies at Conseco Fieldhouse, October 17. That was the most blocked shots by any NBA team during the preseason. The Pacers had four different players block at least two shots in that game.
The Pacers will start the season with a game on the road for the fifth time in the last six seasons, as they visit the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, 10/29. The Pacers head into that game having lost six in a row to the Pistons. But, their last win against Detroit came at The Palace of Auburn Hills, December 9, 2006.
When the Pacers host the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics on opening night, it will mark just the third time in the Pacers’ 33 NBA seasons that they have hosted the league’s defending champion in their home opener. The only other times that the Pacers played the reigning champion on opening night were in 1976 when they also hosted the Celtics in their very first NBA home game, and in 1983 when the Philadelphia 76ers provided the opposition on opening night.
NBA opening night rosters
The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.
This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.
The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.
Enjoy the season!
Bucks waive Griffin and sign Croshere
The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward Austin Croshere (pronounced CROW-zhur) off of waivers, General Manager John Hammond announced today. In a subsequent move, the team requested waivers on forward Adrian Griffin.
Croshere (6-10, 235) comes to the Bucks with 11 years of NBA experience. He spent his first nine seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the team that drafted him with the 12th overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He followed up his Pacers career with one-year stints in Dallas (2006-07) and Golden State (2007-08). He averaged 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 44 games with the Warriors last season. He comes to Milwaukee with 645 regular season games to his credit and career averages of 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. The 33-year-old has also appeared in 68 playoff games and owns postseason averages of 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Griffin (6-5, 230) appeared in two preseason games with the Bucks.
Pacers rookies to get minutes
Most rookies tend to play very few minutes. But on the Pacers there’s room for almost anyone who can play to have an impact. The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports:
There were questions about them coming into training camp. Some wondered if center Roy Hibbert could make the transition from playing in a halfcourt offense at Georgetown to the up-tempo style of Indiana Pacers coach Jim O’Brien. The concern surrounding Brandon Rush was if he could crack the rotation at one of the wing positions, the Pacers’ deepest. The rookies have gone through growing pains, but they’ve also done enough to earn a place in the rotation when the regular season opens Wednesday in Detroit… Hibbert will back up starter Rasho Nesterovic and Rush will be in the mix at shooting guard and small forward. They were the first two players off the bench Thursday.
It’ll be especially interesting to see how Hibbert plays, considering he stayed in college longer than he had to.
Oct 23: Pacers 114, Mavs 91
The AP reports: Danny Granger scored 24 points, T.J. Ford had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-91 on Thursday night in the final preseason game for both teams. Marquis Daniels added 22 points and nine rebounds, and Rasho Nesterovic had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (4-4). Josh Howard scored 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks (4-4).
Pacers waive Croshere and J.Davis
The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have waived forwards Austin Croshere and Josh Davis. The Pacers roster now stands at 15.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to waive Austin,” said Pacers General Manager David Morway. “Austin’s a terrific professional and has represented this franchise extremely well and we appreciate his passion, dedication and commitment to the Pacers over the years.”
Croshere played for the Pacers from 1997-2006. In those nine seasons he averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He was traded to Dallas in 2006 for Marquis Daniels and played for Golden State in 2007-08. Davis is a three-year veteran of the NBA, having played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Houston and Phoenix. He has career averages of 2.5 ppg and 1.7 rpg. Morway added, “both Austin and Josh had very good camps and we think both players will find a place in the NBA this season.”
Oct 21: Hornets 101, Pacers 96
The AP reports: Chris Paul’s midseason-like form kept the New Orleans Hornets undefeated in the preseason. Paul had 23 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 101-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night… David West added 26 points, hitting 12 of 17 shots in the Hornets’ return home from their two-game trip to Berlin and Barcelona last week… Danny Granger, a New Orleans native, led Indiana (3-4) with 20 points in 37 minutes. T.J. ford added 14 points, while Troy Murphy had 12 points and 10 rebounds.