FKIM01

Yeah...he didn't sound too tore up about the fine...said he earned it.

LOL...Cuban gets fined $600,000 for admitting publicly that he told his players that tanking was their best option.

Assuming he's not expensive, why not bring him to the Pacers? He's surely as good as Alex Poythress and at least he didn't play at Kensucky!

One more thought...for anyone thinking the midrange jumper is a lost art, you should have seen Vic knocking down a bunch of them tonight. VO has an excellent mid-range game.

...and while I understand there are fans here who don't like Lance, I think he's a great fit with the Pacers and I'm personally entertained by some of his antics. I showed my wife the clip of him blowing in LeBron's ear and she was rolling on the floor. He's got an edge to him and he revels in being the bad guy on the road, but in reading a recent interview, I also think he's grown up a lot from some of his earlier foolishness. I particularly appreciated that he doesn't take the bait when reporters ask him about politics. No doubt he's got an opinion, but I appreciate that he stays focused on the game. ...the crazy hand gestures while dishing an assist on the break in tonight's game...pure Lance. I love it.

Sabonis is just a master of the pick & roll. Even when teams know it's coming, he's hard to stop. Vic just makes everyone around him better. ...and man did Myles look good tonight. Heck, the Pacers looked good tonight. I credit Vic...his attitude is contagious.

Seriously...I would not want to play with Westbrook as a pro. I'll bet Oladipo was secretly very glad to get away from such a ball hog.

I predict Westbrook takes 70 shots and doesn't look at either of them.

Ah...faulty memory. I knew it had changed just off on the changes.

24 minutes and no Hoopster rebuttal? Did I understand right that this year, the reserves could some from either conference without concern for balance beyond the starters?

I see Jason Kidd got fired in Milwaukee. General consensus was that they were underachieving and that his sets were pretty basic/ineffective. I can't disagree considering the level of talent on that team vs. achievment.

My man crush just keeps growing. What an unbelievably valuable player to the Pacers.

You know what I love seeing the most? Yogi WAAAAAY ahead of Tyler Ulis. I got so sick of hearing how much better Ulis was than Yogi when they were in college. All I saw out of Ulis was speed. It's also good to see A.J. Hammons and Caleb Swanigan tearing it up in the NBA.

I know I was early on the bandwagon for that trade. I thought Vic was better than he got credit for but more than that, I knew he would be great for team chemistry and if anything, he's exceeded expectations there as well.

Indeed he does. Doyel opined that in spite of the actual +/-, there is anecdotal evidence that VO is worth like fifty PPG... https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2018/01/08/doyel-oladipo-effect-leads-mvp-chants-pacers-swamp-bucks/1013227001/ Surely Vic is an all-star...and surely no one can say with a straight face anymore that OKC hosed the Pacers on the George trade. Sabonis, the afterthought bonus player on the trade was 8/12 against the Bucks and had high-point honors. Vic is the unquestioned star of the Pacers, but Sabonis is an absolute master of the pick and roll...he is so frigging smooth and automatic on that play. I watched him do it again...and again...and again against the Bulls Saturday night. They had no answer for it despite the fact that they knew it was coming. Ironically, Paul George should be the MVP of this year's Pacers. It's been a long time since the Pacers' team chemistry looked this good.

I was at the game as well. At one point, Vic had three straight steals, the last one with an emphatic dunk. He looked great and he makes everyone around him better. TJ Leaf didn't miss and Sabonis just killed it on the pick and roll. Pacers looked really good. ...and yeah I realize the Bulls aren't very good but the Pacers would have beaten many teams Saturday night.

He was absolutely stroking is from the outside in Saturday night's game.

At some point you're gonna have to admit it...Pacers killed it on that trade.

I can't argue that at all. It seems that Vic needed the ball more than Westbrook was willing to share. There just wasn't really room for both of hem in that offense and as a result, Vic's production wasn't what it could have been.

I see. Whatever his motivation, I think he's right...when the dust settles and history passes it's final judgment, this trade will be judged as one of the best the Pacers made. Period. The only thing that changes that is a career unexpectedly cut short due to injury.

So Dakich is no on the VO train...you're just a little late, dude. ...and yes...it is sweet being right about the trade when all the experts were wrong...

That's a really nice article. It also gives me a new level of respect for Nate McMillan.

I'm seeing both sides of this having been on the "Vic" side of the debate. I've felt almost ridiculed for suggesting that Vic is every bit the player Paul George is (this season and perhaps going forward). I understand the historical statistics, but I also understand trajectory, attitude and organizational fit. I've almost heard the laughter and scoffing while reading some posts here opinion that Vic is not possibly in the same plateau as PG even as the statistics continue to bear out the opinion that he's caught George, who is likely on the back side of the apex of his talent. I've tried to keep my comments on the level and non-confrontational, but I've seen posts on both sides of the issue that appeared to belittle opposing views and IMO, Scott may be reacting to that vibe...or maybe he's just having a bad week. Probably nothing that a big win in Bloomington tonight can't cure.

I just went back and looked and I'm not going to spend the time posting all the comparisons again (too much work to get done!) but suffice it to say, George plays about a minute more, shoots a little more efficiently and averaged 1.8 PPG less than last year. Overall, Vic compares well to those numbers too and PG doesn't appear to be really adversely affected by the Westbrook factor. I would argue that Vic was considerably more affected by the Westbrook factor since they are both guards and Westbrook, for whatever reason, appears to be more willing to share with his new sidekicks than he was with the guys who got traded.

The numbers don't lie. Moreover, I would tell you that I believe PG is past the midpoint on his skills trajectory while VO is still climbing. I get it...you say the sample size is too small. I say that Vic has spent his career proving people wrong and I don't think he's done making the experts look foolish