dwtaylor1055

Confirmed.

Trae young can score, but he is worse a defense than James Harden and that's bad. Until he tries to play a little defense(Yes there is not a lot of defense in the NBA I know), he will never be compared to Curry or Harden.

Pacers started out missing a lot(they didn't do during the first three games and you knew they would come back down at some point) which dug them a 9 to 26 deficit midway through the 1st quarter and only shooting 34% during the 1st half but were able to close to within 4 at the half, where as the Suns shot closer to 50% in the first half. Nate experimented a lineup tweak and played Vic with the reserves a bit more as Doug was out for the game(I would have played Warren with the reserves instead as Warrens shots have been going in moreso than Vic). The guys looked a little gassed imo after playing 3 games in 4 nights. Goga returned and I think its critical for him to get some meaningful minutes. IMO he looked better now than he did before the season went on a Hiatus(more vocal, less hesitant with shot selection or screen setting). Suns looks surprisingly good and healthy for the first time in a long time(minus Kelly Oubre Jr), however, Cameron Payne 75% of the time will not go 6-9 shooting(3-5 from 3) with 15 points every night. Ayton can be a legit top 10 Center in the league, but he needs to improve his 3point range if he wants to become more lethal. Booker is a top 5 SG in the league don't argue with me, he can flat out score at ease. Cameron Johnson has been thrown into the fire and he's exceeded expectations as I assumed he would with playing under Roy Williams at UNC, when he's on it from behind the arc you better run him off or he'll hit more than he'll miss. We all know what Ricky Rubio brings to the table and Mikal Bridges is a solid contributor as I assumed he would be coming from coach Wright at Nova. If the Suns had another scorer off of the bench they could be a fringe 7th/8th seed year in, year out only problem is the West is always loaded, I mean for pete sakes the Blazers are the 9th seed and look at their roster with Dame Doller, CJ, Carmelo, Whiteside, Nusaf, and others.

warren getting more buckets. He’s taken it up a notch. If he keeps this up, it’ll be hard for opposing teams to clamp up with Warren, Victor, Myles and Brogdon all capable of dropping 20 to 25 any night. Add the great play lately of Aaron and they won’t be an easy out. Maybe just maybe Sabonis finds a way back for the playoffs and uh oh.

TJ Warren took Bens lunch money and didn’t look back. Warren is a bucket getter. Averages 19ppg on a team where IMO he’d be considered the 4th best player(behind sabonis, Vic and Brogdon). He’s worked on his 3pt shooting and staying healthy(knock on wood). He shot 40% from 3 in Phoenix and is at 39.8% for this season. He only starred shooting 3s consistently starting last year. Didn’t care to shoot em at NC State or early on at Phoenix. He’s also one of the, if not best bargain at his current contract. $10.5 mil this year, $11 mil for 20/21 season and $12 mil for 21/22 season

💯It’s a tall task to play the 4 when coming back from a major injury. It’s more mental than him being able to play the 4 spot. PG can play the 4 now because he’s not worried about re injuring his leg. vic still isn’t that comfortable from his injury. He’s less hesitant to beat and bang in the paint(far less FT attempts post injury compared to pre injury)

Here we go. The NBA resumes tonight. This bubble will work and a champion will be crowned in early October. Lets go Pacers! My pick for who I think will win the championship will either be the Lakers or Celtics

So far the NBA has worked, still a ways to go before the bubble season was to end but no positive covid tests thus far in the NBA so they have a realistic shot at finishing as do the NHL.

I think the NFL may be able to survive if they take notice and notes from the MLB restart and take extra precautions. I still think a bubble is the best way to be successful like the NBA and NHL are doing

Bol Bol played in his first game for the Nuggets, had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in a scrimmage las tonight. After the game he was scheduled for a random drug screen lol Bol Bol is 7' 2", 235 lbs. Kid is SKINNY and I mean SKINNY, like a taller version of Kevin Durant when KD first came into the league. Interesting prospect here, however, I see him battling injuries throughout his career.

Domantas Sabonis has plantar fasciitis, hasn't practiced in last 6 days and appears very unlikely to suit up during any of the Pacers scrimmages. May not return Aug 1st either, return date in question. Appears as if Vic will give it a go tonight barring any "injury" concerns from practice yesterday. Coach continues to speak with high praise at how well Victor looks in practices and has had no limitations.

agree 100%. Zion and Patrick Beverley both are most recent to leave the bubble due to a "family issue". So far it's going well, fingers crossed it stays this way

0 positive cases out of like 340ish players yesterday since July 13th I believe is what I saw.

No thank you for what you bring to the table! I try to contribute in ways I can(rarely but sometimes I can to some extent). Stay Safe!

If people social distance and wear a mask you help prevent a potential spread. I am traveling to TN in Aug and Nov and Gulf Shores in Sept. Sure they are vacations, however, you can still maintain distance and be safe while on vacation.

wasn't directed at you @milehiiu lol my bad that it came across that way. It was for the group that reads the headline and makes assumptions

Before people start bashing Vic or the Pacers, the $3 mill dispute is from the NBA, not the pacers. The Pacers have committed to paying Victor if he plays or sits. Its the NBA that believes he shouldn't be paid. If a player travels to Orlando they are deemed healthy, however, if the player choses not to play then they believe that said player shouldn't be paid the remaining salary. What I see happening is the NBA will deem Vic shouldn't be paid so he will play a game or two then sit out with a soft tissue injury. Just my two cents.

Yeah this is very confusing and the true info probably will not come out for quite some time.

Victor will continue to practice in 5 on 5 in Orlando with the team for the remainder of the bubble season. The belief right now according to sources close to the situation believe that if the Pacers make it past the first round that Victor will return in limited capacity.

I felt if I made it longer I would of lost my mind lol Agree, PG being pressured to play the PF spot was a mistake(he's not built to be a PF or play that position). I feared all along that at some point PG would find his way back to his roots, lots of players do it, it just stings a little more then they leave your favorite team. I agree about the PG and Vic comparison, Vic is not on the same level as PG is, however, if he gets back to what he was pre injury, he would get close but in my eyes still a little behind. All small to mid market teams windows are very small, say 2 years at most and we saw that with PG and the two ECF appearances. If all returns for next season as expected, the next two or three years the P's could make some noise(advancement past rd 2 in the playoffs). I think the P's know it and surrounding Vic with a very solid group is their best bet and at the same time hoping say Aaron takes the next step and even Goga(which I think will turn into a very solid role player at a minimum).

To me the PG and Vic situation are different, however, could approach the same status come 21-22 offseason. IMO here are the two differences below: PG(this is not a stab at PG as I am a big fan of his) - PG was going to be the next big thing in Indiana and for the long term success of the Pacers. He went toe to toe with Lebron and Wade during the playoffs in 11-12 when we lost in the 2nd rd and when we met them in the ECFs in 12-13 and 13-14. Yes PG had George Hill, Lance Stephenson, David West and Roy Hibbert as his primary guys to contribute and cannot forget Luis Scola as a solid rotational guy). Hill was not a true point guard, rather a SG playing out of position but was still never the less solid(unless it was in the 4th and he was at the charity stripe, he'd hit one of two every time lol). Lance is lance and had his good and bad days(antics sometime got the best of him especially when he guarded Lebron), David West was a baaaaaad man and loved his game, his 12 footer just shot fad away reminded me a little of Dirk. Roy was a top shot blocker and rim protector in the NBA at his current time but he fell off the face of the earth rather quickly. Yes there will always be a debate about the Granger for Turner trade and maybe this was the start of the fallout between PG and the Pacers idk. PG was winning and winning big some would say during the 3 year stretch of 11-14 until his injury. Could the front office of helped PG more, yes in my eyes. Did PG force his way out, yes he did in my eyes as he felt the team wasn't constructed better and with how they let West walk this also put a sour taste in PGs mouth). There was uncertainty after his injury and his ego got a little large. And for the new article about Anthony Davis coming to Indy, well not sure that would have ever happened cause he was still under contract with NOLA and what would we have given up in return, 5 1st rd picks and say David West? No way. Vic - Questions surrounded what Vic could be all throughout his career prior to arriving in Indy. When he arrived, he put forth the work, effort and turned out to be what everyone thought he could be prior to his injury. He helped formed a bond amongst the team and the chemistry shot out of the ceiling. He became THE guy and became an All Star. Now his supporting cast his first year consisted of Collison, Bojan, Thad, Myles and Sabonis. This is a very solid core BUT this current roster is even stronger. Brogdon(yes injury prone but best PG to be in Indy in quite some time), TJ Warren(guy can flat out score and not afraid to speak his feelings aka Jimmy Butler), Sabonis(all star as we all know) and Myles(top 5 rim protector in the league). The talent is there for Vic IF he is healthy when he returns for the 20-21 season and that is a big if given the fact that Vic's injury is rare. Yes breaking a leg is a big injury, however, IMO Vic's injury is harder to come back from. Vic's last game before the NBA came to a halt looked as if he was right back to his old self. The NBA, especially for small market teams is all about risks and chances. I am on the side of play it safe and have Vic return for the 20-21 season and with a healthy Brogdon, Warren, Sabonis, Myles and with the improvement of Aaron Holiday and hopefully a returning Justin Holiday this team becomes even better. Give me a top 6 depth chart of Brogdon/Vic/Warren/Sabonis/Myles/Holiday over Hill/PG/Lance/West/Hibbert/Scola any day of the week. Yes times have changed and Hibbert wouldn't make it in todays game IMO but the roster construction in my eyes is much better today surrounding our star player with better talent then back when PG was here. Not a knock on the team when PG was here, but in my eyes, more talent is presently on the Pacers roster. So I say all the above to say this, if the two main things Vic is after come free agency is top money and winning big, the Pacers can win big(health can derail anything) and can throw money at Vic. They would have all their top money in Brogdon($20.5 mil), Vic($27.5 Mil), Sabonis($18.5 mil), Myles($17.5 mil), Warren($11.7 Mil) and Lamb($10.5 mil) puts us at approx. $105 mil if Vic was to take around $27.5 mil. You could flip say Myles and say Lamb(yes hes hurt but very affordable to a team looking for salary dump) and find some additional rotation players to improve the bench and still have a top four of Brogdon/Vic/Warren/Sabonis which in my eyes is very solid still. Salary cap for 2020 is projected to be $115 mil with Luxury tax of $139 mil. This is a very very good top 6 group not to mention Aaron Holiday(expecting a big step up come Orlando with Vic out) on a rookie contract still and say adding Justin Holiday back to the mix that is a very solid group of 8 guys(Coach plays a 9 man rotation).

Statistics show that post lockout injuries were much higher, you will see a similar case here in Orlando. Do you want to risk Oladipo's future next year(sure he could get hurt opening night) or even longer down the road for a bubble event in Orlando? Honestly the pacers chances would be the 2nd rd in the bubble, if you add in a hurt Lamb maybe a game 7 in the 2nd rd. THis move is for both the team and Vics best interest for today and the future. This will benefit Aaron Holiday for the future as a primary contributor.

I second this above. I think they will do everything possible to keep a 82 game season if they start around December. Look for a lot of B2B for every team and a few B2B2Bs as well or 3 games in 4 nights may become the normal for the 2020-2021 season.

Where do you slot PG at on this list? Guard or Forward? I am a huge PG fan, however, it would be hard for even myself to slot him in above any of the guys listed above. Now if we are talking about a 2000's to present Indiana Pacers team, I'd say he'd slot in for a spot

I would agree that 37% is respectable. If he can maintain that and improve his mobility, he will succeed. Now TJD on the other hand, we know he can be dominate around the rim. Do we anticipate him stepping away from the basket at all this upcoming season?