Mayer: Can the Pacers Upset the Heat?

Yes, the Pacers can upset the Miami Heat and stun the world taking the Eastern Conference crown. It's also theoretically possible for me to dunk a basketball, but that hasn't happened in about 207,541 attempts. While the Pacers have a much better chance at moving on to the NBA Finals than me magically gaining massive hops, both remain doubtful.

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I don't mean to take anything away from the Miami Heat because there are some fantastic pieces on the roster and obviously basketball remains a team game. But let's be serious. The reason the Pacers are such underdogs is because of LeBron James. The King is in his career peak and is playing on another level. Really, we have never seen anything like this; as in the way LeBron is actually playing the game. He's able to guard 1-5, drive between and over multiple defenders, post up at most any spot, and hit three pointers. #BEASTMODE

The Pacers are about defense and truly team basketball. I have enjoyed watching this squad play immensely. Roy Hibbert anchors the defense and Paul George is the main offensive threat, but they are by no means counted on to carry the full load.

George will have the unenviable task of attempting to guard LeBron for a great deal of this series. Even if he is able to limit the greatest player in the world, all the energy expended on defense will surely impact George's offense. After Game 5 of the Pacers vs Knicks series I was in the Pacers locker room and heard George talking to a ball boy about how much guarding Carmelo Anthony took out of him. Get ready young fella because guarding Carmelo as opposed to LeBron is like fighting a mountain lion instead of a grizzly bear.

With that said, if Paul George is able to limit (and limit is stressed because LeBron will get his numbers), but not allow him to totally dominate, the Pacers have a shot. I'm not forgetting that George will not be alone. Surely, there will be double teams and having Hibbert clog the middle should stop LeBron from driving....sometimes. So, let's assume the limiting of the King happens. What do the Pacers need to do to win?

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We'll go right back to Roy Hibbert, who had struggled offensively for so much of the season before turning it around. The Pacers will need to feed the big man and he will need to convert. Miami is known to have issues with physical teams that can rely on a back to the basket big guy. The Pacers fit that description if Hibbert can be counted on .

Another area I'm really looking at is the guard match ups. I'm not expecting to see the Dwayne Wade that caused so much havoc last year. Wade is still a top player, but he's hurting and has not been himself for a while now. Lance Stephenson has emerged and after the display he put on against the Knicks, may be counted on even more. If Stepehenson can play up to his potential and George Hill can provide a solid compliment (and remain healthy) the Pacers will have an advantage at guard.

Chris Bosh is a major match up nightmare for many teams, but I could see David West pushing him around. I won't say the Pacers have an advantage there, but it seems pretty equal. I would take the Indiana bench over the Heat without a doubt when comparing depth. That will become a big factor if the series extends to six or seven games.

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So, the Heat have the best player and best combination of three players (even if Wade is not 100%). They are also more dynamic offensively (by a pretty good margin). The Pacers have a better defense (though Miami is still a good defensive team) and more depth. There are also more individual and positional match ups for the Pacers to exploit. However, the Heat have LeBron and it really is that simple. There's no reason to doubt the best player alive. I expect a good series that goes six or seven games. The Pacers very well could win...and I very well could dunk.

Mayer: College Athletes Must Play Smart and Bolt for the Pros

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I've had many should "college player A" and "college player B" declare for a professional league debates. The subject comes up as Victor Oladipo is about to announce his decision to forgo his senior season at Indiana to declare for the NBA Draft. Cody Zeller will follow with his own press conference tomorrow. His fate is not as sure, but I fully expect Zeller to make the jump as well. (UPDATE: Oladipo declared for the NBA Draft and multiple reports have Zeller going as well)

There are many IU fans that believe the duo, or at least Zeller, should stay at Indiana to improve their bodies and skill set. To that I would respond, take a walk in their shoes. These two young men have worked their entire lives for the chance to play the game they love professionally. Oladipo's draft stock has absolutely sky rocketed and will never be higher. He is a lottery pick. Over the last month or so Cody Zeller's stock has dropped a bit with pundits pointing out his struggles against larger more powerful opponents. He should still go.

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This is a big deal and fans often forget to realize that an NBA contract gives the player a chance to be set for life if they manage their money properly. Zeller, the Washington native, was once thought of as a top five pick and will still be a first round pick. So what, he'll make a ton of money, develop his skills, and improve his body practicing against NBA players. No team will look at Zeller, or for that matter Oladipo, as a savior. They are young and will have time to develop into even better players.

Oladipo will have his college degree and has been a part of the transformation at Indiana. Zeller will be able to graduate with summer and online classes. He was the first domino to fall allowing the Hoosiers to once again become a dominant recruiting force. They have put their time in and left their legacies. It may have come up short of a championship (or even an Elite 8), but they deserve to move on.

I believe this is the smart path for any college athlete that knows they can make enough money to provide for themselves and their families. If Jake Odum was projected as a first round pick this year, then I would say go pro. There are only so opportunities to play sports professionally and a single play could result in a career ending injury.

Obviously not every college athlete should try and go pro at first chance (Christian Watford made the smart move to not enter the draft last year). It is only a good decision after doing research and understanding the possibility of being drafted and predicted position within the draft.

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Personally, I can't stand that basketball players are not allowed to enter the NBA from high school. If a player has the skill set out of high school to play sports professionally and that is his dream, let him go. Fans root for these players as if they were family, so there should be no ill will at the end. When it's time for the bird to leave its nest, don't fault it for flying away.

Mayer: Colin Cowherd Blames Poor Pacers Attendance on Racism

In case you missed "The Herd" yesterday, well, let's just say host Colin Cowherd stirred things up. Speaking about the Pacers poor attendance numbers despite the team thriving on the court, Cowherd asserted that racism was one of the main factors keeping spectators away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

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Obviously, this is a pretty controversial comment, especially with the certainty Cowherd expressed in saying it. I'll start with this. I think Colin Cowherd is a solid sports media personality, radio host, etc. I watch The Herd almost every day while eating lunch and genuinely enjoy the banter. While I don't always agree with what the host has to say, I still respect him. Cowherd genuinely believes and makes solid arguments about the topic, as opposed to a Skip Bayless type who simply tries to incite drama and controversy.

Back to the topic. I disagree with Cowherd on this subject. There are many reasons the Pacers are failing to draw (26th in attendance averaging 14,433 per game) despite Indiana playing so well (1st place in the Central Division and 3rd best record in the East). Is racism the reason? I really don't think so. Is it a factor? I can't definitively say it is not. However, if race is a factor I think it is such a small percentile that it really is not significant. The Malice in the Palace ended some fans relationship with the Pacers forever and could be a reason that some believe racism is an issue in attendance numbers. Makes some sense, but the brawl was almost a decade ago.

Cowherd continually dismissed the notion that Indianapolis is not a pro sports town by using the Reggie Miller days and the support Indy showed for those teams as an example. Great support for the Colts was also brought up.

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I disagree. Indianapolis is not a professional sports town and Indiana is not a professional sports state. That's not to say that pro sports don't have a place, but they are not the focal point. College and high school athletics, especially in basketball, rule the Hoosier state. One of the main reasons the Pacers are not drawing well is simple: Indiana University is back and taking the nation by storm while Butler has developed into a perennial contender. Those two schools are taking fans away. This is a down year for Purdue but it is a rarity and fans in West Lafayette would much rather support the Boilers then travel to Indy for an NBA game.

To further that point, many callers talked about how basketball fans in Indiana enjoy the team first, sharing the ball philosophy which distances the die hards from the superstar driven NBA. Cowherd retorted that is exactly how the Pacers play, so why wouldn't the basketball lovers in "the basketball state" want to see a pro team built in that image. Other callers said that the Pacers don't have a true super star which effects attendance and Cowherd came back with essentially the same argument: people want team basketball but then complain about not having a star.

It is true that basketball lovers in Indiana hate star driven selfish basketball. But it doesn't matter what kind of style the Pacers play because these are the fans that would choose a high school or college basketball game over an NBA game no matter what. So, the lack of a superstar does hurt because the younger generation (many who may not even be huge NBA fans) wait for Lebron or Kobe to hit the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor.

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Reggie Miller was a superstar the city and state fell in love with. The Pacers were also massively successful for a number of years. That is why those teams drew well. No one went to Colts games until Peyton Manning came along, became a superstar, and led the Colts to the playoffs every year.  That goodwill has carried over with another budding superstar in Andrew Luck and was not terribly hurt by only one bad year in between.

The Pacers have not had a superstar since Miller and were not particularly successful until recently. From 2006-2011 Indiana was never above .500. Fan bases simply don't have a light bulb go on as soon as the team in their city starts to play well. If Indiana is able to sustain their winning ways and Paul George becomes the player many think he will be, the fans will return. Indianapolis is not a pro sports town, it takes a certain combination of factors for professional teams to keep the turnstiles clicking every year. Are some fans racist and refuse to support non Caucasian athletes? Sure, but that is a truth for every team in every city. Even if the Pacers do draw well in the next couple of years, Indianapolis will always be a small town, underdog, sports city that prefers high school and college athletics.

Courtesy 1070thefan.com

Can D'Antoni Phil the Void in LA?

NBC 2 videographer AJ Schub takes a look at the coaching madness for the Lakers and asks if Mike D'Antoni was the right choice. 

The world of basketball was relatively stunned Friday morning when the  Los Angeles Lakers announced the firing of head coach Mike Brown just five games into his second season with the club.  Brown came under intense scrutiny when his team, headlined by four all-stars and three potential hall of famers, started off 1-4; The worst start in 20 years for the L.A. Lakers.

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Almost immediately after the firing of Brown attention turned to the former Lakers head coach, and winner of 11 titles, Phil Jackson.  Both fans and media anointed Jackson as the leading candidate to take the job.  Jackson, however, was not the lone candidate vying for the prestigious title of "Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach".

In surprising fashion, team owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchick announced  Monday morning that Mike D'Antoni would be the next head coach.  D'Antoni did not come out of nowhere to snag the job. His name came up with  Jackson's from day one, but rumors swirled saying it was Phil's gig to lose.

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Jackson, was "stunned" when he found out he did not get the job.  Supposedly he had plans to be in LA on Monday to finalize the contract. So why D'Antoni over Jackson?  Phil seemed like the obvious choice, but was he the best?

The roster of the '12-'13 team is similar but not exactly like the roster from '10-'11, the year that Jackson last coached. Kobe, Pau Gasol, and even Metta World Peace still remain, but the additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard into the starting line up may have complicated a transition to Phil's iconic triangle offense. Supposedly the team was worried how well Nash and Howard would fit in the triangle, and noted that the team took too long to learn Mike Brown's Princeton Offense.                         

I would argue that Phil Jackson is a basketball genius and there is more to him as a coach than just the triangle. Phil would make the necessary adjustments to make the team play cohesively. Jackson would also bring the locker room together and keep everyone on the same page, with the same goal; a championship.  Phil Jackson would not have attempted a return to the NBA without that lone goal in mind.  I believe that the championship-less Howard and Nash would respect and be willing to work with Jackson and his system if a championship was on the line.

Speaking of championships, as stated before, Phil has 11 of them. Twelve if you count the ring he won with the New York Knicks in 1973.  He has won the NBA title 11 times in 13 tries. He has been to the NBA finals 13 out of 20 years that he has been on the bench.  That means 65% of the time Jackson has been a head coach he has at least played for an NBA title.

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How about Mike D'Antoni? Zero NBA Titles, and zero conference titles. He has been an NBA head coach for eight full seasons, and parts of 10 seasons overall. D'Antoni has made the playoffs in five of those ten years.  Four of those five seasons he had Nash anchoring his back court and collecting MVPs. That, unfortunately, was half a decade ago and Nash is no longer the same player.

Coach D'Antoni was pushed out of a big market as Knicks head coach when he was unable to coach a team with Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire to an above .500 record.  The talent level on the current Lakers team is far greater than that Knicks squad, but there are similarities.  Carmelo and Kobe are both superstars that command the ball. Chandler and Howard are both anchors

on the defensive side, and former Defensive Player of the Year winners. Dwight is light years ahead of Chandler on offense. Finally, Stoudemire and Gasol are both offensive minded power forwards who

lack defensive intensity.  Don't get me wrong, I would pick this year's Lakers over last year's Knicks any day, but the similarities are there. If D'Antoni couldn't get those Knicks to be winners why does the Lakers brass have so much confidence in him now?

Kobe made it clear to the Lakers higher-ups that he wanted Phil, but would not be upset if D'Antoni was hired.  Bryant grew up in Italy when D'Antoni was a superstar in the European basketball league and looked up to Mike as a youngster. He, along with Dwight Howard, played under Coach D'Antoni in the 2008 Olympics. Both players were fond of the then assistant coach in Beijing. Steve Nash is used to being the man in D'Antoni's system, but will now have to take a bit of a backseat to Kobe and the crew.

Nash was asked over the weekend by ESPN LA his thoughts on a possible reunion with his
long time Suns coach and said, "Obviously I think everyone knows how much I love Mike."
"If (D'Antoni) were to coach, it would be seamless and terrific for me, and I think the team as well."

Courtesy heinnews.com

So we will now wait and see how this hiring works out for the Los Angeles Lakers in a season which seems to be categorized as "Championship or Bust". The deal is reportedly three years and $12 million, with a fourth year as a team option. Kobe has two years left on his deal, Nash has three, and Howard and Gasol are free agents after this year. I am guessing D'Antoni has a shorter window than three seasons to prove he is the right man to lead L.A.

Mayer: NBA First Look

Let's get this out of the way. The 2012/2013 NBA season will end with the Larry O'Brien trophy on a beach. Whether it basks in the sun on South Beach or in Malibu remains to be seen. The Heat and Lakers have put together mini all star teams.

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Arguments can be made that a number of squads will have a chance at winning the NBA Title this season and all have merit, but I can't see anyone making it over the LA/MIA mountain.

The Thunder would have been grouped with the two heavyweights if not for their recent trade of James Harden. Kevin Durant will play out of his mind and the negatives of Russel Westbrook are nowhere near the positives he brings to the court. Whatever your opinion of the deal, Oklahoma City is not as good this year without Harden. He may have struggled in the Finals, but the sixth man of the year was an integral piece to the Oklahoma City puzzle.

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The Boston Celtics have gone back to a Big 3 and are still extremely dangerous. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett still have some years and talent left and Rajan Rondo will officially be the best player and number one option in Boston. They bring in Jason Terry who will play a crucial role supplementing the loss of Ray Allen.






Tim Duncan comes back alongside Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker to give it another go round with the Spurs. If there's one lesson we have learned, never underestimate Greg Popovich and his core guys. However, they have shown us that something will need to change in order to reach the pinnacle despite regular season success.

Chicago also would have been high on the list of championship contenders, but the heart of the Bulls, Derrik Rose, won't be back into halfway through the season and who knows how long it will take for him to be back at full strength.

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The Indiana Pacers have one of the more interesting and complete teams in the league. They are deep and play a sound brand of basketball, but you need to be almost perfect to win in the NBA without a star player (if not three). Indiana has a couple of great players and a bunch of good players, but it's just not enough to go all the way.

The Los Angeles Clippers have really turned the franchise around. Blake Griffin is the centerpiece and I hope Chris Paul sticks around. The high flyers are immensely talented and should only be better after the acquisition of veterans Lamar Odom (who I expect to get back to form)  and Grant Hill. Once again, good team, but I can't honestly say they are close to good enough to get past the Lakers or Heat.

These are the only teams I can see posing a true threat to the MIA and LAL. .

Miami is coming off a championship and a year in which Lebron James finally seemed to get over the hatred that spawned from "The Decision". They come back a year older and wiser, not to mention finally understanding their uptempo form of basketball will work without a true center. The Heat play suffocating defense and push the ball in transition like no other squad due to their other worldly athleticism. Now they bring in Ray Allen, who spaces the floor for James and Wade and will have a field day running around the perimeter, while defenses are focused on guarding the middle against drives. Don't forget about Rashard Lewis, it was not so long ago he was considered one of the better complimentary players around and could find his groove again on a team where he has much less responsibility.

The Lakers went crazy this off season. They came out of nowhere to snag Steve Nash, something most Western Conference fans thought they would never ever see. Nash is exactly what Los Angeles needs out of a point guard. Nash may be old, but he still has some of the best vision and instincts in the game. Kobe will not have to worry about setting plays up as much and Nash will not have to worry about scoring which should help both of them. Then there is the whole Dwight Howard thing. How LA got Howard without giving up Pau Gasol is beyond me. The Lakers have supreme talent all over the place that allows each player to focus on what they do best.

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 I hate to say it because surprisingly, despite being an LA native, I am no Lakers fan. In fact, I have a strong dislike for the team. I'll still go with LA to win the whole thing. A starting five of Nash, Kobe, Artest, Pau, and Howard is hard to fathom. The bench is strong as well, hello Antawn Jamison. I'll say Lakers over Heat in 6 games.