My friends think I’m stupid for this, but I firmly believe that after that finals loss Myles Turner said to the pacers players “Look guys, I’m not as good as I once was. You know if I know it. So I’m gonna sign a massive deal with Milwaukee so that they have to pay me way too much money.”

Cut to now; Giannis is gone. Bobby Portis is gone. Gary Harris is gone. Not superstars, but seriously not a good situation for them. It was a self sacrifice. I get it, he could have never paid for a meal in Indy for the rest of his life if he stayed, but the bucks are screwed.

Am I wrong? Is he just greedy for more Lego sets?

I member

Feels like OKC players are breaking down after going through 2-3 years of deep playoff (Finals and Conference Finals) runs. Especially with their style of play, the wear and tear is bound to make them brittle, especially trying their best to come back and not fully recovering because the team is making run.

I remember last year when we still believed that "the standard is the standard" , and knew we couldn't afford to have Andrew Nembhard injured, because he was the closest PG we have to Hali, then he gets injured during the 1st game against OKC, which starts the domino effect of injuries that followed.

A Golden State fan mentioned that their team went through the same thing in 2019-20, after KD left, Klay tore his ACL, and Steph broke his hand at the beginning of the season. They decided to tank shortly after that.

The other team that was also in those deep playoff runs (conference finals and finals) was the Knicks, but since they don't play with the same defensive / offensive intensity as the Pacers or Thunder and they don't run as much, maybe they're not as battered. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Anyway, the growing list of injuried players at the beginning of the season is worrying, to the extent that I breath a sigh of relief when we get through a game with no injuries.

Siakam 25 PPG 6 RPG 3 APG 55% FG , 50.0% from 3 FG , Haliburton 20 PPG 10 APG 4 RPG 53% FG , 35% from 3 in the Pacers first 3 Games of action in Week 1 .

Now please don't get into an accident 🫣

I died when I saw this live

One of the roles of veteran players is to teach those coming up the ranks the school of hard knocks. You let down your guard once, you pay a physical penalty. That is the NBA of any era, though some claim its been forgotten in today's softening environment. Case in point, Cooper Flagg’s attempt at a fast break dunk off a steal in the second game of ’26-27, against none other than the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith.

Coop somehow anticipated, extended, and intercepted a pass by Pascal Siakam to Nesmith, after which he was off to the races against Gainbridge’s resident track runner. A dicey proposition in any circumstance, but particularly so when seeking to cap a demoralizing route where grudge mentality comes to the fore.

There were two opposing forces at work, with very few options in-between. Coop, with sophomore aspirations of greatness, had no choice but to aim for the highlight dunk—while Double A was morally bound to try and stuff him, quell the boos and give Pacers fans—33 points down in the first half of a long awaited Haliburton home opener return—some foundation of grit on which to base future hopes.

Cooper is 19 and Nesmith 27, which in basketball is a lifetime. The young gun of the moment probably assumed AA had lost his step years ago, rodeo’ing the likes of LeBron and Giannis on their rampages to the basket. That Giannis take down that led to the meltdown “game ball” incident. The semifinals takedown of Bron in the inaugural In-Season Tournament that simply does not exist on Youtube.

Coop must also have banked on Nesmith treating a hamstring injury that restricts his minutes on the floor (and made him miss Game One) with respect. I get this one, I cement my legacy in Indiana forever. That must have been Coop’s rationale. But one should never ignore historic precedent.

Nesmith’s chase down of LeBron in late ’23 in Vegas was a thing of beauty. A few plays before Bron had stepped in front of McConnell in full flight, sending our secondary PG sprawling on the garishly painted court. On the next play Nesmith body checked Lebron with such stoutness that the presumptive King wound up clutching his stomach, complaining to the refs.

Still the Lakers were grinding it out in an all out effort, LeBron and AD playing catch around the rim and the Pacers falling behind. Lo and behold, Lebron gets a fast break opportunity, a chance to take it the length of the court unimpeded and break Indy’s spirit. Except Double A is a few paces behind and says naw. He catches up and shadows him, taking him down with a wrestling move under the net that deposits Bron neatly on the floor, safe and uninjured as a newborn. I distinctly remember announcer Doris Burke jumping out her seat and commenting, “that’s the kind of foul we want to see more of.”

Exhibit two, Nesmith’s take down of Ja Morant mid-air on a dunk attempt the season prior (a response to getting intentionally hammered by Grizz heavies three times in the first half). Nesmith was in legal guarding position, Ja was attempting some fancy flight work and he paid the price, out for months. The unsettling laser-pointers-in-parking-lot incident stemmed from that and that was the last we heard from Ja in positive terms for a good long while. To his credit, he has worked to build credibility and seems to be balling out with the Blazers.

From that perspective, AA actually did Coop a favor, schooling him not to get ahead of himself. The shoulder injury was not severe, though it sent him to the locker room with a sprain. Never mind all the fan comments of Nesmith as a dirty player. He is not, the Pacers are known as much as any team for ethical basketball—he is just about keeping it real.

Coop may be a true basketball talent with generational passing and scoring instincts, but he has not earned the right to dominate. Beyond the message, and yeah Nesmith was just out of ball swatting range, but that’s hard to predict in the moment—the injury was as much due to Coop’s poor coordination on the landing as anything. Way I see it, he got hesitant when he sensed Nesmith closing in, there was a slight hitch, but it was too late to change course. As one Youtube commentator put it:

"so chase down blocks have never happened and every defender who gets beat should just not contest the shot? What a stupid ass thought. this league and fans so soft they calling for automatic buckets to count because players these days don't know how to take or avoid an obvious window for a hard foul. Coop goes to the left of the rim there and the defender can't even touch him. Instead he goes for the extra highlight, and he gets a hard foul for it. Somebody should teach him some risk reward analysis."

My advice to Coop is, do your homework before doing anything that remotely showboats when a board crasher like Double A is anywhere within 15 feet of your flight path. Defense like this has been going on since the days of the Celtics and chase-downs of the likes of Victor Oladipo in the ’22 Eastern Conference Finals, and it’ll continue so long as Nesmith’s determination is high and the joints cooperate.

More Anson Bridges fluff.

Sorry, does anyone know where I can buy the sweater that the dude is wearing? Looks dope

there’s no shame in having one 👊 just getting crafty with wood scraps from my laser cutter 😂

These threads are simply TOO GOOD to have for this season only. We need to keep them around like we did with the Hickory for a few years (or longer). PLEASE DO NOT RETIRE THEM AFTER THIS YEAR PACERS, I BEG OF YOU!!!

I can remember seeing Paul George and Gordon Hayward get injured in real time. Their legs literally snapped in half. JDub’s injury was eerily reminiscent of those guys’ injuries. I don’t know if any of you were fans of Gordon Hayward, but I definitely was when I was younger and seeing him and Paul George get injured like that was agonizing.

I know we don’t like OKC but man that is brutal. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. As an Indiana fan, I witnessed 2 of my favorite players (at the time) getting hurt like that and I understand. I hope his return turns out less like Hayward and more like PG.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/De8ReCFOVFn/

I tried to get this out before the start of the season, but this is the culmination of me processing through everything with Tyrese's injury and trying to express the unique pain of our fandom. Was watching Tyrese in tears on opening night while scoring it, haha. Hope you enjoy!

Ivica Zubac's x-rays were negative on his left ankle, Rick Carlisle said. But he's got some swelling. Unlikely to play tomorrow.

He did leave on crutches.

Looking like Mr. Poppy pants.

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