Pacers of the Past and Pacers of the Future

I remember when the Pacers were consistently in the playoff and were something to go see. Now, with this revamped roster of role players and free-agents, they just seem like a team of average players not really competing each and every night.

Attendance has dropped. We have gone from competing in Conference Championships as well as NBA finals to now fighting for eighth position in the Eastern Conference, or what one analyst calls "the JV League."

Truly nothing to root for on the basketball tip here in Indiana anymore, at least until the summer comes around and the Indiana Fever play. That's a sad thing to say when you would rather watch the women's team then the men's.

Donnie Walsh recently moved on the Knicks yet Larry Bird is still here! I respect him as a player and the things that he has done for the NBA image and team talent-wise, as well as being a Hoosier himself, but as a General Manager, that dude needs some help. When you lose players like Ron Artest, Steven Jackson, Al Harrington, Fred Jones, Austin Croshere, and even Anthony Johnson for players like Troy Murphy and Ike Diogu, this is definitely not an even trade on the talent side of the things.

Jermaine O'Neal came back from injury to play quite a few games this season, but like the O'Neal of past seasons, he went back to shooting jump shots and playing soft in the middle. That's my guy though and while he was definitely there on the defensive side, he's an all-star with experience and the contract to play a lot better than he did. And another thought: regardless of all the off-the-court issues that the players have been through in the past few years, they for sure showed up on the court.

This current roster shows on hope in a handful of players, starting with Danny Granger, Shawne Williams, Mike Dunleavy, foul-prone David Harrison, inconsistent Marquis Daniels, shooter Kareem Rush, and even little Travis Deiner.

The Draft is coming up in a little bit so we will see what the next move will be for the Pacers. For my sake, as well as all the other fans in Indiana and worldwide, this is a beginning of either something good or potential bad for our future.