Indiana Pacers: 10 Games Fans Cannot Miss for the 2011-12 NBA Season

The NBA has the most recognizable stars in any league. No other sport comes close.

In football, the average passive (non local) sports fan might be able to recognize the two Mannings, Tom Brady, possibly Drew Brees, Brett Farve (recently retired I know) and that’s close to it.

In baseball, Derek Jeter, A-Rod and maybe Albert Pujols and Big Papi. Hockey? Forget it. But basketball?

You would want to put money on it that your average sports fan could recognize at least half a dozen superstars. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, D-Wade, Shaq (recently retired I know) and probably Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. 

We know and love NBA stars for a variety of reasons. For starters, no one player (save for maybe a good NFL quarterback) has as much of an impact on the game as the top NBA players. 

Take LeBron off the Cavs and yeah…you saw what happened. Same applies for any of the stars mentioned above expect maybe Yao, who is more of a giant icon than anything else (he's the exception though).

Take Jeter off the Yankees, and they are still a playoff team. Replace Farve with McNabb, and I am betting Minnesota makes the playoffs. Of course, you could say that a few of the elite quarterbacks are irreplaceable, but no league comes close to relying on its stars like the NBA does. 

From a performance standpoint, the NBA is so dependent on stars because only 10 guys take the court at once, meaning the top players can alter the game to such a large extent. Each player is given a larger role by default, and each star is given a greater opportunity to impact the game. 

But from an marketing standpoint, the NBA is even more dependent than other leagues for star power. The league has the advantage in terms of marketing ability and fanbases because the players are instantly more recognizable. They don't wear pads or helmets. 

We can relate to NBA players more than any other athletes because we sit so close to the action and can see and hear their true emotions. It’s more real than other sports which we sit away from the field or behind glass. 

In baseball, the players are so far away (meaning even if you are right behind home plate, you can barely see the outfielders) and their faces covered by their hats. In between innings, they hide in the dugout.

Hockey? Forget it. Between their helmets, gear and the fact that they play so fast, if not for the numbers you’d have no idea who was out there.

But basketball is different. We know and love these guys not just for the team but the individual players as well.

So when we buy tickets to go to the games, we don’t just pay to watch our team play. We pay (often way too much) to see the best player on the other team come to town. 

When we compare our team to that of our opponents, we don’t just look at the whole team, we focus on matchups. Games against Dwight Howard, Lebron, Kobe, are measuring sticks, by which we rate our own players.

Every year, fans circle the must see home games of the season. Here are 10 games the Indiana Pacer faithful shouldn't miss. 

1. The Boston Celtics Saturday Nov. 5th, 8 p.m.

The Boston Celtics might be surprising ranked so highly on this list. Why not the Lakers, Heat or Mavericks?

In part, the Celtics take the top spot because they are the first home game of the season. If the Pacers want to revitalize a flagging fanbase, what better way to gain respect then to come out with a bang and beat one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams?

It sounds silly to say that one game can make a difference, but beating the Celtics at home in front of an energized crowd could really set the tone for the early part of the season. 

The first home game of the season is not just the only reason why this game is so important. It's also because of what Boston represents.

Back in 2007, they were the first in the age of me-first superstars to focus on team basketball and even though they may be on the decline they are still one of the league’s best starting five. The Celtics revived the concept of ubuntu team basketball and made it popular again. 

(The Spurs have been dominating using team basketball for the better part of the decade, but their stars are so reserved that nobody noticed).

After the Celtics, the Lakers, Mavs and a few other teams realized that one or two superstars surrounded by D-league talent wasn’t going to cut it.

Over the last few years, Indiana too has been building in this same mold trying to find the right pieces. So while the Celtics won’t be the most exciting team in terms of individual stars, they have set a high bar for the Pacers to match.

It will be a great test of how far the Pacers have come on their quest to look more like the Celtics and how far they still have to go.

Plus from a strictly entertainment value, the Celtics still have KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rando (one of the most exciting players to watch in person), making Boston well worth the price of admission. 

2. Detroit Pistons: Wednesday Nov. 2nd, 7:30 p.m.

The only away game on this list makes the cut as it is the first game of the season. Any time an organization has a uncertain fanbase, which in recent years has been the case even in basketball crazy Indiana, it is imperative to get off to a fast start. 

Winning a couple of earlier games can really set the mood for team and the fans. Magnify the excitement by the fact that it is against hated Detroit—especially at Auburn Palace, the site of the infamous melee— and a win could do wonders for the Pacers.

From an entertainment standpoint, the Pistons are a shell of their former selves, but Greg Monroe is a possible star in the making to keep an eye on.

In the end though, the lingering bad blood between the two sides should be more than enough for a few Pacers fans to make the trip to the Motor City. 

3. The Dallas Mavericks: Tuesday Feb. 7th, 7 p.m.

The Dallas Mavericks are an obvious choice for a lot reasons.

They are world champs, they have Dirk Nowitzki and it’s a homecoming of sorts for Rick Carlisle who was coach of the Pacers before landing his latest gig in Dallas.

On top of all that (do you need any more reasons to see them play?), they too have bought into the mantra of team basketball that resembles what the Pacers are trying to build even more so than the Celtics as the Pacers are building around one top player in Danny Granger and not four. 

4. The Miami Heat: Friday March 23th, 7 p.m.

There are only three people worth the price of admission no matter what team they are playing on (including a Turkish team): LeBron, Kobe and Dwyane Wade.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), the Miami Heat put two of the top three players in the league on the court at the same time.

Love them or hate them, LeBron, Wade and even Chris Bosh are guaranteed to put on a show. Dangerous last year, they will be deadly this year with a full year of playing together and the intense fan hatred fueling their fire more than ever before.

A motivated big three spells major trouble for the rest of the league. 

From a matchup standpoint, this game will also be a measuring stick for Paul George. After shutting down Derrick Rose for the majority of their first-round playoff series, George suddenly earned a reputation for being a lockdown defender. The combination of Wade and James should then be a pretty good challenge. 

5. The Los Angeles Lakers: Tuesday Dec. 20th, 7 p.m.

The second player of the "worth the price no matter what" big three, Kobe comes to town surrounded by more question marks than ever before.

Is his career on the decline? Is he even happy under Mike Brown? Is he the guy that can still carry the Lakers and are the Lakers even championship material anymore?

All valid questions but none should diminish the fact that the Kobe and Co. can still put on a show at any moment.

Throw in the Brian Shaw subplot, and the plot thickens. Then take into consideration that Bynum/Gasol is Hibbert's second biggest test of the season (after Dwight Howard) and another great opportunity for the Pacers' big fella to step up and show his stuff, and the Pacers-Lakers is a must see game.

6. The Chicago Bulls: Friday Nov. 25th, 8 p.m.

I don’t care what Bulls’ fans say or how much fake bravado they have. The Pacers had grabbed the Bulls by the horns, and Chicago was scared.

Unfortunately, youth and inexperience caught up to the Pacers and Indiana let them off the hook in their first-round series. This time around the Pacers will be primed to show that the way they played Chicago was what the rest of the league should expect from here on out. 

From an entertainment standpoint, anytime Derrick Rose comes to town it's a hot ticket. Plus, like the rest of the Pacers, Paul George too will be out to prove that his defense on the reigning MVP was no fluke. 

Chicago-Indiana is a budding rivalry. A few more close games and a couple of wins, and it could turn into something like it was during the days of Reggie and MJ. 

7. Orlando Magic: Tuesday Nov. 15th, 7 p.m.

As a team, the best days of the Orlando Magic might be behind them. Miami is clearly the better team in Florida, and Orlando's front office has struggled to keep up let alone put consistent talent around Dwight Howard.

Regardless, Howard is still the game’s most dominant big man and will provide quite the opportunity for Roy Hibbert to show how much he has grown.

A few good games against the Magic, starting with their first meeting in Indy, and the Pacers will be able to say they too have a dominant force down low as well.

8. The Los Angeles Clippers: Saturday Feb. 4th, 7 p.m.

In the middle of a brutal six-game stretch which includes contests against Boston, Orlando, Boston, then Dallas and Atlanta, the Clips come to town.

It was unfathomable even just two years prior, but with the arrival of Blake Griffin and the ascension of Eric Gordon, the Clippers might be the hottest ticket in L.A.

From a measuring stick perspective, the Clips can't offer much. They will be much improved from their terribly disappointing  and might even make the playoffs. Still, nobody is going to label them an elite team.

However, no team has a higher entertainment value. In fact, if dunks were the lone determinant, Blake Griffin would be the game's most exciting player.

Blake Griffin is the real deal. So too is Eric Gordon. DeAndre Jordan isn't polished, but he certainly joins Griffin in the high-flying act department. Eric Bledsoe is a young point guard on the rise as well.

If the Clips can just find a reliable small forward they will be a team to be reckoned with out West. In the mean time, they will be a lot of fun to watch. 

9. New York Knicks: Wednesday Feb. 15th, 7 p.m.

It won't be the epic Pacers-Knicks matchups of the late '90s, but with a revamped roster featuring two superstars, the Knicks will be fun to watch and a tough foe for the Pacers.

Given how the Knicks play no defense and like to push the tempo there should be plenty of offensive fireworks to boot. 

Once again from a matchup standpoint it will be interesting to see how Paul George can shut down the opposing team's best player, in this case Carmelo Anthony.

Similarly, with no bigs to speak of, Pacer fans should expect to see Hibbert dominate inside to such a degree that Knicks fans think back to another Hoya great, Patrick Ewing. 

New York won't be the class of the East, but if the Pacers want to prove they belong, they will have to at least split the four-game series with the run-and-gun Knicks. 

10. Oklahoma Thunder: Tuesday Dec. 6th, 7 p.m.

Heading into the holiday season, the Pacers' schedule serves up a treat in the form of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder.

This game could easily be higher on the list, but given it's a non-conference matchup, it slips to No. 10. Not only does Kevin Durant highlight the matchup, the Thunder have cemented themselves as one of the most exciting and dominant teams in the league.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook head the group, but James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins aren't too shabby in their own right.

This game should be a chance for Darren Collison in particular to see how well he stacks up against a top-five point guard in Russell Westbrook.