Pacers Week In Review: On Top Of The East

The Pacers only played two games this week. On Monday, they lost to the Chicago Bulls 89-77. On Wednesday, the Pacers beat the Miami Heat 84-83 in a thriller. Tonight they fly to D.C. to play against John Wall and the Washington Wizards.

The Pacers recently clinched the Central division and are three games ahead of the Miami Heat.

In Case You Missed It

A lot of stuff writing went up this week. Here’s a list of stuff you might have missed.

• Tim Donahue dove into the Pacers’ aspirations for the top seed in the East.
• Did Lance Stephenson learn a lesson from the ejection? Why does Roy Hibbert turn into Hakeem Olajuwon against Miami? Shane Young spoke about both issues at length.
• Is LeBron James a kung-fu master? Dave Searle may have found a new way to evaluate players.
• Twitter is a cool place to share thoughts and yell at people. Jon Washburn recapped Wednesday night excitement by compiling the best tweets.
• If want to read an awesome recap of Wednesday’s game, Jared Wade wrote it here.

Pacers Quotes vs. Bulls (IndyStar)

"“We look terrible tonight as a group. Guys individually, just look so bad. We’re naturally a loose group, so it’s a little tough to deal with because we don’t put any pressure on ourselves. We’re just not performing. We’re not playing well. We’re not shooting the ball well. We’re not sharing it and when we’re not sharing it, we become stagnant,” West said.“Thank God we got off to such a great start because we’d be like the fifth seed in the East or something like that,” West added.“This has happened before and we showed resolve,” Hibbert said, “but we don’t seem to be clicking on the offensive end and it’s affecting our defense. Something we got to figure out to be able to win on the road.”"

Pacers Quotes vs. Heat (IndyStar)

"“When I got back in, coach said, ‘Welcome to the rivalry,’ ” said Turner, the young-in who replaced one of the veteran locker room voices, Danny Granger. “He was really positive and I took it from there.”“That was a heck of a basketball game,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Very, very proud of our effort to battle back a few different times when it seemed like Miami was taking control of the game.”“I’m a very emotional player,” Stephenson said after he scored 15 points and added two assists and two rebounds in nearly 34 minutes. “I play aggressively. I let my teammates down by doing that. I was wrong.”"

More Lance Stephenson Interviews

Last month, Lance Stephenson did an interview with Bleacher Report on life in the NBA. He recently did another one with ESPN.com’s Scoop Jackson. Here are some quotes I liked. Full interview here.

On Larry Bird

"I see confidence. I mean, he’s a great leader, a champion, he knows what it takes. He showed me and gave me the ropes. He showed me what it takes to be a player, a champion, bringing it every night. Some nights, before a game, he’ll give me quotes like, “Go at ’em,” or “Watch your back tonight,” or “Be aggressive.”Um, he just helped me out. I mean, when he sees me he tells me jokes, tells me about the things he had to go through and tries to compare them to what I’m going through now. I mean, having him have your back, having him on your side, I mean, it’s a blessing."

What he learned basketball-wise

"I learned how to attack the gaps, when to go and when not to go. And on defense, I really didn’t know anything about being in my gaps and helping my teammates while I’m in my gaps, and how to get back (on defense), you know, all of the tricks that I’ve learned on the defensive end. It took me a while to get that. And coach told me that I wasn’t going to get on the floor until I learned that."

Roy Hibbert Tweets With Jon “Bones” Jones

Jon Jones, the youngest champion in UFC history, and Roy Hibbert talked on Twitter about LeBron James’s vicious elbow. Entertaining conversation here.

The Week Ahead

Indiana has a date tonight with John Wall and the Wizards. Anyone else feeling a groggy performance? On Sunday they get to beat on the lowly Cavaliers. The Spurs on Monday(Gulps), followed by the Pistons on Wednesday and the Raptors next Friday. My prediction? Indy goes 3-2.