Pacers 96 Cavs 95

Did anyone see this coming? The Cavs coming off a loss, playing a team that just lost to the Wizards? Now the Pacers have beaten the Cavs, Lakers, Celtics and Magic this season. How can a team beat all of those top teams but still have such a terrible record?

Here are three reasons. 1. Teams overlook the Pacers. 2. The Pacers' wide open, no defense style creates an atmosphere that teams can get caught up in, which then makes the game anybody's to win. 3. The Pacers' record should be better than it is. They have lost a lot of heartbreaking close games, because of their inability to make key plays in the fourth quarter.

As encouraging as it was to see the Pacers pull out a last second win against possibly the best team in the East, this game was much more about the Cavs losing than the Pacers winning.

Cleveland absolutely did not show up for this game. Offensively they just stood around and watched LeBron do his thing. Normally when you watch the Cavs, they have good ball movement with crisp passing. They rarely have bodies standing still which leads to a lot of assists to layups and open three pointers.

The way the Pacers play defense, if the Cavs would have done this they would have won by 20. But instead they stood around and allowed themselves to be guardable. And the Pacers stole one.

Some encouraging signs for the young rebuilding Pacers were the positive minutes by rookies Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert. Hibbert has been excellent for Indy when he's gotten the opportunity this year, and Tuesday night was no different as he, for the most part, outplayed Big Z.

Rush has had a difficult rookie year, and you can see that he lacks confidence. But you can also tell that he has the tools that could make him an excellent player. He was frustrated a lot on Tuesday as well, but O'Brien stuck with him and he made some key plays. He needs to keep being on the floor in key situations to gain experience and confidence.

All in all, a nice win for the Pacers, as they took advantage of a great team that was not up for the game. I'd be angry at this game if I was a Cavs fan, but not worried. It's just one game, and they will certainly bounce back.

NBA Power Rankings Feb. 10

In light of the big games over the past week (Celtics/Lakers, Lakers/Cavs, Celtics/Spurs) I thought it would be a good time to see how the NBA is shaking out. So here is my 1-30 in the league, as of right now.

1 Lakers

Is there any more they can prove? Winning at Boston in a playoff atmosphere, and following that up by being the first team this year to beat the Cavs at the Q. Impressive stuff, especially coming on the heels of losing Bynum. It remains to be seen if Lamar Odom will show up in big games consistently like he did vs Cleveland.

2 Cavs

Really expected more from King James in the hyped up showdown vs the Lakers. I guess they had to lose at home sometime. Right?

3 Celtics

Last time they lost to the Lakers, they followed it up with a 2-7 run that had everybody giving up on them. Since their latest loss to L.A. they’re 1-1, and staring a tough road trip in the face. Just sayin.

4 Spurs

How can a team that has four championships in the last 10 years be this consistently overlooked? Look, I am on board too that it is hard to see them matching up with The “Big 3” in the League, but after winning at Boston, it’s just further proof that Pop and Duncan are the most underappreciated duo in the NBA.

5 Magic

It’s a real shame to see Nelson go down with the season he, and the Magic are having. It will be interesting to see how the Dwight Howard and three point shooting combo works without their quarterback.

6 Nuggets

I love this team. They have tons of scoring, depth, and athletes. And with Billups running the show, their mistakes are down and their scorers are getting the ball when and where they need it.

7 Hornets

Just to show how good CP3 is, if he was out for the season, the Hornets would probably be 28 on this list. Luckily for them, Paul is expected back in the lineup soon.

8 Blazers

This team is quietly putting up a solid and consistent season. They have depth and a lot of players that are reliable and fun to watch. Have to love the direction this team is heading.

9 Rockets

I would imagine no team except maybe Utah is looking forward more to the All-Star break than these guys. If they could ever consistently have Artest, T-Mac and Yao on the floor, they would be scary - - but that might not ever happen.

10 Mavs

Right when things were starting to come together for the Mavs, they lose Jet Terry. That is a big blow for Dallas, because he had been playing extremely well.

11 Sixers

The addition of Elton Brand was supposed to put these guys into the next level of Eastern Conference contenders. They have actually been better without him, and now will have to play the rest of the season without him.

12 Pistons

The Pistons are pretty tough to figure out. Most of the time it seems like they aren’t really interested in winning or continuing this season. I know the Iverson/Billups swap was for the future, but Joe D better have a good plan, because as of now, the deal looks pretty one-sided.

13 Hawks

The injury bug is flying all around the Hawks. They lost Horford for a while, then Josh Smith, then Joe Johnson got hit with the flu, and now Mike Bibby has missed with an injured foot. None of the injuries are major however, and you’ve got to like this team when they are at full strength.

14 Suns

I really like Steve Kerr. I liked him as a player, and I liked him as an announcer. But he has done an awful job with this team (Marion, D’Antoni). And now they are in the dreadful position of being old and wanting to rebuild.

15 Jazz

If they could play every game at home they’d be in great shape. Unfortunately they have to play half their games on other people’s home courts where they are 9-17. Having AK 47 and Boozer on the court wouldn’t hurt either.

16 Heat

D-Wade has put this team on his back and been simply amazing.

17 Bulls

The Bulls have finally started to show signs of life lately. With Redd and Bogut out, and the Nets being so untrustworthy, the Bulls are my pick to snag the 8 spot in the east. Which would mean no lottery-miracle for them next year.

18 Bucks

Ramon Sessions? Injuries to their superstars have certainly derailed Milwaukee’s season, but they have to be encouraged by Sessions’ emergence.

19 Knicks

After a week of being a collective punching bag for the two best players in the NBA and the defending champs, the Knicks are back to the real world of no defense and jacking up threes. Also, Nate Robinson is the Cortland Finnegan of the NBA – he’s talking trash after every single play.

20 Timberwolves

Ouch. The Wolves were looking respectable since McHale went to the bench, but the loss of Jefferson should mean a lot of losses ahead for the young Wolves.

21 Warriors

This is the portion of the rankings where you could just jumble the teams in a hat and draw them out for the order. Because they are all awful in their own ways. The Warriors, although terrible, are fun to watch and can beat anyone when playing in that crazy atmosphere at Golden State.

22 Nets

The Nets are right in the thick of that heated battle for the 8^th spot in the East. We’ll see if they can keep their focus as the Amare rumors heat up.

23 Thunder

Can we just give it up for the Thunder? After their colossally bad start, OKC has been solid lately. Russell Westbrook is looking like he could sneak into the Rookie of the Year race, and Kevin Durant looks like he’s a few years away from being one of the stars of this league.

24 Bobcats

This team is not very good at all. But they have won some games they shouldn’t have, because Larry Brown is good. After all his success and experience, you have to wonder how he feels about grinding along with a team going nowhere.

25 Pacers

I’m glad Danny Granger is being recognized as an all-star in February. But as a Pacers fan who has watched nearly every game this season, I wish every one could understand what he has done night-in night-out on an awful team.

26 Raptors

I know they have dealt with injuries, but is there a more disappointing team than Toronto? There is no reason a team with this much talent should have the 2^nd worst record in the East.

27 Clippers

Big contracts, veteran players, and a 12-40 record. What a franchise.

28 Grizzlies

The Grizz are bad; real bad. But they can take some consolation that OJ Mayo will be the star of this year’s rookie class. He’s legit.

29 Wizards

At least the Nats start spring training soon…..ugh.

30 Kings

http://www.nba.com/kings/tickets/Divac_Timeless.html

DIVAC Timeless. I hope in honor of the living legend, the Kings’ players will flop and try to draw a foul every time there is contact, and throw behind the back passes at completely unnecessary times.