This isn't a great year for my favorite sport. Well, basketball was always my favorite sport as a player, whether or not it rivals football as a favorite spectator sport.
The two teams I have mostly followed through the years are Indiana (College=Hoosiers, NBA=Pacers). And these days both team are testing my loyalties.
The Pacers keep getting worse. They just lost to the worst team in the NBA (Atlanta), and they have been painful to watch recently. There's no cohesion with this team, and they don't play with any urgency. They stand around a lot on offense, waiting for somebody else to make a play.
Are they missing Artest? Sure, they miss his points and defense, but the bigger miss is Reggie. Reggie was their leader, helping bring a spark and intensity that rubbed off on his teammates. There is nobody on the team that has stepped into that role. Jermaine O'Neal acts like he's trying, but comes off as more of a whiner than a leader.
Apparently a trade of Artest isn't in the cards. Since Artest now says he wants to stay, I'd suggest Walsh and Bird sit him down and lay down the conditions for his return - keep his nose clean, don't talk to the press, be a team player, or you'll be suspended without pay the rest of the year then released. I can't say whether or not this would help turn the Pacers' season around, but at this point it couldn't hurt. Oh, and I'd also recommend they trade or sign a veteran free agent that can bring leadership to the squad - he wouldn't necessarily have to be a starter or major contributor on the floor.
Then there are the Hoosiers. Yes, they are better this year, but somehow I'm still uninspired by them. The two guys they brought in from Auburn are good, and Killingsworth has some great skills, but they don't feel like Indiana guys. The rest of the team just doesn't give me anything to connect or identify with like past teams; in other words, this team has no personality.
They looked very good against Ohio State and Illinois, but looked terrible last night against Iowa. Seems like a team that can't get a win on the road. They certainly looked intimidated by Steve Alford's smothering Iowa defense last night, and also looked sluggish and careless with the ball.
In the end, while I loved watching the great Indiana teams in the past, I also enjoyed the teams that didn't necessarily win that much, because they always seemed to leave it all on the floor. Not this team. This team is talented, but has no character.
It's going to be a long winter.
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