Miami Heat forward LeBron James defends against Pacers center Ian Mahinmi in the second quarter of Game 4 as the Pacers faced the Heat in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals basketball game at the AmericanAirlines Arena on May 26. MCT PHOTO
Anthony Lombardi is a senior journalism major and writes ‘Lombardi’s Locker’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper and The Daily. Write to Anthony at ajlombardi@bsu.edu.
This was supposed to be the Pacers’ year. After pushing the Miami Heat to the brink of elimination in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, this was the year the Pacers were finally going to rise up and defeat “The Mountain” — for “Game of Thrones” fans.
Paul George was ready to prove it was his time to be recognized as one of the elite talents in the NBA, and Roy Hibbert showed he could be a force in the paint against the “bigs” of Miami. The front office had addressed the lack of bench production by adding Luis Scola, C.J. Watson and Chris Copeland to the roster during the offseason and Lance Stephenson had matured from his college days at Cincinnati. Lastly, Frank Vogel had three years of coaching experience on his résumé.
A 16-1 start to the season only further instilled hope in the Pacers nation that this team possessed all the tools necessary to beat LeBron James and the two-time defending champion Heat.
After all, to a lifelong Pacers fan, the 2013-14 team looked eerily similar to the 2003-04 version that finished the regular season with a franchise-best mark of 61-21.
Those Pacers demonstrated many of the same qualities the current team displayed through the first couple months of the season. They were a group who prided themselves on strong defense, finishing the regular season ranked third out of 29 teams in defensive rating and opponents’ points per game, and they ran their offense from the inside-out through power forward Jermaine O’Neal.
In fact, if you compare the makeup of both rosters, the similarities are even more glaring.
The 2003-04 team featured a starting lineup of a lackadaisical point guard in Jamaal Tinsley, the face of the franchise on the wing in Reggie Miller, a head case in his own right in Metta World Peace, a consistent rock at power forward in O’Neal and a center in Jeff Foster, from whom you never knew what to expect.
Sound familiar?
Both teams’ benches also stack up comparably, with the 2003-04 team getting the slight nod. Sixth man Al Harrington and backup point guard Anthony Johnson led the “old” Pacers off the bench with a combined 19.5 points per game, while Scola and Watson combined for 14.2 points per game this season.
Despite dominating during the regular season, the 2003-04 Pacers ultimately fell short of an NBA title, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons in six games.
Again, sound familiar?
Well this is, for the most part, where the similarities between the two teams end.
The 2003-04 record-breaking team’s start of 14-3 was a few paces behind this year’s start, but unlike this year’s team, they played consistent basketball for the entirety of the season.
Where the current Pacers went through multiple losing streaks of two or more games in the second half of the season, the 2003-04 Pacers never lost more than two games in a row the entire season.
This season’s team limped into the playoffs, losing nine of its final 15 games before narrowly escaping the eighth-seeded Hawks in a seven-game, first-round series.
The veterans for the 2003-04 Pacers would have never allowed the team to fall into that deep of a funk. The team entered the postseason winning 11 of its final 13 games and swept the Boston Celtics in four games that were each decided by double digits.
Even though the team eventually lost in the conference finals to the Pistons, I was not angry — they didn’t lack effort and didn't display immaturity or downright stupidity.
The same cannot be said for this year’s team.
Whether it was rumors of George impregnating a Miami stripper then offering her $1 million to get an abortion, Stephenson blowing kisses in James’ ear, Hibbert and his max contract finishing playoff games with no points or rebounds or the 25-point blowout loss in an elimination game to the Heat, the current Pacers proved they were not ready to take Indiana to the promised land.
There are plenty of areas for improvement this offseason.
Larry Bird, team president of basketball operations, will be sure to take a hard look at all of his options. The team recently announced that Vogel will return for his fifth season as the Pacers’ coach, but the decision on whether to bring back free-agent-to-be Stephenson still looms, as does what to do with Hibbert and his lackluster play.
One position I believe the team needs to address is the play at point guard. I like George Hill, and I think he can play a role on a championship team, but I don’t see it coming as a starter. Rumors have circulated for awhile that Bird likes Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo, and if Boston shows any willingness to trade him, the Pacers need to be all over it.
Whatever happens, it is sure to be an interesting offseason for Pacers fans. As Cubs fans around the world have learned to happily say, “We’ll get ’em next year.”
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