Indiana Pacers try to pick up the pieces of a brutal offseason
The fate of the Indiana Pacers' season was essentially sealed the night of Aug. 1 in Las Vegas, when Paul George snapped his right leg colliding with a basket stanchion while playing in a Team USA exhibition game.
Still, there was time for the Pacers to gather themselves and compensate for the loss of one of the league's rising stars. They still had a slew of veteran players from the club that reached the Eastern Conference finals the past two years.
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The Indiana team that made an appearance at TD Garden Friday hardly resembled the group that was expected to compete among the NBA elite for years. George has a broken leg. Lance Stephenson was brought to Charlotte by Michael Jordan. George Hill is out until December with a bruised left knee. C.J. Watson has a bruised right foot. And David West is beginning to make some basketball moves on his sprained right ankle but is out for another two weeks.
The Pacers' franchise goals have shifted dramatically in the past three months. They might have had a chance to compete without Stephenson, but the loss of George was monumental, and then the Pacers were besieged with nagging injuries that make competing for a playoff spot a chore.
'Nobody is feeling sorry for us and we're not feeling sorry for ourselves,' coach FrankVogel said. 'We're coming close to some victories but we've got to squeeze some out. I'm a patient guy in any situation, whether it be the team that's competing for the best record in the East or the team that's really banged up like this, you have to have patience. You have to have a teaching mentality, an improving mentality, and get the best out of whatever group you have.'
Vogel said it's 'very unlikely' George will play this season, although he has released video of himself shooting 3-pointers and he is walking without a limp.
'He's been good. He's been shooting, running in the pool, he's coming along, and I'm very optimistic,' teammate Roy Hibbert said. 'It's great having him around. He's working really hard. His upper body is a lot bigger. He's almost looking like LeBron [ James].'
So far, the Pacers are offensively challenged, 23d in the league in scoring and 26th in field goal percentage. Indiana was really good at winning ugly in previous years but this is not what Vogel designed. Indiana's leading scorer is Chris Copeland, who barely played last season after being signed away from the New York Knicks. Their second-leading scorer is Donald Sloan, who has spent four stints in the NBADL and played last year in China.
Vogel has been forced to pull roses out of the concrete in this situation, drawing benefits from watching his younger and more inexperienced players flourish.
'Any time guys get a chance to grow and your younger guys get opportunities that they wouldn't normally get, there's a silver lining in that,' Vogel said. 'I'm enjoying that process thoroughly of seeing these guys have success in these opportunities and get a chance to grow. We've got to do it while getting wins. That's what's got to change. We're competing at a really high level. We have great spirit. We've been falling short at the end of games but we've got to find a way to squeeze out some wins.'
Hibbert has experienced some difficult times over the past two seasons, but with George and Stephenson gone, he has become one of the team's leaders. He is growing tired of the George-Stephenson questions.
'I'm really tired of people talking about 'without Lance.' I miss him to death but that's how the NBA is,' said Hibbert. 'OKC's not saying, 'We lost [ James] Harden.' Things happen. You've got to move on. You've got to be prepared. I do miss Lance. He was part of our team but he had to do what's best for him and his family.'
Hibbert struggled mightily during the playoffs last season despite having an All-Star regular season. The Pacers amassed so much talent over the past few years that Hibbert did not need to become a scoring force. He has been a defensive-minded center and a rebounder, but things have changed with the personnel losses.
'I lead by example,' he said. 'I'm not going to score 20 points a night but I'm going to give effort, do what I'm supposed to do, play defense, score whenever I can, block shots. You just have to take advantage of the opportunity that you have. Everybody is going to make mistakes, you try to minimize those as much as you can and stay positive.'
FEELING THE FALLOUT
Cunningham remains on outside looking in
For the past two seasons, Dante Cunningham was a serviceable reserve for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a strongman who could rebound and play strong interior defense. Now Cunningham, 27, is out of work and looking to return to the NBA, a byproduct of a domestic assault charge from April in Wayzata, Minn., after an alleged incident with his girlfriend.
But those charges were dropped in August, and Cunningham's name was cleared. Yet, because of recent incidents with the NFL's Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, NBA teams are hesitant to touch a player who recently faced domestic charges, even those that were dismissed.
According to the Associated Press, police concluded that Miryah Herron made false accusations against Cunningham, and the Hennepin County district attorney decided not to press charges. Still, it left Cunningham having to explain why he was involved in such a situation and NBA teams moving forward without him.
His agent, Joel Bell, told the Globe that Cunningham likely missed out on a multiyear contract because the charges weren't dropped until seven weeks after free agency began. Monies dried up and he became an afterthought.
'Teams were like, 'We don't need the fuss,' ' Bell said. 'They said, 'We don't want to see protesters. It's a hot-button issue in the country right now.' I provided all the documents to the teams, police reports, and he's innocent. There's no question he was innocent.'
Cunningham is in State College, Pa., working out at Penn State University, waiting for a call. Since he is not a premium free agent, interest has been tepid. Players averaging 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds aren't uncommon in the NBA.
'He's training, he's waiting for an opportunity,' Bell said. 'This is a really horrible, unfair situation and it's all due to the political climate in the country. He got a horrible hand. He didn't do anything wrong and he's had his profession taken away from him. He's had big offers taken away from him. He's been booed by people.'
Cunningham wasn't available for comment but Bell said last week that his client is in shape and ready to join a team. Since the charges were dropped, it is uncertain if the NBA would suspend or penalize Cunningham.
Charlotte Hornets swingman Jeffrey Taylor pleaded guilty last month to domestic assault from an incident in East Lansing, Mich. Taylor, who has been banned from team activities, will be suspended by the NBA but the league has not yet announced any penalty. He is recovering from a torn Achilles' tendon.
'No one needs compassion and understanding [for Cunningham], he didn't do anything wrong,' Bell said. 'I had somebody tell me they were sure somebody will give him a second chance. What second chance? He didn't do anything wrong. The mentality is compassion for this guy because he got a raw deal but you should hire him on the merits of his abilities. He's an NBA rotation player. He's a valuable NBA player.'
Since it's been weeks since the Rice incident and there has been a settlement in the Peterson case, matters may become more conducive for Cunningham to sign with a club, Bell believes.
'I think they're a little more open now since the article came out [talking with Cunningham],' Bell said. 'They knew he was innocent. I had all of the evidence back in June. They wouldn't hire him because of the public relations fallout, even though they knew he was innocent. That's why I was so frustrated.'
Celtics' new uniforms receiving poor reviews
The Celtics spent their offday on Thursday introducing an alternate uniform to the public, one that has drawn mostly adverse reaction on Twitter. The uniforms are silver with a white 'Celtics' scripted across the front with stripes on the shoulders and a shamrock on the trunks. If the old classic uniforms are Frank Sinatra, these are Iggy Azalea, and the Celtics traditionalists are not happy that the organization continues to try to modernize the team's image during this current alternate-uniform craze.
The Celtics' brass, including president Rich Gotham, traveled to Portland to meet with Adidas officials to design the new uniform, which had been in the works for two years. Team officials and designers from Adidas collaborated on the look, with gray discussed as the dominant theme. While tradition is still cherished, Gotham said, the Celtics felt as if they had to add a more sleek and contemporary look for younger fans.
The Los Angeles Lakers recently debuted an all-black uniform in their home game with the Clippers.
'We spent a lot of time tweaking it, getting it to the point where we wanted it, and we think it's new and fresh,' Gotham said. 'But it also honors the tradition and that's what we have to think about these days. The players love it, by the way, when we introduced these new uniforms.
'We don't wear them every night. We're still about the green and white, still about the shamrock, but we like this for our fans and our players, they enjoy wearing the new stuff. It keeps it fresh for them.'
Red Auerbach's name was mentioned countless times on Twitter after the unveiling. The father of the Celtics, the man who built the franchise into one of the greatest in professional sports and who scoffed at the idea of having team dancers, wouldn't be pleased about the various attempts to go against tradition, would he?
Those faithful who are lambasting the new look have forgotten that it took years to adapt to the Patriots' blue jerseys and silver helmets, and those Red Sox red alternate jerseys that have become a staple for Friday home games.
'You are going to take a few arrows from the traditionalists,' Gotham said. 'And we understand everyone is entitled to their opinions and the reason these decisions are so painstaking for us is we put it through that filter, that Celtics tradition, that iconic brand. When Red was with us, before we would make a change we would sit down and talk to Red and Red was sort of seen as the vanguard of tradition and he would say, 'That's fine with me.' The only reason he was hung up on tradition was pragmatic reasons. It's always in the back of our minds what our traditionalists think but yet we have to move forward.'
Gotham also talked to Danny Ainge about the uniforms and the president of basketball operations signed off on the new look.
'It's funny, when you talk to guys from that era, they're a little less sentimental about that stuff than you might think,' Gotham said.
Auerbach told Gotham that the reason the Celtics wore black sneakers on the road during the glory days was that the scuffs were easier to clean. Nowadays, some NBA players wear different sneakers for all 82 games.
It's the middle of football season, the Bruins' season is beginning to gain traction, and the hot stove season is prepping for baseball, so the Celtics, who are in the midst of a rebuilding plan, are trying to create excitement, and the uniforms are part of that effort.
'It's all about generating buzz,' Gotham said. 'We're trying to engage fans as many ways as we can. It's early in the season, the team hasn't gained an identity yet. This is a good way to engage fans. That dialogue is good and it's good fan engagement for us. We love getting the feedback. As an organization, it's not the highest priority in our list of things to do but it's also something to engage our fans, and that's important.
'We've got to pay attention to our demographic. We have a lot of young fans who are digitally savvy, instagramming this stuff on social media. We think it all sort of feeds the brand in a positive way. There's more intrique about what this team could be. There's some excitement bubbling below the surface. This helps the buzz.'
After undergoing knee surgery and missing most of last season, which included stints with the Nets and Kings, Jason Terry is attempting a career resurgence with the Houston Rockets. After acquiring Terry from Brooklyn, the Kings refused to waive him and eventually traded him to Houston for the nonguaranteed contracts of Alonzo Gee and Scotty Hopson. Terry has played about 20 minutes in each of the Rockets' first six games and is averaging 8.3 points and shooting 54 percent from the 3-point line. Terry averaged 15.1 points for Dallas in 2011-12 before signing a three-year deal with the Celtics. His numbers in Boston were considered disappointing and he was thrown into the Kevin Garnett- Paul Pierce deal with Brooklyn . . . Three of the Celtics' training camp invitees - Tim Frazier, Christian Watford, Rodney McGruder - accepted invitations to NBADL Maine training camp instead of taking overseas opportunities. Former Celtic Chris Babb will also return to Maine, which began camp last week . . . Two teams - Oklahoma City and Indiana - already have received roster exemptions for their rash of injuries. The Pacers signed ex-Cavaliers guard A.J. Price, as George Hill could miss two more weeks. The Thunder, who have lost Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeremy Lamb, Anthony Morrow, and Andre Roberson, agreed to terms with Ish Smith, a veteran point guard. Price was waived last week by Cleveland to make room for former Montana guard Will Cherry . . . Former Brookline High School product Jeff Adrien, who was waived by the Rockets in training camp, remains on the open market. Also available are former Denver Nugget Quincy Miller, journeyman point guard John Lucas, and ex-King Travis Outlaw.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
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