INDIANAPOLIS —
After Monday’s season opener for the Indiana Pacers, it’s hard to argue with coach Frank Vogel’s early assessment.

“First impressions are we have a really good frontcourt,” he said.

The trio of Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough and first-year Pacer David West each had double-doubles in Indiana’s 91-79 victory over the Detroit Pistons at a sold-out Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Hibbert led the Pacers with team-highs of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Hansbrough led the second unit with 15 points and 13 rebounds and West made his Pacers debut, contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The frontcourt heavily impacted the Pacers winning the rebounding battle 53-40 and provided 18 offensive rebounds.

First impressions of West—Indiana’s major free agent addition in the shortened offseason—were all positive and reinforced why he signed with the Pacers.

“I want to win. I don’t know how many guys played tonight but we still have more. Jeff (Foster) wasn’t in the there, Lou (Amundson) wasn’t in there, there’s a lot here,” he said. “There will be nights when one guy isn’t going or two guys isn’t going, this team is deep enough to pick up the slack. If we can just continue this passion about enjoying playing defense together, enjoying being unselfish offensively, the sky is the limit for this group.”

For being a part of a new team, in a shortened training camp because of the delay brought upon by the NBA lockout, the eight-year pro seemed to fit right in with the Pacers.

“My thing is just to make good basketball plays and try and play the game the right way,” West said. “I’m not going to reinvent the wheel or reinvent myself. I’m going to do what I’ve been doing in terms of the niche I’ve found myself in this league to be successful.”

While West did not have the best offensive performance, shooting 3-of-12 from the field, he took good shots and gave Indiana a solid post presence. There seemed to little transition for the two-time all-star.

“Guys are doing a really good job talking me through certain things, but it’s basketball ultimately,” West said. “Defensively we just have to continue to play together and enjoy helping each other and offensively, it’ll come.”

Tuesday’s game was West’s first regular season action since late March when he tore his ACL in his left knee. West said that the Pistons players were shocked with how well he looked in his return game.

“I felt great, I was amped up, I was hyper and I was just really excited to be out there, “ he said.

The trio of frontcourt players each spent time playing together in different combinations and like Coach Vogel said, the first impression is good.

“All three of us play together well, especially David, he’s very efficient and consistent so that’s an improvement,” Hansbrough said. “We had a good night tonight and hopefully we’ll keep it up and see what happens.”

Not playing for Indiana in the opener was 12-year Pacer center Jeff Foster (back) and newly-acquired 6-foot-9 Lou Amundson. Hansbrough feels that once those guys get integrated, it will make the frontcourt that much better.

“It’s very deep. Even when Lou gets a little more acclimated with the offense, he hasn’t been here long and he’s going to be helpful for us too,” he said. “And especially when Jeff plays, he’s a big asset to the team too.”

Third-year pro Hibbert spent his offseason all across the country working to try and improve his game. After one game, the 7-foot-2 center was satisfied with his performance.

“My main thing was defensively I keep those guys from scoring and I think I did a pretty decent job with that,” Hibbert said. “I have a lot of room to go but it’s a work-in-progress.”

Whichever combination of this trio of players is on the court provides a challenge for other teams. Though it is only one game into the 66-game shortened NBA season, the frontcourt has shown potential of the force they can become.

“We are continuing to learn each other to get that feel,” West said. “There will be times when Tyler and I play together, I feel like we can take advantage of that. Playing with a guy like Roy, getting him to be a little bit more selfish, when he gets that ball in the paint he’s looking to be a scorer. It’s going to take some time but we are going to learn it on the fly.”

After a needlessly overwrought season that seemed to start all the way back in July with LeBron James’(notes) “Decision,” the playoffs are finally here. After months of waiting, we’re at a point where we don’t have to qualify every on- or off-court decision with the caveat that reminds us that we’re not yet at playoff time. No, we’re at playoff time. It’s the freakin’ playoffs, cats and kittens, and I can hear your goosebumps popping from here. Gross.

So come heed my middling mutterings, alongside the staggering genius of Dan Devine and Eric Freeman, as we discuss the opening round.

In this episode, the Indiana Pacers take on the Chicago Bulls.

Save for any feature that includes the hallowed-out shell that is the New Orleans Hornets, this is the only first-round series where the yearly “I pick the _____ in two games” joke works. Chicago finished the season with the NBA’s best record, and the Pacers are one of the worst playoff teams in NBA history, and this series is expected by many to resolve itself rather quickly.

Indiana has had its moments this season, and as someone who lives in the Hoosier State (though not exactly supporting the team), I’m glad to see the Pacers playing meaningful games deep into the Indiana spring. But Chicago has had the best record in the NBA since December, tearing along at a 53-12 pace with a  league-best defense working alongside an ever-improving offense.

The hope is that Indiana can compete with Chicago, and that’s a fair expectation. The team’s spacing, provided the Pacers hit shots, can work its way toward acting as the sort of Achilles’ heel that has bothered Chicago all season. Though the Bulls are tops in the NBA at 3-point shooting defense, spaced-out teams with a Euro-styled drive-and-kick attack can get to Chicago, and the Pacers (leaning on Reggie Miller’s influence) sure can kick.

Indiana is also the only team in Chicago’s division to take down the Bulls this season, a remarkable accomplishment for both sides, even considering the miserable ways in which the Central Division worked this year. At their best, the Pacers have bangers, shooters, the ability to leak in transition, and streaky guys who can get hot at the wrong time.

Chicago hasn’t had a wrong time since December, though. And even if the record starts at 0-0 after an 82-game slogfest, Chicago is still playing fantastic basketball as it enters the postseason. Nerves and the weight of expectations can get to Chicago after a while, but against a limited team like the Pacers? It won’t matter. Indiana will be relying on pinpoint shooting to dodge these Bulls. Chicago will be relying on defense, which is a lot easier to execute than nailing 25-footers with Luol Deng’s(notes) hand in your face.

My pick? Chicago in four.

***

Dan Devine presents …

Welcome back to “PLAAAAAAAAAAYOFFS!” It’s that time of year again, sports fans! This postseason, who will survive and thrive? Who will spit the bit? And who’s going to come up with a third thing that rhymes?

Here to give you their made-up takes on the key X-factors, O-multiples and Zeeman effects of Bulls/Pacers are 7-foot-4 Utah Jazz center-turned-celebrity motivational speaker Mark Eaton and 310-year veteran/olde-tyme crustbucket Ol’ Man Howard!

Mark Eaton: All right, Ol’ Buddy Ol’ Pal, let’s take a closer look at this first-round matchup between Chicago and Indiana.  I’ll tell you what: Nobody seems to be giving the Pacers a real chance to win this series. How can they pull the upset?

Ol’  Man Howard: First step, to my mind? Up Solomon Jones’(notes) playing time by a score-and-eight. Upright name. Work-the-earth-type name. Good, strong name like that? Oughtter be playing 40 minutes a night.

ME: That would definitely be a surprising tactical move. Jones has never played more than 34 minutes in a game in his five years in the NBA, and has appeared in just three games since Frank Vogel took the reins in Indiana back in February.

OMH: Only book that counts says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Your book don’t count for squat. Your book’ll burn, Leviathan. Best believe your book’ll burn.

ME: Ha-HA! Oh, Olie, you irascible so-and-so! Borderline lunatic takes and obtuse angles about reserve big men, justified using selections from Psalm 118! That is what basketball analysis is all about! For my money, the matchup to watch in this series will be at the four-spot, between a pair of guys who really know how to GO FOR IT: Carlos Boozer(notes) and Tyler Hansbrough(notes).

OMH: Nope. Gonna be terrible.

ME: Oh, I can see it now. Carlos’ near-constant yelling to show everyone how hard he’s working, pitted against Tyler’s hustlefaces, which pack enough determination to level an adobe hut. That’s a head-to-head made in heaven for a guy like me, who’s staked much of his life on the belief that the most important part of “motorvation” is the “motor.”

OMH: That’s not the word. Heck, it ain’t even a word.

ME: But it is a world. Of possibilities.

OMH: …

ME: Also, Omer Asik’s(notes) play is so beautiful that it makes me cry. Bulls in four.

OMH: The Creator, in His infinite wisdom, made me without tear ducts. Bulls in four.

(Editor’s note: Dan also picks the Bulls in four.)

***

Eric Freeman’s Reputation Index

The regular season counts, but the postseason is where reputations are made. Tracy McGrady(notes) never won a playoff series and will always be seen as a disappointment. Derek Fisher(notes) lacks several fundamental basketball skills but will always be seen as a champion because he makes big shots when it counts. Chauncey Billups(notes) owes his entire nickname to the 2004 playoffs. The point being that playoff performance skews national perception of NBA players beyond all reason. In that vein, behold the BDL Reputations Index, your guide to what’s at stake for the top names in the first round.

BULLS

Derrick Rose(notes): Rose is almost certain to be the NBA MVP this season, and he’ll be deserving. Yet, despite the fact that he’s vaulted himself into a small group of the best players in the league, he won’t solidify a spot alongside LeBron, Kobe and others unless he takes the Bulls far into the playoffs. Beating the Pacers shouldn’t be much of a problem. But if Rose doesn’t perform like an MVP, even against an overmatched squad, we may begin to see a greater backlash against his MVP credentials among the general public.

Tom Thibodeau: The Bulls’ defensive improvement this season has been drastic, and Thibs deserves most of the credit for it. In the playoffs, though, tactical and strategic acumen is often just as important as holding a psychological edge. Thibodeau is obsessive genius when it comes to putting his players in the right spots, but does he have the ability to keep his team from playing too tight in their first postseason as favorites? If he does, he’ll take the nearly unprecedented step of being widely seen as one of the league’s best head coaches in only his first season at the helm.

PACERS

Danny Granger(notes): Granger has been an All-Star, but few NBA observers are convinced that he’s a legitimate first option for a perennial playoff participant. This is a relatively smart opinion, mostly because the Pacers haven’t looked like a playoff team for all but a few months. Indiana’s not going to win this series, and they might not win a single game. But this series is nevertheless the start of Granger’s postseason career, and if he looks good, he may make a greater name for himself beyond fantasy leagues.

Roy Hibbert(notes): Early in this season, Hibbert looked like a top candidate for Most Improved Player. He then hit a dry spell to fall out of the running. In 2011, Hibbert has been a far improved player. Again, no one expects the Pacers to give the Bulls a serious challenge in this series. But if Hibbert can play reasonably well against the vaunted Chicago defense, he may find himself mentioned again among the most promising young big men in the league.

My pick? Bulls in four.

Related: Tyler Hansbrough, Omer Asik, Derrick Rose, Roy Hibbert, Danny Granger, Luol Deng, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, Tracy McGrady, Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, BDL Playoff Previews

Indiana’s Roy Hibbert had no mercy on Boston’s depleted front line.

The 7-foot-2 center scored 26 points as the Pacers beat the Celtics, 107-100, on Monday night and remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Boston had already traded away Kendrick Perkins, and Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy were out with injuries, leaving the Celtics thin in the post.

The last thing Boston’s remaining posts needed was foul trouble, but they dealt with it for most of the game.

Kevin Garnett finished with four fouls and only played 25 minutes, and Nenad Krstic finished with five fouls and played just 17 minutes. That left the 6-foot-9 Davis to defend Hibbert for much of the night. Davis tried to use his 290-pound frame to make Hibbert uncomfortable, but Hibbert made 12 of 17 shots.

“I just came out aggressive and wanted to be a force down there offensively and defensively,” Hibbert said.

It was the most points Hibbert has scored since tying a career high with 29 on Feb. 16. He had only scored more than 20 points once since.

“The kid works so hard, cares so much,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “He deserves all the success that he gets.”

Boston coach Doc Rivers said the inability to defend down low turned the game.

“Kevin and Nenad were in foul trouble, and tonight, we need that extra big body,” he said. “Tonight, the foul trouble just killed us. It crushed us today.”

Danny Granger scored 18 points, and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo started after missing Sunday’s game against Minnesota with a jammed finger on his right hand. Rivers said before the game that Rondo would not play, but Rondo scored 10 points in the first 5:10 and finished with 22 points and eight assists.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 23 points, and Davis added 20 for the Celtics, who have lost seven of their last 12.

“We became a great team because we were known to do it for 48 minutes,” Garnett said. “We seem to be missing that right now.”

Monday’s game was tied in the fourth quarter before the Pacers made a run. Collison scored on a short jumper in the lane, then Hibbert found a cutting Brandon Rush to give Indiana a 98-94 lead. Collison then stole the ball from Rondo near halfcourt, and the 6-foot point guard went up for an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Pacers ahead 100-94. A putback by Hibbert pushed Indiana’s lead to eight with 3:52 to play.

Boston hung close, but Collison made a fadeaway jumper with 1:16 left, then made a driving layup with 34.4 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 106-100 lead.

Collison scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

A 3-point play by Hibbert early in the second half pushed Indiana’s lead to 67-57, but Boston responded with an 8-2 run. A jumper by Ray Allen cut Indiana’s lead to 69-65 and caused the Pacers to call timeout. The Celtics made six of their first seven shots in the second half.

Allen hit a 3-pointer to put Boston up 72-71 with 5:04 left in the third quarter, and the Celtics extended their lead to 85-81 at the end of the period.

“Boston made a huge, third-quarter run, and we put them to the free-throw line too many times,” Vogel said. “Once we decided to start defending without fouling, we were able to get enough stops to get the ‘W.’”

The Celtics shot 4 for 14 from the field and 6 for 12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“Our third quarter was really bad, and the fourth quarter, we clamped it down on them and made it tough for them to score,” Granger said.

Indiana shot 12 for 18 from the field in the fourth quarter.

“In the most important part of the game, the fourth quarter, we couldn’t get a stop right there,” Pierce said. “It’s a weird time to be talking about this, when there are nine games left in the season.”

Notes: Hibbert scored 13 points in the first quarter on 6-for-7 shooting. … Former Pacers O’Neal and Murphy were inactive for the Celtics. O’Neal was out with a sore left knee, while Murphy missed the game with a sprained right ankle. … Indiana has shot at least 50 percent from the field in four of its past 10 games.

Tuesday March 29, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS — Roy Hibbert scored 26 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 107-100 on Monday and remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Danny Granger scored 18 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo started after missing Sunday’s game against Minnesota with a jammed finger on his right hand. Coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Rondo would not play, but Rondo scored 10 points in the first 5:10 and finished with 22 points and eight assists.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 23 points, and Glen Davis added 20 for the Celtics, who are fading in their quest to catch Chicago for the best record in the East.

The Celtics shot 4 for 14 in the fourth quarter, and have lost seven of their last 12.

The Pacers entered a game ahead of Charlotte and two games ahead of Milwaukee for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Charlotte beat Milwaukee on Monday, so the Pacers remained a game ahead of Charlotte and extended their lead over Milwaukee to three games.

Monday’s game was tied in the fourth quarter before the Pacers made a run. Collison scored on a short jumper in the lane, then Hibbert found a cutting Brandon Rush to give Indiana a 98-94 lead. Collison then stole the ball from Rondo near halfcourt, and the 6-foot point guard went up for an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Pacers ahead 100-94.

A putback by Hibbert pushed Indiana’s lead to eight with 3:52 to play.

Boston hung close, but Collison made a fadeaway jumper with 1:16 left, then made a driving layup with 34.4 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 106-100 lead.

Boston led 31-23 when Rivers sat Rondo for a rest. Indiana then went on a 14-4 run to take a 37-35 lead early in the second quarter.

Kevin Garnett was called for his third foul with 5:51 left in the second quarter, and starting center Nenad Krstic was already out with three fouls. Indiana took advantage and took a 57-49 lead at halftime. Hibbert had 19 points before the break. Indiana shot 60 percent, while Boston was at 59 percent in the first half.

A 3-point play by Hibbert early in the second half pushed Indiana’s lead to 67-57, but Boston responded with an 8-2 run. A jumper by Ray Allen cut Indiana’s lead to 69-65 and caused the Pacers to call timeout. The Celtics made six of their first seven shots in the second half.