[RP McMurphy]

A season that began with Pacers fans thinking about a championship took a turn for the worse on November 19, 2004 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. When the dust settled, Indiana's best player was gone for the season and two other starters were out for over 25 games. To make things worse, those were weren't suspended were most likely injured. At the All-Star break, no Indiana starter had missed fewer than 14 games. But even with everyone except Ron Artest back in the lineup, the Pacers continued to struggle to play more than .500 basketball.

The All-Star break is over and so is the time for excuses. Making the playoffs with a seed as high as sixth is a realistic goal, and we pretty much know which teams are our competition if we want to make the playoffs.




Six teams fighting for three playoff spots. I'll update this thread every night for the rest of the season that at least one of these teams has a game. Feel free to use this thread to discuss who you think is in and who is out.

Eastern Conference Standings

[Turkish Delight]

Well a big win for Indiana tonight, combined with a big loss for New Jersey.
Things are looking good already.
I have high expectations for the rest of the season.

[HKF]

Good thread. Bout time you posted something in here. I think the chance to rejuvenate the team with the all-star break could do some good.

[Pacers Fan]

I guess this post doesn't matter anymore.

[RP McMurphy]

CURRENT STANDINGS
3. Boston (27-27)
6. Chicago (27-23)
7. Orlando (28-25)
8. Indiana (26-26)
9. Philadelphia (26-27)
10. New Jersey (23-31)

TONIGHT'S GAMES


Final: Pacers 108 - Magic 84
Scoring leaders: Jermaine O'Neal (Pacers) 20 points; Jameer Nelson (Magic) 15 points.
Rebound leaders: Jeff Foster (Pacers) 11 rebounds; Dwight Howard (Magic) 8 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Jamaal Tinsley (Pacers) 6 assists; Doug Christie, Grant Hill (Magic) 3 assists.

PACERS BOARD THREAD||MAGIC BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Raptors 100 - Nets 82
Scoring leaders: Jalen Rose (Raptors) 30 points; Vince Carter (Nets) 22 points.
Rebound leaders: Chris Bosh (Raptors) 12 rebounds; Jason Collins (Nets) 9 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Rafer Alston (Raptors) 6 assists; Jason Kidd (Nets) 8 assists.

RAPTORS BOARD THREAD||NETS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Heat 101 - Bulls 105 (OT)
Scoring leaders: Dwyane Wade (Heat) 21 points; Ben Gordon (Bulls) 29 points.
Rebound leaders: Udonis Haslem, Eddie Jones (Heat) 9 rebounds; Tyson Chandler (Bulls) 12 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Dwyane Wade (Heat) 11 assists; Kirk Hinrich (Bulls) 7 assists.

HEAT BOARD THREAD||BULLS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Celtics 95 - Lakers 104
Scoring leaders: Ricky Davis, Paul Pierce (Celtics) 25 points; Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom (Lakers) 21 points.
Rebound leaders: Raef LaFrentz (Celtics) 7 rebounds; Chris Mihm (Lakers) 15 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Gary Payton (Celtics) 5 assists; Luke Walton (Lakers) 7 assists.

CELTICS BOARD THREAD||LAKERS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP

[Pacers Fan]

This is awesome RP, thanks for doing it!

[StephenJackson]

I really think that this team has finally come together. I want to see us go on a good winning streak here, and climb up the east latter a bit. I still believe.

[Pacers Fan]

Originally Posted by StephenJackson

I really think that this team has finally come together. I want to see us go on a good winning streak here, and climb up the east latter a bit. I still believe.

The W against the Magic was great, but we have to realize that that's how we need to be playing every night to be able to keep up with the Cavs, Pistons, and Heat.

[naptownpimp]

this is an excellent thread

sticky it por favor

[StephenJackson]

The win tonight in OT brought us over .500 with a four game winning streak.....


HOWEVER...it is reported that CWebb just got traded to the sixers....him and AI are going to threaten the bottom portion of the East playoff seeds...so we are really going to have to keep it in gear to keep pace in the seeds with what I see as being a very, very strong sixer team.

[RP McMurphy]

With the run the Milwaukee Bucks have been making in February, it's time to start paying attention to them.

CURRENT STANDINGS
3. Boston (27-28)
6. Chicago (27-24)
7. Orlando (28-25)
8. Indiana (27-26)
9. Philadelphia (26-27)
10. Milwaukee (22-30)
11. New Jersey (23-32)

TONIGHT'S GAMES


Final: Bulls 91 - Cavaliers 100
Scoring leaders: Ben Gordon (Bulls) 21 points; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cavaliers) 33 points.
Rebound leaders: Tyson Chandler (Bulls) 7 rebounds; Drew Gooden (Cavaliers) 11 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Kirk Hinrich (Bulls) 6 assists; LeBron James (Cavaliers) 11 assists.

BULLS BOARD THREAD||CAVALIERS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Heat 91 - Pacers 93 (OT)
Scoring leaders: Dwyane Wade (Heat) 38 points; Jermaine O'Neal (Pacers) 29 points.
Rebound leaders: Udonis Haslem (Heat) 18 rebounds; Jermaine O'Neal (Pacers) 14 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Dwyane Wade (Heat) 8 assists; Jamaal Tinsley (Pacers) 6 assists.

HEAT BOARD THREAD||PACERS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Nets 81 - Bucks 100
Scoring leaders: Vince Carter (Nets) 26 points; Desmond Mason (Bucks) 15 points.
Rebound leaders: Jason Collins (Nets) 11 rebounds; Zaza Pachulia (Bucks) 12 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Jason Kidd (Nets) 7 assists; Mike James (Bucks) 7 assists.

NETS BOARD THREAD||BUCKS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP


Final: Celtics 86 - Nuggets 107
Scoring leaders: Delonte West (Celtics) 17 points; Andre Miller (Nuggets) 22 points.
Rebound leaders: Tony Allen (Celtics) 9 rebounds; Kenyon Martin (Nuggets) 13 rebounds.
Assist leaders: Ricky Davis (Celtics) 6 assists; Carmelo Anthony, Andre Miller (Nuggets) 6 assists.

CELTICS BOARD THREAD||NUGGETS BOARD THREAD||BOX SCORE||RECAP

[HKF]

Originally Posted by RP McMurphy

With the run the Milwaukee Bucks have been making in February, it's time to start paying attention to them.

CURRENT STANDINGS
3. Boston (27-28)
6. Chicago (27-24)
7. Orlando (28-25)
8. Indiana (27-26)
9. Philadelphia (26-27)
10. Milwaukee (22-30)
11. New Jersey (23-32)

TONIGHT'S GAMES

The Bucks have won 5 out of their last 7 games and continue to creep up and up. If they can move Van Horn for something or continue to stay healthy, they can make a run at that 8th seed. Boston and Orlando need to be real careful, as Philly and Indiana look poised to make a move. The Bulls are going to have a lot of road games coming up as well.

How interesting the playoff races have become in the NBA.