You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Really loving this trek! Hopefully the Pacers go a few better this year and make the finals, even if that doesn't end in a ring for Jack. Been following all your dynasties since probably the beginning of my time on OS, and every morning when I come to the site I always check this section to see if you have a new update to the story and I think this one is becoming my favourite!!

Anyway, after becoming such a big follower of yours I wanted to try something you have done with many of your dynasties and that is use the first-person POV for the story and create someone it is based about as well as create some sort of character development. Reading your dynasty has given me inspiration to create one that I can 100% go through on with my favourite team and including characters which might help me so much more. I love your format of not including every game and I have tried many so I don't play all (just simming some and playing others, playing around 10 and Simcasting the rest until the fourth quarter so I can jump in), but I think the best way to do it is to engage myself playing less games to get through more of the calendar. I will start posting soon and I would hope that using yours as a template of sorts doesn't offend you as without your dynasties I probably wouldn't have the initiative to write my own.

But good luck to you and your future Pacers, and the way Jack is going we both know he is only so far away from that big MVP!

Doesn't offend me at all, feedmemore, I look forward to seeing what you're working on! The more dynasties, the better.

And much thanks for the kind words, good sir. Your comments and likes over the years (and it has been years, my we are getting old ) have always been appreciated, as have those of everyone else.

[asvpxhughuet]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Doesn't offend me at all, feedmemore, I look forward to seeing what you're working on! The more dynasties, the better.

And much thanks for the kind words, good sir. Your comments and likes over the years (and it has been years, my we are getting old ) have always been appreciated, as have those of everyone else.

Well I'm glad then and couldn't thank you enough for the inspiration, just a few finishing touches before I get it up and running but I completely agree!!

The kind words will continue to come, and I get excited thinking of the future of this dynasty and what could happen to Jack and the whole Pacers team. It definitely has been years, but as long as we have a trekfan dynasty, it will be worth it.

[Deuce2223]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Just got caught up. Great writing and story as always.. Any chance Sabonis is going to carve out a bigger role or is his future as a Pacer going to come to a end.. Also on 2k17, when I did a expansion draft I grabbed TJ Leaf for my Sonics team and the kid was a double double beast for me. Does he just not fit your play style? Seems like he has never really gotten any minutes

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Just got caught up. Great writing and story as always.. Any chance Sabonis is going to carve out a bigger role or is his future as a Pacer going to come to a end.. Also on 2k17, when I did a expansion draft I grabbed TJ Leaf for my Sonics team and the kid was a double double beast for me. Does he just not fit your play style? Seems like he has never really gotten any minutes

Thanks for kind words!

I see Sabonis as a super-sixth man big; he's going to be the guy I rotate in and out at both the 4 and the 5, though I like him better as a 5 simply because he's a bit slow-footed and his shooting stretches the floor.

I actually really like Leaf, but the problem I have with him is his defense -- he's just average inside the paint and guarding on the perimeter, he gets torched a lot. Finding consistent minutes for him is tough this year.

I have a lineup of Tate, Oladpio, Barnes, Parker, and Turner as my starting five.

Then my bench is Joseph, Lance, Robinson, Sabonis, and Withey. That's ten deep, and Withey's defense+rebounding is great for when he's in.

I'm assuming Withey moves on next year (he's a free agent I believe at the end of the season or has a TO) and I plan to move Leaf into Sabonis' spot, then deploy Sabonis as my backup 5 ... if Leaf can get his defense up. I have him training in it, but his improvement has been slow.

Frankly, I may need to move Lance to a deep-reserve role (as much as I hate to do it) and go Joseph, Robinson, Leaf (he's actually rated 3-points higher as an SF than a PF), Sabonis, and Anigbogo as my "pit-crew" for next season. I really like Ike Anigbogo's hustle and he plays well as a 5.

But, this season, Leaf and Anigbogo are going to get spot minutes only unless injuries hit my bench. I have a plethora of bigs and that's primarily why I moved Lopez's expiring contract along with Mudiay and Valentine to Dallas -- Lopez was just solid enough as a backup that I felt like I would have been compelled to re-sign him. His contract made the Barnes trade work much better than it otherwise would have, so that helped too.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

... if Leaf can get his defense up. I have him training in it, but his improvement has been slow.

Can you explain a little more about what you do here ? I've never really done this and always just practice whatever it defaults to

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Can you explain a little more about what you do here ? I've never really done this and always just practice whatever it defaults to

Within the training section of MyLeague, you can set a particular player's training type -- there are three categories: Tactical, Physical, and Fundamental (I think those are it).

In each category, you can change the type of training a player gets -- usually this is set to "Team Training" (which means whatever the team is training in, usually the "by player type" approach, is what the player will be training in, which means the player will train in things that make him a better player for his player type -- Offensive Superstars focus more on offensive than on defensive and vice-versa).

However, for certain players on my team, I alter this to focus on defensive types of training in all three categories -- Defensive IQs, steals, blocks, etc -- and have them train that way for the season. Leaf, being an end of bench guy, is being trained in defensive stuff and I've changed his intensity to "VERY HIGH" so he's going hard.

This has resulted in small improvements to his defensive stats, but hasn't resulted in the jump I'd like -- his intangibles are only 50 or so, so I'm guessing it's why he's slow to develop. Still, I need him at least rated as a "C" in perimeter and post defense before I seriously consider him as a main rotation guy. Right now, he's just a prospect -- offensively gifted, but defensively suspect.

Anigbogo is actually better defensively in both those areas than Leaf is right now and he might develop into the better player despite his lack of offensive skills.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Ahh nice I will have to look into that later when I get home and change some of the players. I have changed the team focus just ever the individual players.

Thanks for the tip

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story




Ch. 30

I missed the next four games with my injury, which was frustrating — watching the guys play on the bench wasn’t fun at all. BUT, it did give me a chance to really see the floor just like McHale was … where certain guys were spotting up, where our guys excelled. We went 3-1 over that stretch, our one loss a 20-point stinker in Philly. But other than that, we were awesome — Victor did a damn fine job running the show and though statistically he wasn’t scoring as much, his assists and efficiency were up.

The team was in good spirits, especially when word came down from the front office that Myles Turner — MT, my man — agreed to a four year extension starting at $23M per. It was a good deal for everyone — Myles actually took a little less than he could have gotten to help ease some of the salary cap concerns. The big money for him wouldn’t kick in till next year, but we still had room to play this season if we needed it.

I came back for a critical game against our (or at least my) top rivals — the Wizards. And boy, was I *ucking glad to come back for that game. The way Wall torched us in the previous years playoff series (and the way he dismissed me and the team during the offseason), stuck in my craw. I didn’t like John Wall much — he would probably be my first real rival in the NBA if I’m honest. Despite the fact he had been in the league way more years than I and he was older, we played a similar style. You just tend to hate guys who play like you more, in my experience.

“He’s a rich boy, talented, but he doesn’t know what this is about,” Wall told SI in the offiseason. “He talks and he can’t back that up … we beat him last year for a reason. We made the Finals, not him, and that says something.”

I remember his quotes with perfect clarity (much like everything but his words really pissed me off). When we stepped onto that court, I wanted to prove I wasn’t going to back down. He spoke up and we spanked him in the first game of the year.

This time, I wanted to break them.

The game started off with Wall getting the ball and immediately nailing a transition three. 3-0 Wizards. The DC crowd was loving it and cheered wildly. It was my own damn fault for giving him the space, but I was willing to concede that shot — Wall was more dangerous in the paint than beyond the arc most nights.

We inbounded the ball and I didn’t hesitate — I went at Wall. A couple crossovers and a spin later and I was inside the paint.

And he fouled me hard.

The ball just rimmed out but I sunk my free throws. The whole first quarter was like that between our squads — hard fouls, hard shots, and bad blood. Even Jabari, after a particularly graceful little skyhook over Gortat, told the crowd to quiet down.

The Wizards ended the first up 32-29. We promptly made that up in the beginning of the second thanks to some nice mid-range shots from HB and Victor. The Wizards let us have the shot and, unlike other teams, we weren’t afraid to take it — we would work with what we had. The second saw the bench units come in and, as per usual, Lance was our agent of chaos. He fought for boards, got some easy points, and set some gnarly screens (I’m pretty sure he kneed a few Wizards in the balls, notably Oubre, and I absolutely approved of it). Lance was physical and set the tone for the Pit Crew.

At the half, we were all tied up.

In the third we came out and FINALLY got a triple to fall — we were pitiful from beyond the arc for most of that game, but we kept taking our shots. McHale told us at the half not to get stuck in one mindset over another.

“Take the open shot, even if you miss, and hustle back — that’s it, that’s all I want, don’t let them think we fear any part of this game,” he told us.

He was right — we had to keep the Wizards honest and HB was the one to make them pay with a nice three.

Myles and Corey Joesph both hit a triple each in the third and that helped us keep pace with the Wizards; really Bradley Beal was just lighting us up from shots off the catch. He was the reason the Wizards had a lead heading into the fourth, up 96-93. The fourth would start off very poorly for us as Wall came alive and scored six straight points on us, all off difficult shots inside the paint.

The Wizards had the biggest lead of the game, up 102-93. It looked bad, but McHale took a timeout, calmed us down, and didn’t sub in Victor early — it was me, GROB, HB, Jabari, and Myles. That was our five and he trusted us to get the job done. I took it on myself to do just that — Wall was thrashing me on defense, but I could do the same to him.

So I started forcing my way inside and got an and-1 that quieted the crowd and sucked the life out of the building. We forced a turnover on the Wizards next possession, which I gamely took straight into the paint before passing out to Jabari. He made them pay.

And just like that, the game was 102-99 and momentum was on our side. Wall, sensing the game slipping away, started calling his own number a lot more and that resulted in more misses. We turned those misses into points (particularly Jabari and Myles), giving us a slim 106-102 lead when Victor checked into the quarter about halfway through.

Once VO got back in the game, we put the hammer down and the Wizards just couldn’t keep up anymore. They had run out of gas and were missing shots all over the place — a classic Wizards letdown — and we stomped them in the fourth. Wall didn’t give up, even at the end, continuing to make ridiculous shots even as the clock ran down.

Both teams kept the starters in to the final buzzer despite the fact the game was out of reach for Washington. It just showed how much both squads wanted to win and how much they hated each other. Wall was pissed walking off the court after the game … and I was happy for that.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Nice win vs the wiz Tate just missed a triple double

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story




Ch. 31

Three days after the Wizards game, we went on the road to OKC to take on the Thunder. Westbrook was, as per usual, putting up unreal stats — 32.8 PPG, 9.8 APG, the dude was nearly averaging another triple double and he was the engine that made his team go. With him, they were one of the fiercest squads in the whole league — it was truly incredible, from a fan perspective.

As a fan, I was impressed. As a player, I was more impressed. As his opponent? I was going to do my hardest not to get *ucked by him. That was easier said than done, of course, but the Thunder were one of the top teams in the league. Love’s trade to them had reinvigorated him (he was a 20-10 guy again as #42 once more) and he was the perfect compliment to Westbrook — he knew how to work with him. The Thunder bench was no joke (one of the best in the league). This was a crucial litmus test for us.

That and it was a homecoming of sorts for VO and Sabonis, both of whom had been traded from the Thunder, tossed aside like expired bread. Victor was up for the game and Sabonis was too … the whole team was jazzed.

The game started off with the Thunder winning the tip and Westbrook, predictably, taking it straight inside for a superbly difficult layup, which he hit. The initial few minutes of the first were a defensive battle, back and forth, as both squads took their shots and those shots — largely — missed. With a little over 7 minutes remaining in the quarter, Victor got his first touch and DEMOLISHED Steven Adams.

That set off our offense and we had a four-point lead with 5:22 to go. Then the Thunder bench came in and, holy *hit, did they rain down hell upon us. Alex Len — cast off from the Suns as a bust — was an absolute beast in the paint against Whithey. DeMarre Carroll, assumed to be dead after being bought out by the Nets, was looking like the ATL version of himself. Patrick Patterson was one of the most lethal triple shooters off the bench in the whole league and that bench unit outscored ours by 15 in the quarter, giving OKC a 37-29 lead heading into the second frame.

In the second, McHale adjusted our lineup and focused on spacing the floor — OKC was slow to respond to our shift in focus. We were fearless taking triples, and Harrison Barnes was in the zone from beyond the arc, hitting three in the quarter. Myles got in on the action too, happily taking advantage of Love when he could.

At the half, we had closed the gap and had managed to keep Westbrook in check. But it was clear we were going to need to tighten things up or risk getting run off the court. OKC wasn’t *ucking around, and they certainly took us seriously.

In the third, we needed guys to step up and come alive … enter in, off the bench, GROB. Adjusting to a bench role had been tough for him, but this was the night where he looked like a natural sixth-man. He came off the bench, cut to the corners, and nailed his shots from deep. Over. And over. And over.

Three more triples and a pair of dunks in the quarter from GROB shut up the OKC crowd and kept us tied or slightly behind the Thunder.

In the fourth, me and Myles ran the patented “Tate to Turner” pick and roll, which devastated the defense. Myles got hot — really hot — and was just shooting silly over and around Steven Adams (whose shoulder was bothering him, but he was out there). Defensively, I harassed Westbrook into multiple turnovers, which deflated the building, and gave us more possessions.

Westbrook’s loose handles got the crowd angry and they booed after every single one of them. The game for OKC slipped away as we finally got a lead we could build on — Jabari hit some clutch mid-range jumpers to put them down for good and we walked out of there with a huge win over an opponent many considered a title contender.

[milldaddy35]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Wow, buckets on buckets on buckets

[RolePlayer]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

jesus buckets rained in

[trekfan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Wow, buckets on buckets on buckets

jesus buckets rained in

Yeah, it was a SHOOTOUT. And, spoiler, my next matchup is also another shootout -- defense apparently is optional as I approach the All-Star break.

[Deuce2223]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

Looks like Parker is a nice fit for the roster and Tate is just a baller, once that kid learns to go in and grab a board or two, we can just start calling him Triple Tate.

[georgiafan]

Re: You Don't Know Jack: A Pacers Story

I have a quick question for you since you have been doing 30 team control for a long time. How do you handle contracts for players once they come off there rookie contract ? It seems like everyone that's rated 77 overall is wanting 15 million a year ? For the proven players like Turner or Booker its a no brainer, but for the people like Randal or Nance I'm torn on what to do.