The Pacers have decided to go in a different direction so they fired head coach Rick Carlisle.  The Pacers were 35-47 last season which was the worst record the team has had since 1988-89.  Carlisle coached 4 seasons for the Pacers and he compiled a 181-147 (55.2%) record.  He also was 18-17 in the playoffs (51.4%) for the Pacers.  Carlisle has now coached 6 seasons in the NBA with Detroit and the Pacers and his career record in 281-211 (57.1%).  In the playoffs Carlisle has a career record of 30-32 (48.4%).  Carlisle is a good coach and he will probably have little problem finding a new job.

Young forward Shawne Williams looks like he’ll be a really good player for the Pacers in the near future.  He played in 46 games this season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He’s also a good shooter as he hit 46.9% from the floor and 36.5% from three-point range.  I think the Pacers got a steal in last year’s draft when they took Shawne Williams.

The Indiana Pacers finished in 4th place in the Central Division with a 35-47 record, 18 games behind the Pistons.  They still were 22-19 at home which isn’t too bad, but, they were only 13-28 on the road.  The Pacers were 25-27 against Eastern Conference teams and they put up a good fight against the Division and finished 8-8.  The Pacers averaged 95.6 points per game and allowed 98.0 points per game.  The Pacers faded at the end of the season when they still had a shot at the playoffs as they lost their last 4 games of the season and they only won 4 of their last 10 games.

Danny Granger has played well all season long, but he’s stepping up his offensive game a little bit lately.  In his last 7 games, Granger has averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 block per game.  He’s also shot 58.8% from the floor and has really given the Pacers a solid #2 option in the offense to Jermaine O’Neal.

As poor as the Pacers have played this season (34-42) they still have a good chance of making the playoffs.  They are only 1 game behind the Orlando Magic for the #8 spot in the Eastern Conference and they are only 2 games behind the New Jersey Nets for the #7 slot.  The bad news for the Pacers is that they will have to do some damage on the road as they have 4 games left away from home where they are 12-25 on the season.