The Forgotten Team in the East

After Hall of Famer Reggie Miller's retirement in 2004, rugged forward Ron Artest (now a member of the Lakers) and young talent Jermaine O'Neal (now a member of the Celtics) were supposed to revitalize the Indiana Pacers franchise. Artest had his rugged defense and O'Neal was definitely a force to be reckoned with in the post. Indiana was on its way to taking the Eastern Conference crown from the Detroit Pistons in 2005. And then the "Malice at the Palace" happened. Artest ran into the stands, O'Neal threw punches, and guard Stephen Jackson turned into a eight-year old bully. Indiana, with all its pieces in place, lost it all that night, as its three best players were suspended for the majority of the season. The franchise hasn't been able to come back since. No one remembers Indiana anymore. No one remembers Reggie Miller's clutch threes against the Knicks. No one remembers Ron Artest winning Defensive Player of the Year. No one remembers Jermaine O'Neal's All-Star appearances. All anyone remembers is the Brawl. Indiana became a joke of a team, a forgotten franchise.

However, after five years of despair and throught all that's happened in the NBA recently, the Indiana Pacers are quietly shaping into the most improved team in the league. Not Miami. Not New York. Not any of the teams that made this past offseason a rollercoaster ride. Indiana has all the pieces in place to become a dark-horse in the east.

1). Third-year center Roy Hibbert is turning into a sensational big man. And with the pool of talent becoming thinner and thinner for big men, Hibbert's value is that much more accentuated. Primarily a shot blocker during his years in Georgetown, it was amazing to see Hibbert, during the waning minutes of the last night's game, yell for the ball in the post against Lakers center Pau Gasol. His confidence has skyrocketed - and for good reason.

2). Everyone has forgotten that in the early 2000s, his Boston Celtics were one of the front-runners to becoming Eastern Conference champions. His defensive mindset made his offensive-minded, three-point loving superstars, Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, commit on the defensive end. He's translated this defensive mindset to a young group of Pacers, who held one of the best offensive teams in the NBA under 100 points last night.

3). Forward Danny Granger was an All-Star in 2008. He was what forward Kevin Durant is today: a long body that stretched the defense with his sharp shooting abilities. And then he went down with an injury in 2009, and everyone's forgotten about Granger. Even though he's not up to 100% yet, he's definitely getting there, and when he does, he's an easy top 5 small forward in the league.

4). This past offseason, the New Orleans Hornets were almost fine with trading away its superstar, Chris Paul, because of the amazing replacement job that point guard Darren Collison was able to fulfill last season. Now as the floor leader of his own team (and not Chris Paul's), Collison is ready for another breakout year. And veteran point guard T.J. Ford has handled a demotion to the bench like a pro, and he often finishes games when the young Collison struggles.

5). Josh McRoberts: a forgotten talent from Duke that rebounds with a passion (outrebounding Lakers forward Lamar Odom); Tyler Hansborough: a forgotten talent from North Carolina that plays with great energy and grit (an unbelievable asset to have coming off the bench); Mike Dunleavy: a forgotten third overall draft pick from the Golden State Warriors who is getting himself back into shape after countless injuries. Coming off the bench, these forgotten talents have something prove, and they'll definitely show up when called upon.

We forget teams like Indiana because of the superstars that headline certain teams like Miami, Los Angeles, and Boston. But at the end of the day, the Indiana Pacers have grouped together a bunch of forgotten talents that are hungry for another shot at stardom. My prediction: Indiana places fifth in the Eastern Conference and gives the fourth-seeded Eastern Conference team a run for their money in a Game 7 showdown.

- Leather Head