Waiting on Pacers vs. Celtics

Here are a few items of note while we wait for the Pacers to return to action tomorrow night.

• The All-Star ballots have been release and include four Pacers. JO and Al are no surprise. Stephen Jackson is a bit of a surprise based on his preseason issues. The guy has played a consistent role through the season so far. That consistency extends to his poor FG% but he has found ways to contribute and keep his thoughts to himself. Marquis Daniels is definitely a surprise entry on the ballot. Just on minutes and productivity I would think Danny Granger would've been included over 'Quis. Oh, well, neither are All-Star caliber, yet.
• Mark Monteith proves that any children he may have must be older than 13. He's been killing time watching classic, old NBA games with an eye toward comparing them to today's games. Not surprisingly, he found the talent level in the '60s and '70, especially on average, inferior to today's talent level. I love his idea for a Mystery Science Theater 3000-esque airing of the old games with the Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley providing running commentary. That could be Tivo material.
• USA Today has a small piece crediting Al's time in Atlanta with maturing his game.
• Pacers take on the Celtics tomorrow. The C's are 1-6 and in quite a bit of turmoil. Not only does Doc Rivers have habanero juice running to his nether regions, but the heat is turning up on Danny Ainge in the front office. Check out CelticsBlog for the latest state of the Celtics. Also, other Celtics blogs include Loy's Place, Celticsstuff Live, Celtics 17, and Red's Army. No shortage of opinions on how to right the ship in Boston.