Cornrows on the Move to Sports Blog Nation

Cornrows is officially joining the Sports Blog Nation network at IndyCornrows.com where I'm excited to add my name to some of the best NBA bloggers around. In addition to the delivering the content you expect, the SB Nation sites make it extremely easy to give readers a voice and join in the discussion. I'm looking forward to building a strong Pacers community, so come on over and join the fray.

INDY CORNROWS

Line of the Night 2/15/07

Some notable LoNny regulars were on display last night, finishing up the pre-All-Star break portion of the season. You had Dirk, T-Mac, Kobe and LeBron playing in the TNT Thursday nighters. Yes, they all led their teams statistically, but none matched the mind boggling lines we normally expect. Considering T-Mac and Kobe lost, their lines were diminished, leaving Dirk and LeBron. Dirk's line was quite ordinary, so that left the LoNny in the hands of LeBron. He did lead his team to a win over the Lakers with 38 points. It really is a no brainer, but with 0 in the 3-ball column I had to hunt for a better option, yet none existed.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
LeBron James	38	4	3	0	3	0

Pacers 114, Grizzlies 104: Win - Pacers Style

Let's see, sluggish start, falling behind early? Check. Battle back, stay within ten points at the half? Check. Come out with a strong third quarter to take the lead? Check. Get strong minutes from the bench? Check. Get 20 and 10 from your All-Star forward? Check.

When the Pacers win, that's how they roll and that's just what happened on Wednesday night when the Pacers beat the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, 114-104. I didn't see the game but from reading the recaps, it sounds like a game I've seen play out at least 20 times in prior games. Other thoughts:

• Danny Granger didn't start but played well, appearing fine after his scary fall against the Clippers. His 21 points led a bench brigade that outscored the starters.
• Shawne Williams started in Granger's place but only played six minutes.
• The Pacers finally had a full compliment of players with Darrell Armstrong back from his one game suspension.
• Marquis Daniels had another solid night off the bench. Dare I say he's becoming reliable.
• The Pacers head into the All-Star break feeling pretty good (again). They're in the two steps forward portion of the two steps forward, one step back dance they've been performing all year.
• I'd really feel good about the Pacers overcoming their latest step back and moving forward if it wasn't for the 10,000 pound elephant sitting in the corner of the locker room, that being the Tinsley/Daniels situation with the local authorities.
• Here's to a nice quiet All-Star break with no off-court headlines involving the blue and gold. Is it too much to ask for everyone (save JO on Sunday) taking it easy, getting some rest so they come back healthy and ready to attack their schedule after the break? I don't think so.

Line of the Night 2/14/07

Stephen Jackson showed off all of his game's assets last night, leading the Warriors to an easy win over the Knicks

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
Stephen Jackson	36	2	8	1	1	4

Line of the Night 2/13/07

T-Mac made LoNny a believer by filling his line with crooked numbers and W for Rockets win over the Kings.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
Tracy McGrady	28	6	12	3	3	2

Line of the Night 2/12/07

LoNny loves the 3-ball and J.R. Smith delivered in the Nuggets win over the Warriors.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
J.R. Smith	28	4	1	0	0	6

Road Blog

Checking in from the road to pass on some links today.

Loy's Place has posted the Carnival of the NBA #41 - All-Star Edition. Take a trip down All-Star memory lane and tap into all of the NBA knowledge you can handle in one tidy post.

Don't forget to drop by About:Basketball to check out the Central Division reports and NBA roundtable. The place is heatin' up!

Deon "Dino" Wilford was found guilty of battery for running into Stephen Jackson with his car outside Club Rio. Jack and Tinsley testified and the fact that their testimony held up may be a good sign for Jack when he goes to court in April. Of course, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Kravitz is wondering where the fans are for Pacers games. Naturally a factor is the Tinsley/Daniels 8 Seconds Saloon situation. When are we going to hear more about this? At this point, I'm assuming major charges are in the offing and with the high profile nature of the case, the prosecutors are just making sure the charges are solid. If nothing ends up coming from this incident then Tinsley has some damages to collect from someone because he's been persecuted publicly and left swinging in the wind for a week.

Line of the Night 2/11/07

Kirk Hinrich gets the LoNny nod for leading the Bull to a win in Phoenix by keeping his team from imploding in the midst of a patented Suns second half run.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
Kirk Hinrich	29	5	4	0	2	5

Pacer 94, Clippers 80: Appreciate the W

Full flight out of O'Hare, middle seat three rows from the back, late take-off, 4 plus hours in the air. My day wasn't going real well. The way the Pacers have been playing lately I wasn't too unhappy about missing their Sunday afternoon game against the Clippers.

I was somewhere over Nebraska when the game tipped. Do I have a problem if I noted that fact while bathing in misery sandwiched between two unknown travel companions? By the time we dropped down at SFO, picked up my baggage and shuttled to my hotel, the game was over.

Once in my room I turned on the TV to find the score. For me, the Pacers-Clips game boiled down to a hand of black jack when the dealer has 14 and is flipping himself a card. The score scroll on the bottom of the screen was dealing and hooray, the dealer busted showing me that the Pacers halted a home losing streak with a 94-80 win over the visiting Clippers.

There was good news with Mike Dunleavy putting a hurtin' on his father with another solid shooting game and 20 points. Marquis Daniels finally returned, contributing 14 points while his off-court partner in crime (ALLEGED) dished 15 assists. Oh, and JO was did his 21 point , 8 rebs, 4 blocks thing. Darrell Armstrong missed the game serving a one game suspension for his double-T histrionics against the Nuggets.

From all appearances, it was a solid day at the Fieldhouse. But there was also some disconcerting news regarding Danny Granger. According to reports, he fell on his neck and had to be taken to the hospital for further examination. With Daniels back, it looked like the Pacers were finally at full ready to go forward at full strength, but it only lasted three quarters. The early report indicates Granger was able to move his arms and legs so hopefully he'll have a quick recovery from the fall.

The Pacers play the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, their last game prior to the All-Star break.

Line of the Night 2/10/07

Mehmet Okur filled up his line as the Jazz made a late run to end up beating the Knicks in OT.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
Mehmet Okur	29	6	5	1	2	4

Waiting on the Pacers vs. Clippers

The Pacers take on the LA Clippers at the Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. Mike Dunleavy, Jr. will be facing his pop who will be on the sidelines coaching the Clippers. Here is Bruno's preview with comments from the Pacers on turning things around.

Pacers Notebook has some interesting tidbits, as usual. First of all, Darrell Armstrong continued to voice his displeasure with the referees after snapping on the court against the Nuggets.

"I feel like this team, the way the referees call it, we get (expletive) every night," Armstrong said. "I'm going to be honest, it seems like the referees are calling our games like the brawl team (2004-05). We're not that team that was in the brawl. We're the 2006-07 team. It's just sad because we get treated like that. We get a lot of bad calls home and away. Then we can't talk to the officials the right way."

I feel what DA is saying. I always thought it was just Stephen Jackson who's lack of respect from the referees filtered through the rest of the team. But Jack is gone and even a six time All-Star rarely gets a benefit call. I hate this conversation and it isn't an excuse, but as I said, I feel what DA is saying.

Speaking of JO,his knee may limit his All-Star activities. I imagine there is a deadline for notifying the league if you plan to sit out, so we'll stay tuned later in the week.

Cornrows is off for a West Coast roadie starting tomorrow and going through the All-Star break. Blogging will be light at times, especially through Wednesday of the upcoming week.

Line of the Night 2/9/07

Zach Randolph was giving the Bobcats fits all night as he led the Blazers to a win.

	PTS	REB	ASST	BLK	STL	3-PT
Zach Randolph	40	9	3	1	0	1