Optimism in Indiana

Sometimes, you just gotta have faith: “The record isn’t close to anything Larry Bird and Jim O’Brien desired. The playoffs? They’re not going to happen for these Indiana Pacers. They may be mathematically alive — barely — but coach O’Brien has been conceding for weeks now that the playoffs are a pipe dream beyond rational consideration. And yet … It has been a good season. A productive season. A season of significant growth. Seriously. What? You were expecting a snide comment? For the first time in a long time, there is the sense the Pacers are building toward something, that next year’s playoffs are easily within their grasp if only they add bodies, stay healthy and learn how to play a lick of defense.”