this was one of the best games of the year. yeah i'd still take a couple more mins away from dice and rip, but not too worried about it - dice's minutes are still low as a starter, and rip can handle it.

i think chauncey is playing much better this year because he's getting rest. sure, tayshaun might be affected more by minutes over the long haul, but i think billups is more affected per-game. as in, if he gets solid rest in the 1st half and at the beginning of the 4th, he's going to take the last 6-8 minutes of the game and rock it out. he makes better decisions and his FG% (and especially 3PT%) shoots way up.

i liked how stuckey noticeably got into a groove and was being aggressive and confident. yeah, it's the pacers and they don't play great D, but who cares? stuckey needs to build confidence. our bench as a whole played a great game AND it was on the road, which is very encouraging.

and don't be fooled by the fact that we could never get past a 7-point lead. indiana is a one-trick pony - 3s - and they were hot. they miss a couple of those and it's a blowout. if this was the playoffs, it's a blowout.