Steven A. Smith: Paul George is a Star and he is letting us know that.

[Axel]

man no one had pacers losing at 4. they had them taking 1/2 games from raps. They just happen to take the first game

Be confident, Different team this year

Different team doesn't mean different results. They still need to come out and execute at a much higher level and play significantly smarter. Just because they can, doesn't mean they will. Sports history is filled with teams who were great regular season teams that simply couldn't get it done in the playoffs, despite being "different" team's each year. There was no reason for KL and DD to come up small, it might just be who they are. Any pressure they felt for game 1 will be magnified for game 2.

Stephen A isn't a...can't call him a reporter, so....media person who's opinion means anything. ESPN in general is more concerned with headlines and controversy than actual facts. That said, this could be the Paul George return to spotlight.

[KHD]

one of my favourite photoshops lol

just needs more zipper struggles.

[Axel]

Kind of related (media coverage), there isn't a single mention of the Pacers game 1 win on SI's NBA page. You would literally have to go to the scores calendar and go back to even know that we played. Annoying for us, must be really annoying for the Pacers too.

[mjt20mik]

Kind of related (media coverage), there isn't a single mention of the Pacers game 1 win on SI's NBA page. You would literally have to go to the scores calendar and go back to even know that we played. Annoying for us, must be really annoying for the Pacers too.

Great for us. We don't need any more negative american media output. Sucks for Indiana though.

[golden]

This is great. Raps can now go back to being the dis-respected underdog. That's the whole theme behind the #WeTheNorth movement. Going in as the overwhelming favorite seems to have messed with psyche of DD, Lowry and Casey

So now that it's been established by the media that Paul George is the only true superstar in this series, Indy is going to win and Derozan is going to walk, Lowry and DD can do their thing and "upset" the Pacers.

And it's pretty obvious why Stephen A doesn't give 2 turds about Toronto..... ESPN doesn't generate any ad revenues up here. Notice how he's always linking star players moving to big markets (like LA and NY), pulling rumors out of his butt? For Stephen A, it's all about generating eyeballs, discussions, clicks and bigger ratings in important ESPN markets which benefits SAS's bank account. This brother isn't dumb. He's not trying to be a sports analyst - he's playing a character and he plays it well.

[Axel]

This brother isn't dumb. He's not trying to be a sports analyst - he's playing a character and he plays it well.

The second part can be correct without the first part being true.

[Demographic Shift]

This is great. Raps can now go back to being the dis-respected underdog. That's the whole theme behind the #WeTheNorth movement. Going in as the overwhelming favorite seems to have messed with psyche of DD, Lowry and Casey

So now that it's been established by the media that Paul George is the only true superstar in this series, Indy is going to win and Derozan is going to walk, Lowry and DD can do their thing and "upset" the Pacers.

And it's pretty obvious why Stephen A doesn't give 2 turds about Toronto..... ESPN doesn't generate any ad revenues up here. Notice how he's always linking star players moving to big markets (like LA and NY), pulling rumors out of his butt? For Stephen A, it's all about generating eyeballs, discussions, clicks and bigger ratings in important ESPN markets which benefits SAS's bank account. This brother isn't dumb. He's not trying to be a sports analyst - he's playing a character and he plays it well.

Yeah that pretty much sums it up from my cheap seat as well. Smith is in character and he does what he does in order to generate conversation and publicity as thats what his job is.

He is pretty damn good at it as well.

[The Great One]

Speaking of Stephen A Smith...

LOL