LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Indiana Pacers: Nba Finals
built 160 days ago
The Indiana Pacers are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, and a championship title isn't too far off. not to mention probably the most polite fans (Indiana fans know better than to throw beer on players or call arenas making bomb threats...)
Source:
The Indiana Pacers came into the NBA in 1976. Having excelled in the American Basketball Association, winning three league championships in just nine seasons, the Pacers and three other ABA teams made the switch. The Pacers fell upon hard times early on in their NBA campaign. As the merger agreement denied the former ABA teams TV revenue for several years, there was little the Pacers could do to improve themselves at first. Struggling in the new league, the Indiana Pacers posted just one winning season in their first thirteen years. After over a decade of mediocrity, the Pacers finally started to play some good basketball and turned into a force in the Eastern Conference.
Source:
The Indiana Pacers joined the NBA for the 1976-77 season as one of four former American Basketball Association franchises to cross over when the two leagues merged. The three-time ABA champions struggled from the beginning in the NBA, posting only one winning season in their first 13 NBA campaigns. After a decade and a half of failure, the team finally began to play .500 ball in the early 1990s. By mid-decade, the Pacers had become one of the Eastern Conference's top clubs. From 1994-2000, they reached the conference finals five times, won two Central Division titles and advanced to the NBA Finals in 2000.
Source:
Elmer Snow, then general manager of WTTV (Channel 4), which aired the Pacers games, offered to hold a telethon to keep the team in Indiana. The telethon began on the night of July 3, 1977 in the 500 Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center. Ten minutes before going off the air, Nancy Leonard, wife of the Pacers' coach, announced that season ticket sales had topped 8,000. The telethon helped assure the Pacers a second season in the NBA. Although they survived that financial crisis, the Pacers continued to struggle. In 1977-78 they finished 31-51, in 1978-79, 38-44, and in 1979-80, 37-45.
Source:
Indiana Pacers tickets have come through the hard times. Now, as the new season unfolds, the Pacers will have to live up to their billing. Playing in the NBA's Central Division, the Pacers will have to contend with Detroit , and the upstart Bulls. It's going to be one heck of a ride for basketball lovers. Get your Indiana Pacers tickets and enjoy the ride.
Source:
Two years after the brawl against Detroit Pistons fans, the Indiana Pacers probably assumed they had finally recovered their image. Apparently Stephen Jackson thought otherwise. News broke early this morning of an altercation involving Pacers’ guard Stephen Jackson, which included the firing of gun shots. Jackson was punched in the face and hit by a car in the altercation, outside of a strip club no less. This story is pretty symbolic of why many sports followers have shied away from the NBA. This week, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum wrote that NBA players get a bad rap for their actions off the court.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Nba Finals