2009 Indiana Pacers

The 2008-09 season didn’t bring the success that the Indiana Pacers had hoped for, as injuries held the team back and they ended up finishing in 4th place in the Central Division, but a healthy squad means a strong shot at the playoffs in the 2009-10 season. Mike Dunleavy is healed and raring to go, though he’ll be working with some new faces: Marquis Daniels, Jarrett Jack and Rasho Nesterovic have left and been replaced with Dahntay Jones, Solomon Jones and Earl Watson. It’ll be fun to see how it all pans out, so grab your Conseco Fieldhouse tickets and get ready to watch the Pacers in action!

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.

Led by the constant heroics of Reggie Miller, one of the NBA's all-time greats and one of the best three-point shooters in all of basketball, the Pacers were a dominant team in the NBA. Between 1994 and 2000, the Pacers went to five conference finals, won two Central Division titles, and made it to the NBA Finals in 2000. Reggie Miller stayed with the ball club his entire career. Miller, the all-time leader in three pointers, could always be turned to when the Pacers were in need of a clutch shot.

The Pacers play at the state-of-the-art Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The facility is among the finest in the league. Hall of famer and Indiana basketball legend Larry Bird is the President of Basketball Operations for the Pacers organization. Bird was arguably the greatest player ever to come out of the state of Indiana and is most remembered for his epic rivalry with Magic Johnson.

Indianapolis is the home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, led by one of the best drop-back passers in the league, have one of the best offenses in football. In 2003, Peyton Manning was named co-MVP while leading the Colts deep into the playoffs, and in February 2007 he led the Colts to their second Super Bowl win. The Colts play in Lucas Oil Stadium.