Dein erstes Forum » was overcome by six wins in the Razorbac

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird spent most of his offseason trying to stitch together a championship contender.He made two trades to create versatility. He added bulk by signing free agent Al Jefferson. He watched the Pacers biggest star, Paul George, return from the Olympics with a gold medal around his neck and a new perspective about making the Pacers a better team. And Bird hired a coach who shares his vision of what it takes to win in todays NBA.Now Indiana is about to find out if this bold, new look will produce better results than last years awkward attempt to use a smaller lineup with more 3-point shooters and putting some players, such as George, out of position.George became a star at small forward but started the season playing power forward, an experiment that didnt last long.Last year, we tried to play that spread-four and we tried to turn Paul and C.J. Miles into that spread four. Now he (Bird) has brought those guys in, new coach Nate McMillan said Monday during the teams annual media day. Look, youre going to have to be able to play half-court basketball because you cant run for 48 minutes. I think the better teams will be able to slow you down, but I think we can play both ways now.How much and how quickly things change remains unclear.Unlike last season, when it seemed Bird and George werent always on the same page and former coach Frank Vogel often wound up playing middle man between his best player and his boss, the second year of this transition already is off to a smoother start. George acknowledged Monday hes willing to do whatever it takes to win this season -- even if that requires playing some minutes as a stretch-four. McMillan even called the three-time All-Star and all-league defender a versatile three.But the biggest difference will be Georges supporting cast.Bird began the latest overhaul by acquiring All-Star point guard Jeff Teague in a three-team deal that sent George Hill to Utah. The trade left the 26-year-old George, now entering his seventh year with the team, as the longest-tenured Pacers player and the only remaining starter left from the 2013 and 2014 Eastern Conference runner-ups.Then Bird sent Indianas first-round draft pick to Brooklyn for the nimble Thaddeus Young, who will play that stretch-four role, and plugged in second-year pro Myles Turner at center. He brought in the 60foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson to give the Pacers a bigger inside presence off the bench.Its completely different. Last year, you had true bigs in the paint and scorers who would post up, Young said. Now youve got guys who can step out, make plays, make moves. Were definitely going to try to push the tempo, push the pace.Everyone in this locker room seems to embrace the small-ball concept.When Teague was asked about the prospect of teaming up with George and bringing the trendy new style to his hometown team, he responded with a beaming style. Turner and Young had similar reactions Monday, and George sounds as eager as anybody to see how everything will work.Hopefully, well get a little faster, George said. I know that Jeff is a coast-to-coast guy, and I havent really played with a coast-to-coast guy before, so hopefully I can make it easier for him.Clearly, Bird believes he has the players to operate his preferred style, even if doesnt look quite right when the Pacers open the season Oct. 26 against Dallas.So McMillan will spend most of the next month trying to get all these new guys and the new lineups working together, in sync. And McMillan believes that if given time, the Pacers new style will be a good look.The game has changed, McMillan said. Youre seeing more pace teams that are trying to get between 90 and 100 possessions per game. How do you create that? You put together a roster that you can do that with, and I think the Pacers have done that. I think those (new) guys put us in position to pretty much paly any style we want to play.Note: George was asked whether he had any desire to re-do his contract, which can now be extended, and said: Right now, its all about the season. Im not even thinking about contract stuff. Everything is about going into the season. Last week, Bird said he was willing to give George a new max contract whenever hes ready. Georges current max deal runs through the 2018-19 season. Michael Porter Jr. Jersey .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. 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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Bret Bielema talked throughout the offseason about the need to start the season well.After two losses in the last three games, the Arkansas coach is now counting on the No. 22 Razorbacks (4-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) to again finish strong if they hope to improve their win total for a fourth straight season.Arkansas most recent loss was a 49-30 setback to No. 1 Alabama last week, the schools 10th straight to the Crimson Tide. The Razorbacks also lost three weeks ago to No. 6 Texas A&M, and the schedule doesnt get any easier this week when they host No. 12 Mississippi (3-2, 1-1).Yeah, weve lost to two teams in the SEC West that are also two teams that are probably in the top five in the country by a lot of peoples perspective, Bielema said. The SEC West is pretty good, if you havent noticed.The last time Arkansas lost its first two SEC games was in 2014, when the school eventually lost its first five conference games on the way to an 0-13 start to Bielemas SEC career.That season, the Razorbacks recovered from their early woes by winning two of their final three SEC games and improving their overall record to 7-6 after winning only three games in Bielemas first season in 2013. Arkansas finished 8-5 last season, but that only came after a 2-4 start that was overcome by six wins in the Razorbacks final seven games.The quick start Bielema stressed was there this year, with three straight wins to open the season, but many in Arkansas are now questioning when -- and if -- the Razorbacks will win another game.ddddddddddddAt the beginning of the year, everybodys talking about how well were starting fast, Bielema said. Now, I guess weve got the midseason blues.Those blues have the very real possibility of extending into the second half of the season, especially if Arkansas doesnt improve its abysmal offensive line play.The Razorbacks allowed six sacks and 12 hurries of quarterback Austin Allen against the Crimson Tide, and their season total of 13 sacks allowed is only one away from how many the school has allowed in each of the last two seasons.Pass protection isnt the only area where the line is struggling, with Arkansas per-rush average down from 5 yards per carry a season ago to 4.4 this year.If the offensive line is going to improve, it will have to do so against an all-SEC schedule to close out the year. Following this weeks game against the Rebels, Arkansas has five more conference games -- against Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri.Well just take every game as it comes, Bielema said. Obviously, six games in front of us (are) guaranteed and we want to concentrate on the bigger picture, but for us to get where we need to be we just need to worry about Ole Miss. ' ' '