And imagine how the Butler team of 2010 would be remembered if Gordon Hayward's halfcourt heave at the buzzer of the championship game with Duke had been an inch or two more accurate.One shot, one injury, one untimely loss, one referee's whistle...all can have a huge impact on a team's place in history. The 2000 team, on the other hand, relied on its uncommon experience and cohesion to get through a less joyful regular season. Like the 2000 team better? Bird announced before it began that it would be his last. Both were great, both barely fell short of winning a championship, both had admirable intangibles. Privacy Act, please use the links below to visit each company’s privacy center. The 1998–99 NBA season was the Pacers' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 32nd season as a franchise. That group won 56 games largely because of its superior experience and ingrained cohesion. The '98 team was the first under coach Larry Bird, and spent the season in something resembling honeymoon bliss. Feb 20 @ ORL, IND (37-16) lost to ORL, 91-93,54. Mullin played in just 47 games and averaged 5.1 points in 2000. Find out more.Do you have a blog? "I always thought the '98 team was better," Smits says. Recent Game Results Height of bar is margin of victory • Mouseover bar for details • Click for box score • Grouped by Month If you make a request through the WarnerMedia Privacy Center, The one that wins the most games in the regular season or advances the furthest in the postseason isn't necessarily the best in its class, but it seems obvious one of these two Pacers teams remain the best in franchise history. Dec 20 @ ORL, IND (17-8) beat ORL, 95-92,26. Walsh recalls Perkins doing as good a job as anyone with the impossible chore and offers this bottom line to the argument.The argument for retaining Antonio Davis also ignores the fact the Pacers had a logjam at the "four" position that needed to be addressed. He wasn't a significant factor in the playoffs, however.McKey played in just 57 regular season games in 1998 but had enough left to be a significant factor in the playoffs in non-scoring ways. The 2000 group ranked first in both categories. Motivated by his 3-of-10 performance in that Game 7 loss to Chicago in 1998, he hired a shooting coach and reconstructed his shot. Jan 21 @ NYK, IND (26-12) lost to NYK, 89-97,39. Or write about sports? The teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004, 2013, and 2014 had superior athleticism and perhaps even superior talent, but lacked the experience and hard-earned maturity of the teams from 1998 and 2000.But which of those was best? Mar 17, IND (45-20) lost to CHI, 84-90,66. If he were playing, Dale Davis and Croshere would have played and contributed less. The '98 team was revived by the Jordan documentary and we're in the 20-year anniversary of the 2000 team, so parsing them is as good a topic of discussion as any during a pandemic lockdown.Proponents of the Pacers team that reached the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals over the one that took things a step further in 2000 have plenty of ammunition for their argument.The '98 team won 58 games, two more than the 2000 team. Mar 4 @ LAL, IND (41-18) lost to LAL, 95-104,60. ".Perkins did the same, adding a laid-back style of veteran leadership that was readily accepted in the locker room. Apr 18 @ CLE, IND (58-24) lost to CLE, 92-96,Ranks are per game (except for MP, which are total) and sorted descending (except for TOV and PF); opponents ranked are flipped; year/year calculations are also per game.Shooting data available as of 1996-97 season.Play-by-Play data available as of 1996-97 season.Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history.Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?Are you a Stathead, too? Feb 22 @ PHI, IND (38-16) beat PHI, 97-92,55. Mar 3 @ VAN, IND (41-17) beat VAN, 111-103,59. But he leans toward the superiority of the '98 squad after pausing to think it through. Nov 8 @ CHH, IND (2-4) lost to CHH, 82-89,9. "We don't live in that world anymore," Croshere says. OK. The primary advantage of the 1998 Pacers over the 2000 version might lie with intangibles. That enabled him to score 59 more points from the foul line in 2000 than in '98, a significant number given all the close games a team plays over the course of the season.Jackson shot a better percentage in all categories in 2000 than in 1998 and had virtually the same scoring average despite playing 2 1/2 fewer minutes. He played in just 32 regular season games two years later and averaged 4.3 points.So, that's six players in the improved column for the 2000 team and three in the declined category. To bring all three back for another season likely would have only heightened their frustration and damaged team chemistry.Besides, Croshere and Perkins brought needed versatility to the offense by providing 3-point threats that spread the floor. It just wasn't as great as in '98. (As an indication of how the league has changed over the past couple of decades, this season's Pacers team averages 27.5 3-point attempts per game, which is still short of coach Nate McMillan's goal of 30.

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