The Parallels of the Indiana Pacers and the Seattle Seahawks

Miami Heat v Indiana Pacers - Game Six

I really respect how the Indiana Pacers built their team. They did it with intelligent movies via the draft, free agency, and trades. They did not get lucky through the NBA Draft lottery and have a superstar to fall into their laps. As they reside in Indiana, they are not able to not sign a superstar free agent that instantly makes them contenders. Nevertheless, the Pacers have put together a deep, young, athletic team that is now an elite team and championship contender. Similar to my respect for the front office in its construction of the team, I really like how the players play team basketball and great defense. As I start to think more about the Pacers, they really remind me of another great team in the NFL that just won the Super Bowl: the Seattle Seahawks. There are a lot of great parallels between the two franchises that I noticed below:

I. Great Front Office

The Indiana Pacers has had a great front office for a long time. Donnie Walsh has been one of the most respected NBA executives. He drafted Reggie Miller and built a great Pacers team in the 1990s. Then, he rebuilt on the fly and put together a Championship caliber team led by Jermaine O’Neal and Ron Artest in the early 2000s. He left to be the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks and helped them escape their salary cap hell to be relevant again before they quickly screwed up his work after his departure. He returned to the Pacers as President of Basketball Operations in 2012 and has been retained as a consultant. Since 2003, Larry Bird has been the President of Basketball Operations except for 2012 when Walsh filled in. Both men have been critical in the assembly of the great Pacers team. On the other hand, John Schneider has received a lot of credit for assembling the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and rightfully so. He has made great decisions in assembling the Seahawks. They won it all this year and have created a solid window to win multiple championships. Both franchises have built through the draft and supplemented it with excellent free agent signings and trades.

a. Great Draft Selections with Later Picks

Indiana Pacers

Historically, teams have needed a pick at the top of the draft to select a franchise player. As such, the Pacers great draft picks have really gone against the grain. It started with the selection of Danny Granger with the 17th overall pick in 2005. Granger has been an All-Star player, a great scorer, and a great shooter in his NBA career. He was their building block for years. Although he has been limited due to injury most of the last two seasons, he has time to round into form for the playoffs and has already been a tremendous draft pick selected in the middle of the first round. Similarly, the Pacers acquired the 17 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft in package that sent Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors. With that pick, the Pacers selected center Roy Hibbert. I was skeptical about the pick as Hibbert was very slow. However, I was wrong as he is an All-Star center. In a league that no longer has dominant big men, Hibbert is a real force down low and showed his worth dominating in the playoffs last year.  The 2010 NBA Draft has turned out to be a great one for the Pacers. With the 10th overall pick, they selected Paul George. He has ascended to a NBA superstar after breaking out in the playoffs last year and holding his own head to head against the best basketball player in the NBA, Lebron James. George is averaging 22.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season. His progression has resulted in the arrival of the Pacers as an elite team. With the 10th pick in the second round, the Pacers found a real gem in guard Lance Stephenson. He also stepped up in the playoffs and is one of the candidates for Most Improved Player this season. He is also an All-Star snub. He is a tremendous overall player averaging 14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.

Seattle Seahawks

John Schneider has done a remarkable job with his drafts as the Seahawks GM. While he has made some great picks in the first round (e.g. Left Tackle Russell Okung and Safety Earl Thomas), his best work has been later in the draft. He found their quarterback for the next decade in Russell Wilson in the third round. While critics questioned Wilson’s ability to succeed in the NFL due to his size, Wilson has been an overwhelming success winning the Super Bowl in his second year in the league. He is mobile, elusive, and a great leader. He has a chance to be special if he continues to work on his passing game. Nevertheless, he has thrown for 26 touchdowns each in his two seasons while protecting the ball. Schneider has uncovered stars even later in the draft. In the fifth round, he found two members of the Legion of Boom with Kam Chancelor and Richard Sherman. Chancelor is one of the best safeties in the league and a massive man at 6’3”. We saw his greatness in the Super Bowl as he inflicted massive, intimidating shots on Broncos receivers and intercepted Peyton Manning. Of course, we all learned about Richard Sherman at the end of the NFC Championship Game. Although he talks trash, he backs it up as a shutdown corner and one of the best corners in the league. Super Bowl MVP linebacker Malcolm Smith was taken in the 7th round. Schneider has also done a great job with undrafted free agents. Two key receivers, Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, were undrafted. Both receivers came up big in the playoffs. In the NFC Championship Game, Baldwin had over 100 receiving yards while Kearse caught the go ahead touchdown from Russell Wilson on a 4th and 7th early in the 4th quarter. Both receivers caught a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

b. Excellent Free Agent Signings

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers big free agent signing on their current team is David West. While he is a NBA All-Star, he is not a superstar that changes a franchise. It was not a no-brainer decision. Accordingly, it is in line with how the Pacers have made great decisions with the options available to them. West has been very good on the Pacers. He is a key cog in the best front line in the NBA. He adds to their toughness and physicality. He is also a solid, low post scoring option with a solid, mid-range jump shot. Another recent free agent acquisition I like is the signing of Andrew Bynum. Make no mistake about it. Bynum is a head case and has been a disruption in locker rooms. However, he is still an effective big man who is a former All-Star and Championship center. Moreover, the Pacers do not need rely on him to be consistently dominant. He just needs to give them any production he can off the bench. Any dominant games he provides down the stretch and in the playoffs is house money. Moreover, he is a low risk, high reward player. He is not making a lot of money. As a result, the Pacers can simply cut him if he becomes a problem on the team.

Seattle Seahawks

Similarly, the Seahawks have made excellent decisions on free agents. Defensive linemen Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett were great pickups that helped form one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. They were significant factors in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning was not touched before he faced the intense pressure of the Seahawks defensive line. The Seahawks have also found stars out of players other teams did not want. They signed starting cornerback, Brandon Browner, out of the CFL and he rewarded them with a Pro Bowl season in 2011. They also signed fullback Michael Robinson after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2011.

c. Smart Trades

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have added to their depth through trades. They acquired their starting point guard George Hill from the San Antonio Spurs for the 15th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He has been a solid point guard who can score. He is probably better as a scorer off the bench but he is definitely a good player. Of course, the Spurs made out very well in the trade too using the draft pick to select Kawhi Leonard. During this past offseason, the Pacers also acquired Luis Scola from the Phoenix Suns. I really liked the trade when it occurred. Scola is a very good big man. He can score and rebound. He definitely adds to the depth of the best front line in the NBA as he gives them excellent production off the bench. The trade also helped the Suns who received Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a future first round pick. The Suns have been one of the surprises this season.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have also made some great trades. They got a steal when they traded a fourth round pick to the Buffalo Bills for running back Marshawn Lynch. He is the heart and soul of the Seahawks offense. His team really feeds off his bruising, physical runs. He has made the Pro Bowl 3 times and was an All-Pro in 2012 since the trade. The cost for wide receiver Percy Harvin was much higher: a 1st round pick, 3rd round pick, and 7th round pick. While he has had significant difficulties getting on the field the last 2 seasons due to injuries, he is a true gamebreaker and showed it in the Super Bowl with 2 electrifying runs and a kickoff return touchdown that sealed the game. If he can stay healthy next year, he can take the Seahawks offense to another level.

II. Style Of Play

Both teams are young, athletic, and deep. They are also physical and dominant defensive teams. The Pacers are the best defense in the NBA allowing only 90.7 points per game. They are suffocating as they only allow their opponents a league low 41.4% FG% and are second best in defending the three point line as opponents only hit their three pointers at 33.2% against them. In last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, you could see that the every player on the Heat, besides Lebron James, was having trouble dealing with the Pacers athleticism, speed, and physicality. It looked like the Pacers were moving at another speed.

Similarly, the Seahawks had the best defense in the NFL allowing only 14.4 points per game. They featured the best secondary in the NFL and allowed a league low 172 passing yards per game to their opponents. They were also excellent against the run allowing 101.6 yards per game, 7th in the NFL. They forced the most turnovers of any defense in the NFL with 39. They also forced a lot of pressure with 44 sacks, tied for 4th in the NFL. They proved their dominance in the playoffs. In the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship Game, they shut out the San Francisco 49ers offense and forced three turnovers. They were even more devastating in the Super Bowl as they completely destroyed the highest scoring offense of All-Time in the Denver Broncos who only scored a meaningless touchdown and two point conversion in the second half. The Broncos looked like they were moving in slow motion compared to the Seahawks. The Seahawks will go down as one of the greatest defenses in NFL history.

 

The defensive accomplishments of these two teams are even more impressive when you consider that both leagues have changed their rules to make it easier for offenses to score.

 

III. Fans

Both teams have great fans. Of course, Indiana has great basketball fans. They love basketball and have a great basketball tradition. They produced the legendary Hall of Famer, Larry Bird. Love of basketball in Indiana was featured in the 1986 film Hoosiers which portrayed the 1954 Indiana State championship run by Milan High School. I remembered the passion and enthusiasm of Pacer fans during the 1990s Pacers led by Reggie Miller. On the other hand, the Seahawks fans are the best fans in professional sports. The 12th man is real. It is ridiculously difficult to beat the Seahawks in Seattle due to the deafening noise the fans produce. They also travelled well to the Super Bowl as they were definitely a factor making a lot of sound that bothered the Broncos even though Seahawk fans did not fill the entire stadium.

IV. Franchise History

Prior to this season, neither team won a Championship in their respective leagues. Both franchises made the Championship round but lost to marquee franchises. The Pacers did win ABA Championships. However, they have yet to win a NBA Championship. They advanced to the NBA Finals in 2000 but ran into the Kobe and Shaq led Los Angeles Lakers, who won the first of three straight NBA Championships by beating the Pacers 4-2. Similarly, the Seahawks never won a Super Bowl. They advanced to Super Bowl XL in the 2005 season. However, they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and were at the short end of some atrocious calls by the officials.

Nevertheless, the Seahawks returned to the Super Bowl and won this year which leads me to my final parallel.

V. Path to a Championship

Both teams suffered heartbreaking losses in the playoffs to end their seasons last year. For the Seahawks, they built a lead in the NFC Divisional Game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta. However, their defense was not able to protect the lead and they were eliminated. Similarly, the Pacers played great against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals but ultimately lost in 7 games. Game 7 was on the road in Miami. I am not one to say that the Pacers will win the NBA Championship because the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. However, it would be very similar paths and stories if the Pacers can pull it off. In addition to the similarities above, below are the comparisons of how the Seahawks did it and how the Pacers will have to do it.

1. The Seahawks overcame their hated Conference Rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, in the NFC Championship Game to advance to the Super Bowl. The Pacers will have to overcome their hated Conference Rivals, the Miami Heat, to advance to the NBA Finals.

2. The Seahawks needed to defeat 5 Time MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and best player in the NFL, Peyton Manning, in the Super Bowl to win the Championship. The Pacers will need to get past 4 Time MVP, 2 Time NBA Finals MVP, and best player in the NBA, Lebron James, in order to advance to the NBA Finals.

3. The Seahawks hoped for and received a big time performance from gamebreaker Percy Harvin, who has been injured for the majority of the last two seasons. The Pacers will need a significant contribution from former All-Star Danny Granger, who has dealt with major injury problems the last two seasons.

4. The progression of second year quarterback Russell Wilson was a key to the Seahawks season. The continued development of Paul George into a NBA superstar has transformed the Pacers into an elite team and true Championship contender.

5. The Seahawks secured the first seed and their home field advantage was a key to beating the 49ers and advancing to the Super Bowl. The Pacers are currently in the 1 seed and are fighting hard to secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs. They believed they would have beaten the Heat last year with home court advantage. They believe it will be a key difference that will lead to beating the Heat this season.

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

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