Danny Granger is an All Star

First appeared on January 21st, 2008
in The Lebanon Reporter

There few things we can say with any real certainty. This list would include a few no-brainers like: children probably shouldn’t eat a steady diet of chips of any kind, especially those that are lead based, its probably best Lawn Darts were banned by most states, the world will end in 2012 and Danny Granger is an All Star. Note we said “is” and not “should be”, for the difference betwixt the two is about as far as Possum Grape Arkansas is from being Paris France.
While the Pacers are suffering through a difficult year, Granger is not. The Pacers record doesn’t bode well for an All Star resume but then again we can’t remember a more bizarre season. The Pacers have had chances to win nearly every game they’ve played in; if only they could finish. Of course, borrowing the words of our former high school social studies teacher, “If if’s and but’s were candy and nuts we’d have ourselves a party”.
While Mike Dunleavy was rehabbing a knee, other key cogs in the Pacer’s wheel (Marqius Daniels and T.J. Ford) were nursing injuries too and all along the one constant for the Blue and Gold has been Granger. He leads the team in steals, blocks and minutes played. The 6’8 swingman from New Mexico is also currently 4th in the league in scoring at over 26 points per game. Recently Indy hitched their wagons up and drove west where Granger responded with three straight games of 35 points or more, including a career high 42 at Golden State.
In October the critics began a silent vigil. With great anticipation they waited to see if Larry Bird’s most recent incantation of a professional basketball team in the Circle City would sink or swim. While they flirted with .500 for a while, eventually the Pacer’s ship began to take on water and, one by one, the second guessers pounced.
Critiques ranged from “They need a real scorer” (Granger is 4th in the league) to “They need someone who can create their own shot” (Granger is literally learning how to do this on the job) to “They need someone to go to at the end of the game” (See Phoenix-January 7th where Granger hit a 27 footer with less than a second on the clock to win) to “Every elite team in the league has a perennial All Star” (we believe, starting with this season, Indy now has one).
With all the Pacers have been through since Two Guys and a Truck moved Larry Bird’s stuff from the bench to the front office, having a hand in drafting Granger may be all the Indiana legend needs to keep himself from the hot seat. Stealing a franchise player with the 17th pick overall (2005) may even help Larry erase all memory of his darkest days as an exec; yes we’re referencing the bad case of Jasikevicius he battled for two years.
A closer look at those players chosen before Granger show the Pacers did their homework well. This list is an eye-popping who’s not who of the NBA which includes such household names as Charlie Villaneuva, Yaroslav Korolev and Fran Vazquez.
In short Granger has proved his worth and he is now inarguably one of the top forwards in the East. However the Pacers record will probably prevent his being voted in. Of course the ultimate litmus test of whether the All Star game is in fact about All Stars or more about marketing will be if Granger is playing in Phoenix in February or not. Stay tuned to find out.