Fandom Free Agency - #16 Indiana Pacers

Starting to get into the really tough decisions in this process. I look at every team I have remaining and see some redeemable quality that would make me want to be a fan of theirs. I couldn't say that for a lot of the earlier teams.

So now, as the playoffs loom closely it's time to really start putting the non-playoff teams under the microscope. Any team that's in the playoffs I will still have a few more weeks to evaluate and really see how I feel about the team in the playoffs. But for the teams that are still remaining and aren't eliminated, it's time to take a real close look. Those teams are:

New Orleans and Houston - Solid chances of surviving to the offseason

Minnesota - The original culprit, but they'll survive

Chicago - Interesting capabilities this offseason

Philadelphia - Surviving merely on 2k10 playing ability

And then there's Indiana. There are certainly some things I like about Indiana. Danny Granger is very solid and of course Brandon Rush will always have a certain value for me, but when I compare the Pacers to the other teams left on the list they just don't have the same appeal.

First off, as much as I love me some B Rush, I can't exactly look past what he did last Sunday. If I'm going to throw Matt Barnes under the bus then Brandon deserves some criticism as well for his 0 point output in a game where he played 19 minutes and his team scored 133.

Also, Brandon is dangerously close to earning a distinction that he doesn't really want. Brandon is about to become (according to John Hollinger's rankings) the worst player in NBA history to lead his team in minutes played. Now, that sounds really bad, but it's not really Brandon's fault that the other main players on his team have all been injured and missed significant time.

That's been a big problem for the Pacers, a ton of injuries. They're currently playing very good basketball to close out the season with a healthy roster so it could be said that they're unlucky. However, it could also be said that they are full of injuries because they continue to sign and draft high risk players.

T.J. Ford has spent of of his career on the injured list. Troy Murphy is injured just about every season. Roy Hibbert is going to miss some time every year and his knees will probably just give up and some point and even Rush has had injury problems in college and in the pros.

I want to feel sorry for the Pacers and give them the benefit of the doubt, but I also root for a MLB team in the Royals that is plagued by injuries mainly because of the people they sign and not just luck. At some point you create your own luck.

Intentionally left out of the discussion...

Fandom Free Agency - #17 Orlando Magic

Big mistake Orlando. You should have never signed Matt Barnes.

Sure, at the time it seemed innocent enough. He's a solid defender and 3-point shooter, and as Kobe Bryant can attest, he gives the Magic a little bit of a needed edge. I respect Dwight Howard put he doesn't exactly have a tough guy persona.

I actually liked Matt Barnes enough to add him to my fantasy team during my championship game. I was especially impressed with his ability to go a clean looking UCLA bruin to someone who covered his upper body in tattoos. I remember the first time I saw Barnes resurface in the NBA after a few non-distinct years, I had to do a double-take and a "Wait? That's the same guy."

Ultimately though, Barnes and the Magic played 4 games last week and that's why Barnes warranted a spot on my team for the most important week of the season.

That's when it all started going terribly wrong. Barnes averaged just over 3 points a game during the week and struggled shooting the ball. Then Sunday I think the frustration set in over his terrible week and Barnes decided it was a good idea to get tossed from the game.

What you have to understand is that our league includes ejections as a category and this ejection put what was once a blowout matchup into some serious question. It's a silly category, but one that was included in anticipation of something like this. The incredible amount of frustration that comes when one of your players gets tossed at an important time. I never considered that it would happen to me, and with a player who had only been on my team for a week.

In a way I probably deserved it for trying to force 4 worthless games out of a journeyman NBA player. And thankfully for Mr. Barnes I did end up winning the championship after all was said and done.

But I put that ejection as the 2nd worst moment in Orlando Magic history. Normally I'd say worst, but even I'll admit that this doesn't surpass Nick Anderson inexplicably losing the ability to shoot a free throw.

I recognize that Matt Barnes may not even be playing for Orlando after this season, but I just can't root for the team after Barnes caused me so much frustration last Sunday. I blame the Magic for putting him in.

The first man to single-handedly eliminate a team.