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That defeat was viewed by many as the Pacers' last chance to capture a championship. They had finally gotten past the Bulls and into the Finals, thanks largely in part to the retirement of Michael Jordan.

But it wasn't meant to be. At the end of the season, the team's leader from the bench, Larry Bird, rode off into the retirement sunset, while its leader on the floor, Mark Jackson, was slowly approaching 40. Reggie Miller was only getting older, and of course, we now know that Rick Smits' feet would not last another season.

Despite all the success found in the 2000 season, the future seemed to be bleak for the Indiana Pacers. Its coach was gone, its point guard old and decrepit, the best shooter on the team had lost a step, and its center could not even take a step.

But that was on the surface. Underneath the surface, the Indian Pacers had a plan for the future. They began the process even under the leadership of Bird in draft picks such as Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender. They continued the trend of becoming younger and more athletic by acquiring the untapped talent of Jermaine O'Neal and signing such stars as Austin Croshere and Jalen Rose to long-term deals.

The Pacers, it turns out, did not look half bad after all. They were full of talent and considered by many to be the team of the future. Now all they needed was someone to guide, nurture, and develop this talent into a future powerhouse.

On his way out the door to Naples, Larry Bird suggested that his assistant of the past three years and former Celtic teammate Rick Carlisle was the right man for the job. But instead Pacers general manager Donny Walsh and the rest of the organization elected to follow the tenure of one legend with that of another -- they hired Isiah Thomas.

They hired the same man who, however great his career was, will always be remembered as the guy who threw the ball to Larry Bird in final seconds of Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. After that game which propelled an inferior Celtics team to go on to win the series, a frustrated Thomas said that if Larry Bird were black, he would just be another average basketball player.

Thomas would later apologize for those comments, and Bird would accept. But that moment and those comments have and always will link the two basketball greats.

When Isiah Thomas took over the Pacers, the two men also begun to have something else in common -- they were coaches of two very talented Pacers teams. Bird, the 1997-2000 version, and Isiah, every Pacers team since then.

The only difference between the two teams was their experience and their talent level. While the Bird Pacers were far more experienced, Isiah's group is far more talented.

Last year, the Pacers fielded a team that featured Reggie Miller, Travis Best, Jermaine O'Neal, Al Harrington, Jonathan Bender, Austin Croshere, and Jalen Rose (they traded Rose midway through the season for even more talent to the Chicago Bulls when they acquired Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, and Ron Artest).

They were clearly the most talented team going into the Eastern Conference last year. They had the most talented center, a savvy veteran swingman, a dynamic shooting guard, an early Rookie of the Year point guard candidate, and a young, explosive bench. Yet despite all this, the best they could do was finish eighth in the conference and await a first round playoff exit at the hands of the New Jersey Nets.

All this talent, yet so little success. All these young and talented players, yet so little improvement shown. All these factors, combined with the fact there were player rumblings that Isiah Thomas was just coaching for his paycheck, would be enough to spell the end for any coach. Any coach but a former NBA great named Isiah Thomas.

After two very disappointing seasons, Isiah Thomas finally has the Pacers playing to their skill level. The team is 6-1 and at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. With their youth and talent, that is a place they should stay for many years to come.

In a way, they remind me of the Pistons of the late '80s and early '90s. They had the talent to dethrone the Celtics, but they just didn't have the leadership. Thomas was the leader of those teams and he is the leader of this one.

In 1987, when Thomas' more talented Pistons team lost out to the Celtics primarily because of his pass into the hands of Larry Bird, he got a second chance. In 1988, the Pistons finally got by the Celtics and would eventually win two titles under Thomas.

This year is Thomas' second chance. If he throws the ball away this time with a more talented team, it should mark the end of his coaching career.

Larry Bird can only be thinking, if Isiah Thomas was just another average white guy, he would have been fired by now.

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