by Conrad Brunner || Caught in the Web Archive
February 2, 2011
Icepocalypse 2011 didn't really have an impact on the Pacers' travel plans. For their visitors from the north, however, it was a much different story.
The normal schedule – practice Tuesday, then fly to Cleveland – was altered for a couple of reasons: the funeral Tuesday of Indianapolis police officer David Moore in Conseco Fieldhouse, and an attempt to get out of town ahead of the storm.
Both the Pacers and Raptors hoped to fly out after Monday's game. But the storm hit a little harder a little sooner than expected and both were grounded. The Pacers' traveling party checked into a downtown hotel, intent on trying again Tuesday morning, while the Raptors returned to their hotel.
The Pacers headed to the airport a little earlier than the Raptors Tuesday morning, which proved to be a fateful decision. We'll let Raptors radio voice Paul Jones tell the rest of the story in an article he posted to Canada's Sportsnet Website.
"It took the maintenance crew some two hours to get the Pacers plane ready before they were able to get off the ground. De-icing the Indiana plane along with other aircrafts trying to get off the ground to beat the deteriorating conditions put the valuable de-icing fluid in short supply.
"By the time the Air Canada jet started to be prepared for flight, the maintenance crews had run short on the liquid allowing only half the plane that was to transport the Raptors to be cleared. When the trucks were able to refuel, the declining weather conditions had the pumps frozen and the skies unfit to fly.
"So after sitting on the aircraft for just a few minutes shy of five hours, the Raptors checked back into the downtown Indianapolis hotel for a third time."
The Raptors finally were able to leave today for their game tonight in Atlanta.
FAST BREAKS:
- James Posey is on track for a place in the NBA record books. Of the veteran forward's 210 field goal attempts, 187 (89 percent) have come from the 3-point line. According to research by The Cincinnati Enquirer, the current record is 76 percent, set by Cleveland's Damon Jones in 2007-08.
- Ryan Wittman, son of former Ben Davis, Indiana University and Pacers player Randy Wittman, was signed Tuesday by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The younger Wittman, a 6-7 guard from Cornell, was averaging 14.5 points in 14 games in an Italian pro league before signing with the Mad Ants. He is expected to debut Thursday against the Austin Toros.
- Former Pacers guard Orien Greene, who has been tearing up the D-League, signed a 10-day contract with the Nets Tuesday. Greene, 28, averaged 18.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals in 24 games with the Utah Flash. of the NBA Development League this season. Greene played 41 games with the Pacers in 2006-07.