Go Green: More PG Greenies

January and February brought me some fine additions to my slowly growing PC of PG (Paul George).  The latest additions were cheap buys and features green yet again.

George will most likely miss the entire 2014-15 season after injuring himself during an intersquad game for Team USA basketball.  Because of this, the Pacers seemed to be destined to solidify a top 10 pick in next year's draft which I was hoping will be one of Kentucky's many young future stars and elite defenders.

However recent play has the Pacers 13-2 since February 1st and the #8 seed for the weak Eastern Conference.  IF PG is able to get healthy for the playoffs, I'm going to get very excited for another deep NBA playoff run for the Pacers.

The back of the card compares Paul George to Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.  The serially numbered to 199 card was purchased for $3.

If PG turns into a Hall of Famer, I'll be a very happy Pacers fan.

Going Green: Paul George Game Film 5/5

My Pacers collection has been steadily growing over the past year.  With rising star Paul George out for the season, there hasn't been much to root for regarding the Pacers and their sub .500 season.  However, because of that I have been able to add some really neat cards to my collection for much less than they were fetching a year or two ago.

A year ago, this green parallel numbered to 5 of Paul George would have gotten over $100 on the market.  Purchased earlier in the year, I was able to snag it along with 3 other Pacers cards for under $50.

The above card features actual game film of Paul George as the Pacers marched to having the best record in the Eastern Conference for the 2013-14 season.

Thrown in as free bonus are the above 3 cards featuring my other favorite Pacer, David West on a numbered Gold Standard card.  The Jonathan Bender is my first autograph of the former Pacer.

George has started his first full practice so with the chance to sneak into the playoffs, I'm going to get a little more excited as the season winds down.

It's Miller Time!!!!

Of the 4 major sports in North America, basketball is the one I collect the least of.  When I was younger, basketball was a clear number 2 behind only baseball.  For a brief time when the Dream Team 2 came out, it was my number one sports collection.

There were two players that I heavily collected in the early to mid 90s, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Reggie Miller.  I didn't have a favorite team although I did like the Magic a lot.

Back then Sega Genesis was the cool home gaming system and there wasn't any cooler basketball game then NBA Jam: TE.  I spent nearly a whole summer playing as Reggie Miller and Rik Smits defeating my cousins, brother, and friends.  For that reason, I began to follow the Pacers more heavily.

With the emergence of Paul George on the Pacers a few years back, I started to get back into following basketball more regularly.  I've been slowly adding to my Pacers collection here and there, but haven't added many hits to the collection.

Today, I'm showing off my second Reggie Miller hit.  It's a nice jersey relic from Upper Deck that even has a pinstripe from the Pacers Home Navy jerseys and only cost me $3.28.  Maybe in 2016, I'll focus more on my basketball collection.

Throwback Thursday: the only pink basketball card I own

My Indiana Pacers collection has been steadily growing over the year since my first Reggie Miller Beam Team insert I showed off in February.  However, one thing I don't have is a pink parallel for a Pacers player.

To not totally segregate the NBA fans, I decided to show off the only basketball card I own with pink in it.

Granted it's not a pink parallel, but there is definitely pink in it....and it's of my favorite basketball player of all time.  This was found in a dimebox a looooooooooong time ago.

The Pacers are going to have a very difficult season ahead of themselves with rising star Paul George out for the entire season with a career threatening injury and Lance Stephenson leaving to go to Charlotte.

It all comes down to this....

The Pacers had a HUGE win over the Thunder Sunday night, which means with the Heat losing to the Wizards, they will guarantee themselves home court advantage through the playoffs.

Lance Stephenson got his 5th triple-double of the season on Sunday, the most all time by a Pacers player in an individual season.  Stephenson has quietly been a solid contributor to the Pacers success all season long.  I picked this up earlier in the season when the Pacers were virtually unstoppable before the All-Star break for around $32.

Who do you think has the best chance of being NBA champions this year?  The Heat again?  Thunder?  I'm pulling for the Pacers, not just because they're my favorite team, but also because I think they will become hot at the right moment in time to really click and win important games.

This is Awesome!!!!

I set this up with Schwartz Sports for their March signing which included a ridiculous amount of talent from all 4 major North American sports.  There were lots of Hall of Famers, many members of the 2012-2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, the 1986 Chicago Bears team, and many many more.  The player I was most excited about though was Paul George.

CHECK THAT OUT!!!

My First Reggie Relic

I said I was going to start to build up my Reggie Miller PC and have added a relic to the collection.

Acquired for around $3 delivered, this marks my first Reggie Miller jersey relic.  It's not numbered and hails from 2000-01 Fleer.

30 cents well spent

I recently won these two fine cards of Steel City star players, Sidney Crosby and Antonio Brown for a combined price of 30 cents.  To achieve free shipping I combined it with my 2013-14 Hoops Team Set of the Pacers seen below.

The two highlights of this budget friendly team set are the two Pacers All-Stars, Paul George and Roy Hibbert.  The one thing I've started to like about collecting basketball cards over baseball is the action shots.  Very seldomly do you see Panini used photoshoot pictures like what Topps does for baseball.

All together, I received all 12 cards for $2.05.  Money well spent, I say.  Money well spent.

Going to my 1st Indiana Pacers game

It's been 22 years since I attended my last basketball game.  Tonight I'm going watch the Indiana Pacers vs. the Philadelphia 76ers with my Lil Brudder.

2013-14 Prizm David West AUTO

Above is my latest auto to my Pacers PC.  It's a very low number David West from 2013-14 Prizm numbered 8/25.

Pacers PC Pickups: Roy Hibbert On Card AUTO!

The Pacers are having a great season and are leading the Eastern Conference.  The strong defensive efforts set by the team and quality depth are making them the favorite to win the East over the over hyped Heat.  I've been SLOWLY adding more and more cards to my Pacers PC over the past few months, but was very happy to add this on card autograph of one of my favorite Pacers, Roy Hibbert.

I was able to add the above card of one of the game's top centers for the low price of $13.50.

There's two players that I have to add on card autos to my collection from of the Pacers in 2014 and they are Reggie Miller and Paul George.  Anyone got lots of cash to send me?

I say hello, you say goodbye

Hello, hello to my latest addition to the Pacers PC.

Say goodbye to the man depicted on this piece of autographed cardboard.

The Pacers have traded former All-Star Danny Granger to the 76ers in exchange for Evan Turner and LaVoy Allen.  I really like this trade a lot.  Evan Turner could become a much better shooter when he's surrounded by other talented shooters like Paul George, David West, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, and Lance Stephenson.  I really think this trade will help push the Pacers towards becoming the Eastern Champs.

The above card was recently purchased for $13 delivered and is my first Pacers auto in my collection.  It reminds me of the classic Beam Team inserts from the early-mid 90s like the Reggie Miller I showed off earlier in the month.

I have several more Pacers autos on the way including a really nice one of my current favorite basketball player.