HoopsHype.com Rumors

Mike Wells: As far as David West for Game 6: "I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt. I never got hurt. Just one of them things. Just buckled my knee a little bit." Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Injuries, David West 

Ethan J. Skolnick: David West sprained left knee. Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Injuries, David West 

With Chris Bosh sidelined by a strained abdominal muscle, (LeBron) James is playing more minutes at power forward, though he continues to start at small forward. He did good work defending Pacers power forward David West for stretches of Game 2. Miami Herald

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, David West 

Then, moments after the Pacers won the game and the players congratulated each other on the court, West told them to head to the locker room because they still have some unfinished business. "We can't get too excited because we won one game," West said. "That is not our goal in this series. We can't overreact because we were able to get one game down here." Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, David West 

Frank Vogel says everybody’s talking about LeBron's defense on Danny Granger but nobody's talking Shane Battier's defense on Granger: “We put some different looks in just to try to get (Granger) freed up from LeBron but also from Battier,'' Vogel said. "That’s what not nobody's really talking about. The job LeBron did on Danny, he does a great job on Danny. But sometimes LeBron is on David West and Shane Battier's been doing a great job as well. So you have to give him credit.’’ Sulia

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Danny Granger, David West, Shane Battier, Frank Vogel 

Chris Tomasson: David West on Bosh out: "We can’t overreact. We have to do what we do. We got to maintain the level of balance that we’ve had all year.'' Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Chris Bosh, Injuries, David West 

Marc J. Spears: Pacers Danny Granger and David West fined $25,000 for instigating and adding to escalation on court during Sanders incident. Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Danny Granger, David West 

Ken Berger: Source: The #NBA has suspended the #Bucks' Larry Sanders and fined the #Pacers' Danny Granger and David West over last night's incidents. Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Danny Granger, Larry Sanders, David West 

Indiana Pacers power forward David West plans to send the Cavaliers mascot a jersey and pair of shoes after he accidentally hit him in the eye when the two were playing around before Wednesday's game in Cleveland. Moondog went to a Cleveland hospital to get his eye checked. He was later released. "I feel bad dude got hurt," West said. "I thought I was just hitting the costume. Then they told me after the game that he got hurt. I felt bad because I seriously didn't know our playing around would cause him to get hurt." Indianapolis Star

Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, David West, Moondog 

The incident had more than 135,000 page views on YouTube as of Friday night. "I just heard about it the next day when they said he was being released from the hospital and I said, 'What the hell happened?' They thought he was playing when he was on the ground and found out he wasn't playing," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I think we probably have to go see a vet." The Pacers looked at the video and teased West about it before Friday's game. "If there's anything he needs from me -- more minutes, more touches -- whatever he wants, he has it," Pacers coach Frank Vogel joked. "Whatever he wants he has it. Just don't do me like he did Moondog." Indianapolis Star

Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, David West, Moondog 

The Cavaliers mascot, Moon Dog, had to go to the hospital to get his eye checked out after he was accidentally hit by Pacers forward David West when the two were joking around after the pregame introductions. A Cavaliers spokesman said the mascot was checked out and released. "He jumped at me, so I thought we were playing around and then the next thing I know, he went down," West said. "It was definitely an accident." Indianapolis Star

Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, David West, Moon Dog 

Returning to the place where he forged an All-Star career and made his All-Star debut four years ago, West waxed philosophically about facing his former team for the second time this season, but the first in New Orleans, where he’d played his entire career before signing a two-year, $20 million free-agent contract with Indiana last December. It was a decision, he again reiterated, based on the business of the game, which he said might have been different if the Hornets’ ownership uncertainty had been resolved, as it’s expected to be in the coming weeks. New Orleans Times-Picayune

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, David West 

“I’ve always said just imagine your body without a head on it,” said West, who was honored with a video tribute between the first and second quarters that brought many fans, including Monty Williams, to their feet for a standing ovation, which West humbly acknowledged. “Which way are you going to walk? How are you going to live your life every single day? I just think that’s kind of the situation that was at hand. It’s unfortunate timing in terms of my career. But the hard thing about this is it’s a business. And sometimes you have to make decisions based on business. “Regardless of how emotionally attached you are or how comfortable . … this was a very comfortable place for me. That was probably the hardest thing, just leaving the level of comfort that my family and I had here, just in terms of the organization, the city, having basically developed a second extended family, people down here. That’s probably the hardest thing outside of the business. Ultimately, it came down to what made sense for the next few years of my career from a business standpoint.” New Orleans Times-Picayune

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, David West 

“You know I think in terms of Indiana, it’s kind of where I thought we could be, sitting third in the East with a deep, talented group,” said West. “We’ve just kind of been plugging away and keep plugging away at it. “I’ve had some conversations with Monty in terms of just the situation has kind of transpired here. It’s just unfortunate. It’s hard to go through that rebuilding. Like I’ve said before, at this point in my career, I just couldn’t go through that. It’s just difficult. But they’re a better team than what their record indicates, that’s what we in this locker room believe.” New Orleans Times-Picayune

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, David West 

For starters, the New Orleans Hornets hardly resemble the franchise for which West was a two-time All-Star. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, West made the decision to depart -- the ninth-year pro saw an opportunity to play with an up-and-coming team as opposed to sticking around for a rebuilding project. "I don't have any hard feelings," West said. "I enjoyed my time in New Orleans. It's one of the most unique places to live in the United States. I definitely enjoyed that. "But it just got to a point, especially with what was going on with the team -- and it didn't just start, it was kind of a domino effect, certain things happening over the last few years -- it just made that situation way too unstable for what I needed at this point in my career." Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Trade, David West 

David West didn't leave the Hornets on bad terms. He just knew it was time for a different start. "It's one of the most unique places to live in the United States," West told reporters. "I definitely enjoyed that. But it just got to a point, especially with what was going on with the team -- and it didn't just start, it was kind of a domino effect, certain things happening over the last few years -- it just made that situation way too unstable for what I needed at this point in my career." Sulia

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Trade, David West 

When asked if he can see himself finishing his career with the Pacers, West doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I think so,” West said. “This was the best opportunity for me. It gave me the chance to have a good time playing this game again and not have to deal with some of the outside issues that we were dealing with in New Orleans.” HoopsWorld

Indiana Pacers, David West 

The Indiana Pacers are currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and they have an excellent résumé at the quarter mark of the season. Indiana has impressive road wins against the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics among others, and they have yet to lose two games in a row. After five straight losing seasons, the Pacers have assembled a very talented team that is capable of making a deep playoff run if all goes as planned. Who deserves the most credit for Indiana’s success? If you ask the players, they’ll say David West. “David is the reason why we’re so high in the standings right now,” Darren Collison told HOOPSWORLD. “He means a lot to this team. He’s been good for us on the offensive end, defensive end and off the court. He has been really positive for our team in all aspects.” HoopsWorld

Indiana Pacers, David West 

The Pacers handed the Bulls their first home loss of the season and gained a measure of revenge for their first-round playoff loss last spring. Including the 2011 postseason series, Indiana hadn’t won at Chicago since March 22, 2008, a stretch that included nine- straight defeats. “I don’t think we did anything outside the box,” David West, who just signed with the Pacers last month, told RealGM on Friday night. “I thought we handled the game the right way, finished it the right way. Obviously you share the locker room area, so maybe he heard some guys come in happy after winning a game. One of the hardest things to do is just to win a game in the NBA. We were able to get one; it didn’t mean any more or less than any other game this season.” RealGM

Indiana Pacers, David West 

David West: Ron Paul makes sense... Twitter

Indiana Pacers, David West