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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 

Allen, quoted in an ESPN.com story as criticizing West’s decision to sign with the Pacers as a free agent instead of holding on for a deal that would have landed him with the Celtics, said last night that he has since made peace with West through a financial adviser both men share. Allen added that though he attempted to recruit West, his comments questioning the forward’s motivation were misconstrued. “Unfortunately those comments were taken out of context,” said the C’s guard before last night’s 87-74 loss to the Pacers at the Garden. “I was speaking in general. I didn’t know what his situation was, or why he made his decision. I wasn’t referring to him going for the money. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, Ray Allen, David West 

“When the article came out, it disappointed me because it seemed like I was bashing him for making a decision that he thought was best for his family. I reached out to my guy and said, look, I read this article, and I even saw it on NBA TV, and I was really (upset) because I don’t have anything against David. It wasn’t like he was the final straw to the piece of this puzzle. It was if this situation could work, we should try it. “In that conversation with that particular reporter, we were talking about how contractually when guys are signing, because I went through the same process,” said Allen. “Do you sign for more money or do you sign for less? Sometimes you go after the money and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you go with a better team that’s championship material. Those comments were made to look like I was driving them toward him, but there was no malice.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, Ray Allen, David West 

Pacers forward David West, in town for Friday night's game against the Celtics, faced the Boston media for the first time to answer questions about why he chose to sign with Indiana over a sign-and-trade deal that would have landed him in the Hub. "I just felt like [Indiana] was the best opportunity for me right now, in terms of their team and where I was in terms of my career," West said after the morning shootaround. "The fact that they really were the main team that came after me in terms of free agency, that played a big part in it for me." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, David West 

An unrestricted free agent, West was deciding between a two-year, $20 million deal with the Pacers and a three-year, $29 million contract with the Celtics. From West's point of view, the Celtics' interest in him was "more media than actual substance. I found out just like everybody else did on TV that I was close to signing." So did the Celtics ever come to his agent and formally make an offer? "Yeah, there were discussions," West said. "But like I said, I just don't think, in terms of the seriousness of what was going on, people didn't know honestly what was out there for me." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, David West 

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he "had no problem with" David West's decision to reject a Celtics’ offer to sign a free agent contract with Indiana. “He had two good decisions," Rivers said before practice Thursday. "He could look at us as a team trying to win it right now and Indiana in the thick of it and they’re growing. To me it was a win-win situation, a good place to be.” Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, Doc Rivers, David West 

Pacers president Larry Bird made Frank Vogel his coach and carefully chose his assistants to complement a young voice. But ultimately the guidance, the policing, works its way inside out. For everything free-agent forward David West has brought to the Pacers – a classic, refined presence – he’s declared his loud, bold arrival in the most subtle of ways: performance over promise, correction over criticism, a raised eyebrow over a harsh word. “I don’t tolerate a lot of ignorance, and I think guys are starting to figure that out,” West said. “I’m not a preachy guy, but I just try to represent something different in terms of who I am.” Yahoo! Sports

Indiana Pacers, Larry Bird, David West, Frank Vogel 

“He does a lot of one-on-one mentoring, and does it every day,” Vogel said. “Just his presence – guys are going to think twice before they handle themselves the wrong way. Big brother is there. He’s a good observer; he knows what the right chemistry feels like. He knows when guys need hugs, when guys need a kick in the butt.” Yahoo! Sports

Indiana Pacers, David West 

SLAM: Getting back to basketball, I really liked the moves that the team made during the offseason like picking up George Hill around the Draft and signing David West. How do you feel about the moves the team made? Roy Hibbert: The team is, we are extremely young, we’re talented and we added some pieces, some veteran pieces like you said. David West, an experienced low post player whose pick and pop game is excellent. We acquired Lou Amundson from Golden State and he’s a hustle guy who can actually score in the paint and has really good moves that he hasn’t been able to show. George Hill is obviously long, athletic 2 guard who can play the 1. Plus, with this long lockout and the season starting late I think a lot of these older teams will be a step slower so if we can get out the gate and win those first couple games and just use our youth, we’ll be able to stay a step ahead of everybody else. SLAM

Indiana Pacers, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, David West 

Because of salary cap restraints, the Celtics could not offer a two-year deal. They were required to acquire West in a sign-and-trade, which means the contract had to be a minimum of three years. In what team and league sources described as a creative but complicated package, the Celtics were prepared to offer West a four-year contract with a buyout that, in the end, amounted to three years and $29 million. In other words, the average of their offer was just under $10 million (about $9.6 million). ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, David West 

Count veteran Ray Allen among those who can't believe West chose Indiana over Boston with such a slim difference in compensation. "I'm shocked," Allen said. "I don't understand it." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, David West 

The 31-year-old West was determined to prove that he could overcome his setback, and he didn't think twice about opting out of the final year of his contract with New Orleans. "I never doubted myself," West said during his introductory news conference Tuesday at Conseco Fieldhouse. "If I felt like I couldn't get myself back, I would have been honest about that. I knew my recovery was going to be up to me: how focused I was on it and how much I concentrated on it." Indianapolis Star

New Orleans Hornets, Free Agency, David West 

Indiana Pacers fans will likely have to wait until next week to see newly acquired power forward David West make his debut. Pacers coach Frank Vogel said today that West likely won’t play against the Chicago Bulls at Conseco Fieldhouse on Friday. “It’s only because the game will just be days after he signed with our team,” Vogel said. “He’s still learning the system and he’s got to improve his conditioning because he was holding himself back some since he was a free agent.” Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, Free Agency, David West, Frank Vogel 

The Indiana Pacers agreed on a two-year, $20 million deal with free-agent forward David West, a source close to the situation told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. The Hornets had been in discussions to send West to Boston in a sign-and-trade deal but NBA.com reported Sunday that those talks ended, which opened the door for Indiana to land West. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Trade, David West 

Adrian Wojnarowski: To be accurate, Boston had a sign-and-trade with New Orleans for David West ready to do. West wanted more money annually, took Pacers offer. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Trade, David West 

Mike Wells: David West's agent: "David looks at the Pacers as a good young team with lot of potential." Twitter

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, David West 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Celtics simply couldn't make 3 way deal with Hornets and Jermaine O'Neal contract. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Jermaine O'Neal, David West 

Adrian Wojnarowski: David West has agreed to a 2 year, $20 million deal with Pacers, league source tells Y. Twitter

Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Free Agency, David West