Mark Montieth: This May in Indy is more special than ever

May is the best month of the year in the neck of the world where it brings warm weather. The ancient Romans thought so, at least. They celebrated its arrival with Floralia, a festival for fertility, and why not? It’s the month when the sun warms up to its task, which perks up and paints plant life, which in turn shifts the public’s mood from gray to blue.

Our local sports world follows suit. No other month has captured a greater share of the city’s best memories. Take away May sporting events and we would be, what? Peoria, maybe?

That’s especially true now. So much is going on this month that it would be remiss not to stop and smell the roses, or whatever else might be fertile. In fact, the overall local sporting landscape has never been this lush.

◗ The Pacers, having won a playoff series for the first time since 2014, are immersed in a second-round best-of-seven set with their favorite postseason nemesis, the New York Knicks. There’s already a book’s worth of postseason history between these two teams, and the games on Monday and Wednesday added more agonizing but memorable chapters. Reggie Miller proved a lot can happen in just 8.9 seconds when these two teams get together, so an entire series of games has unlimited potential for drama.

◗ The Fever have drafted the most significant player in the history of women’s college basketball, Caitlin Clark. Famous for her long-range bombing missions but equally adept as a passer, she fills arenas like a rock star. The Fever will play 36 of their 40 regular-season games on national television because of Clark. The city has never had an impactful rookie of this magnitude in any sport.

◗ The Indianapolis Indians have a rookie sensation as well. Had, actually. Pitcher Paul Skenes, the first overall pick in last year’s Major League Baseball draft, was living up to both his billing and his $9.2 million signing bonus. But it’s too late to catch him unless he returns to Indianapolis on a rehab assignment. The Indians’ Major League affiliate, Pittsburgh, called him up late Wednesday afternoon.

Skenes is regarded as the best pitching prospect of the past 15 years and has played like it. In 27 1/3 innings with the Indians, he had a 0.99 earned run average with 45 strikeouts while allowing just 17 hits and eight walks.

He was scheduled to pitch for the Indians in Louisville on Saturday but instead will pitch for the Pirates against the Chicago Cubs. If you caught him with the Indians, it might turn out to be like seeing a legendary actor in a community theatre production, pre-fame – something to tell your kids about someday.

◗ The Colts begin their minicamp for rookies on Friday, featuring their latest haul of draft picks. Some of them won’t make it, some will and maybe a few will become major contributors to a team that brings back all 22 starters from last season. At the very least, they offer hope.

So does returning quarterback Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He played in just four games last season before a shoulder injury forced him out. He’s barely more than a rookie himself but showed enough glimpses of stardom to justify optimism.

◗ Oh, yeah. There will be a car race on the 26th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s a pretty big deal as well.

Does a city deserve this many rays of hope? The Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton), Fever (Clark), Colts (Richardson) and Indians (Skenes) all have or had budding stars and all but Skenes likely will be playing here for years to come. The Pacers, in fact, have a collection of young talent that if kept together as much as the salary cap and luxury tax regulations permit, offers long-term promise evolving before our very eyes. The first two losses in New York are merely part of the long-term process.

The Pacers skipped a step by eliminating Milwaukee in the opening round of the playoffs. Usually when a team has been out of the playoffs a few years, it rejoins the postseason with baby steps. Following their drought in the ’80s, the Pacers had four consecutive first-round exits in the early ’90s before breaking through and making those runs. While rebuilding following their trip to the NBA Finals in 2000, they endured three consecutive first-round exits before reaching the conference finals in 2004. After another retool following conference finals appearances in 2013 and 2014, they suffered through five consecutive first-round exits, then three postseason absences.

Now they look like a team to be taken seriously. Fact is, no matter what happens in the series with the Knicks, the Pacers are ahead of schedule. Their average age is just 25.3 years, and that’s deceiving. Thirty-seven-year-old James Johnson, who is kept around merely to support and advise the young guys, distorts the average upward.

Only 12 teams in the franchise’s 57-season history were younger than this one, and they won an average of 32.1 games. Only one of them, in the 1974-1975 season, finished with a winning record (45-39). This season’s team won 47 games and will play at least into mid-May.

The Pacers have a 90-75 overall record for the month, thanks largely to their ABA teams of the early 70s that won three titles and reached the finals twice more. Tally the franchise’s peak moments, and the vast majority occurred in May, the occasional horrors in the Garden at Madison Square notwithstanding. It’s playoff time, sure, but there are playoff games in April and June as well.

All three ABA titles—in 1970, 1972 and 1973—were clinched in May. Most of the classic individual accomplishments happened then, too.

Roger Brown’s 53-point game in Los Angeles against the Stars in 1970 … Miller scoring eight points in 8.9 seconds in New York in 1995 … Rik Smits’ jumper at the buzzer to beat Orlando in 1995 … Miller’s 3-pointer that forced overtime and led to a victory in New York in 1998 … Miller shoving aside Michael Jordan and hitting a game-winning 3-pointer at Market Square Arena in the next round … they all happened in May.

Travis Best’s 3-pointer to beat Milwaukee in a first-round elimination game in 2000 … Miller banking in a 40-footer to force overtime and dunking to force a second overtime in a first-round loss in New Jersey in 2002 … Roy Hibbert’s block of Carmelo Anthony’s dunk attempt in 2013 … Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron James’ ear in 2014 … triple-doubles by George McGinnis, Mark Jackson, Paul George, Victor Oladipo and Haliburton … all on May days, of course.

The Simon brothers, Mel and Herb, bought the team in May, saving the franchise for the city in 1983 when there was an offer to move it to Sacramento, California. Larry Bird, the most successful coach in the franchise’s NBA history, was hired in May 1997.

Bad things can happen, too. The Pacers had opportunities to clinch championships in 1970 and 1972 on their home court in May but failed. They have been eliminated from the playoffs 13 times in May, bringing sad endings to a season. That’s likely to happen this month as well. This Pacers team, promising as it might be, isn’t ready to win enough games to get to June.

Ah, yes, June. That’s quite another story. The Pacers have played then in only four seasons, excluding the one delayed by a lockout. But the highlights have been rare. Miller had a 25-point fourth quarter against the Knicks on June 1 in 1994, and the Pacers won two home playoff games against the Lakers in 2000, but none of the June playoff series has ended with a victory.

Settle for May. That’s when greater challenges are encountered and players either blossom or wilt. But now the city has a growing collection of young talent that bodes well for year-round success.

It’s a sweet spot. But history proves how quickly those can turn sour. Don’t take it for granted. •

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Montieth, an Indianapolis native, is a longtime newspaper reporter and freelance writer. He is the author of three books: “Passion Play: Coach Gene Keady and the Purdue Boilermakers,” “Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis,” and “Extra Innings: My Life in Baseball,” with former Indianapolis Indians President Max Schumacher.

Editor’s note: This column was updated before publishing to reflect news that happened after the original column went to press, including that Indians pitcher Paul Skenes was called up to Major League Baseball.