Saturday, December 7, 2013

This win may be for the unbelievers

The Pacers improved to 18-2 on the season with a 111-100 win at San Antonio Saturday night. The Spurs fell to 15-4.
The Big Picture
The Pacers dominated this game from the midway through the second quarter on. They trailed by 13 early in the second, but led by four at halftime. The Pacers pulled away with a 35-17 third quarter and built the lead to 26 in the fourth quarter before the Spurs reserves went on a late 15-0 run against the Pacers reserves to make the score look closer than this game really was. The Pacers combined to score 67 points in the second and third quarters.
Paul George had 28 points, including
scoring 11 straight for his team in a
key second quarter run.
The Ups
1) Even with the Pacers hot start to the season, there still seemed to be a bit of skepticism about how good they are. This six-game span, with five games on the road and a home game against the Heat Tuesday would be the real test. Well, so far the Pacers are 3-1 in this stretch. The thing about this game wasn't just the fact that the Pacers won, it's the way they won. completely outplaying the Spurs in all facets of the game for the final two-and-a-half quarters. It was one of the those games that early in the third quarter on, the Pacers seemed to play with a sense of we're going to win this game. Period. No ifs about it. It's hard to believe a 17-2 team would still need to have a statement game, but the Pacers certainly made one tonight. This one, was no doubt, for the unbelievers. Like them or not, any fan with any reasonable knowledge of the game has to respect the fact the Pacers are good. Real good.
2) The Pacers played so well, it's hard to point out just who made the biggest difference individually. Yes, you've got Paul George with his 28 points and back-to-back three-point plays (one a 3-pointer, and one an old school version) that were big momentum builders in the second quarter. You've got David West with his 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists who the Spurs had trouble matching up with. Then you've got Lance Stephenson, while not having crazy numbers at 15 points, four assists and three rebounds, was a legitimate offensive threat. When Stephenson is that for the Pacers, they're pretty much unstoppable on offense because that means when the starters are the court, there's really no one the defense can cheat off of to double team say George or West or center Roy Hibbert. It turns into a pick-your-poison kind of situation for the defense.
3) This may be a bit of simple stat to look at, and sometimes it's overlooked, but free throws can tell us a lot about a game. This Pacers were 26 of 28 from the line, while the Spurs were 5 of 6. Some may say the officiating went the Pacers way, but that's hard to believe in a road game against an established team like the Spurs. What that statistic more likely tells us is that Pacers offense was running smoothly and that they were being more aggressive and driving to the basket more. Yes, a few of the Pacers free throws came late after the outcome was decided, but without a doubt we know who was the quicker team and the Pacers took advantage of that with their accuracy at the line as well.
The Downs
1) About the only negative in this game for the Pacers came in the late stages when the Spurs reserves made it mildly interesting. They Spurs had the ball and a chance to cut the lead to seven with a minute to go when Patty Mills missed a 3-pointer. The lesson here for the reserves, even with the game in hand, is you've still have to be ready to play. It's important because there may be a time later in the season, or as early as Sunday night, that one of those reserves will be needed in a key moment late in the game. So yes, even if you're up by 20 something points in a game you know you are going to win, it still matters how you play.
Afterthoughts
It's understandable if you thought, well, the Pacers haven't won in San Antonio in like forever (Jan. 4, 2002 to be exact), so let's not put too many expectations on this game. But here's the difference for this Pacers team as compared to past years: The expectations are high and they expect a lot of themselves. They expect to go in and win even against the toughest opponents. And when the Pacers go in and win handily on the road against a team like the Spurs, that can only solidify the confidence they already have. It's not OK just to play well anymore. It's all about winning every game because they know they can and that's pretty good feeling to have when you walk on the court.
Next Up
It won't get any easier for the Pacers as they visit the 14-4 Thunder in a 7 p.m. Sunday game in Oklahoma City. It's the final game on a five-game road trip and the Pacers have already won three. In the past, it would have been like, OK, this trip is a success. But the Pacers don't think that way any more. The Thunder are led by their own perennial MVP candidate in Kevin Durant at 28 points per game and Russell Westbrook is back from injury and playing at a very high level again averaging 20 a game. Serge Ibaka is there to hold down the middle for the Thunder at 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. The real key defensively here may be in not letting guys like Reggie Jackson at 11 points per game and Jeremy Lamb averaging nine points, have big nights. And if you're looking for any recent results, the Thunder did lose at Portland by seven points Wednesday, the same place the Pacers lost at by five Sunday. The one notable advantage the Thunder do have is they were off on Saturday night.

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