Monday, April 28, 2014

Hawks humble Pacers

The Pacers lost to the visiting Atlanta Hawks 107-97 Monday night and now trail the Hawks 3-2 in their best of seven first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. Game 6 will be in Atlanta at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Forethoughts
So it's all come down to this. A season that began with such high hopes back when preseason started in October, and continued on through basically the first 50 or 60 games, is all on the line.
C.J. Watson was one of the bright spots
for the Pacers Monday with 15 points.
The Pacers need to do something they haven't done much of lately and that's win two straight to continue on to the next round. This loss, well, it's kind of a what can you say, but yet there's a lot to say too. Just how can one of the best defensive teams in the league fall behind by 30 points,to the Atlanta Hawks of all people, on their homecourt. There were some offensive teams the Pacers played throughout the season, the Clippers, Thunder, Blazers and even the Suns, for example, that can light it up against anybody. The Hawks, though? It's hard to say what was worse in the second quarter: The Pacers lack of ability to adjust defensively after Mike Scott hit his first couple of 3-pointers or the Pacers lack of desire to keep playing hard in the midst of his barrage. To be a little fair here, the last time Scott hit more than three 3-pointers in a game was Feb. 22 against the Knicks when he hit 6 of 7. And in the Hawks last 27 regular season games, he hit more than two 3-pointers in a game just once. So you know, sure, you have to pay a little attention to him, but you don't build your defense around trying to stop him either. But clearly, once he hit a couple, the Pacers should have made the adjustment to not let him just stand there and shoot. He's not Paul Millsap, who can take a player off the dribble. All he can do is just stand there and shoot. It's not that complicated of a defensive adjustment to make. Give the Hawks a little credit too. If something is working, you keep doing it until the other team stops it. That's just basic philosophy for any competition. So, yes, to see that happen was discouraging in all kinds of ways. For the last couple of months, we've sometimes thought, and sometimes heard, that the Pacers have time to get their early season attitude back. Well, time has run out. It's now or never on Thursday, and if they get through that, then on Saturday, too.
The Big Plays
Scott had 17 points hitting five 3-pointers in the second quarter and then too, there was former Butler star Shelvin Mack, who scored 13 points and had four assists in the quarter. In all, the Hawks won the second quarter 41-19.
The Ups
1) OK, I'll be the optimist here just for a second. The fact the Pacers were down 30 and cut the gap to nine at one point when there was still time and hope, maybe that bodes well for Thursday night. The fact that they didn't give up was at least something to hold on to. Not much. But something.
2) At least this wasn't a best of five first-round series like it used to be.
The Downs
1) Of course, defending the 3-pointer was the issue here. The Hawks hit an astounding 15 of 27 from 3-point land and were 18 of 39 from two-point range. Not hard math to do here on where the defense needs concentrate more on stoppoing.
2) It would have been hard to imagine at this time last year that Pacers center Roy Hibbert would be rendered nearly useless in a playoff series. But zero points, zero rebounds, one blocked shot and four fouls in 12 plus minutes Thursday pretty much says it all.
Next Up
Thursday will be the ultimate test for the Pacers on many levels. Will they have the desire and also mental stability to win an elimination game on the road? If a Mike Scott type situation happens again, will the coaching staff be quick to adjust, or just hope he starts missing? As former NBA star and former announcer Bill Walton used to say, "these are the playoffs!" It's not time to stand around and watch and hope things go your way. It's time to go impose your will on the other team. That's really the Pacers only choice and only chance Thursday.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Pacers don't get mad, they just get even

The visiting Pacers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 91-88 Saturday to pull even in their best of seven first-round playoff series at two games apiece. Game 5 will be at 8 p.m. Monday at Banker's Life Fieldhouse on NBATV.
Forethoughts
Well, yes, as everyone pretty much knows, this was a must win game for the Pacers. If they had lost this one, coming back from a 3-1 deficit would have been difficult. Now, the series is at 2-2, same as it was last year. This series is reminding me a bit of the Pacers first-round series in the 2000 playoffs, the year they went to the finals. That was back when the first-round series were just five games and the Pacers and Bucks each won a game on the road, just like what has happened this year. You may remember it took a key shot from Travis Best for the Pacers to win that series. And that looks like that will be what it's going to take to win this series, someone making big shots late in the game. And that's what happened Saturday afternoon. The best part about this game, aside from the win of course, was the competitive spirit of the team. The Pacers were far from perfect, but they they stayed with this game and responded when they were down 10 points in the third quarter to take the lead, then down six points midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead. So, now they have momentum on their side and are coming home for the key Game 5. The big question now is can they keep the momentum and win two games in a row for just the second time in the last 20 games. And by the way, that Pacers team in 2000 also had a regular season record of 56-26, just like this one. It's hard to predict whether this team will make the finals or not. Just how they play Monday night at home may go a long way toward answering that question.
The Big Plays
David West had 18 points in this Saturday's win and also played
some key late defense on the Hawks' Paul Millsap.
Well, they are pretty simple here. There was George Hill's 3-pointer from the corner cut the Hawks lead to to with 4:37 to go, then Paul George's three-pointer from wing put the Pacers up 86-85 with 2:11 to go, and then maybe biggest of all, David West's 3-pointer that gave the Pacers am 89-85 lead with 1:33 to go.
The Ups
1) Welcome back to the offense George Hill. With all of Roy Hibbert's struggles, the fact that Hill had been almost a non-factor on offense recently had been forgotten. It's important for Hill to be at least a threat on offense in this series because if it makes Hawks point guard Jeff Teague do at least a little work on defense, maybe Teague won't be quite as effective on offense. Hill finished with 15 points and five assists in this one, hitting two key 3-pointers and also pushing the pace on occasion, including hitting a late layup for the Pacers final points in this one. It was good to see Hill be aggressive on the offensive end and he had just one turnover on the day, too.
2) I've said all along David West is the most clutch player on this team. And West stepping back and calmly hitting that late 3-pointer was just another example of that. While he did finish with 18 points, what was just as important in this win was his defense on Paul Millsap in the fourth quarter. Millsap killed the Pacers all day and finished with 29 points. He did it mostly with bigger guys Roy Hibbert and Ian Mahinmi trying to check him. But with West on him in the last 6:53 of the fourth quarter, he was 0 for 1 from the floor with one turnover. West's late defense may have been as big of a factor as anything in this win.
3) The bench played a key role here, too. Yes, there was Evan Turner's 11 points in a reserve role and C.J. Watson played some key minutes with six points and also solid defense on Teague. But what I'm talking about here is the bench players being emotionally involved in this game throughout. Winning playoff games on the road, those are the kind of things that can bring a team together. It was especially good to see Hibbert leading cheers off the bench, too, instead of being upset about not being in the game.
4) Finally, about Hibbert. No he wasn't great in this game with six points and two rebounds, but he was involved throughout and he did have two blocked shots to lead a defense that had 11 blocked shots in this game. It was good to see the defense have active hands in this game, and generally being annoying to the Hawks shooters. That's what good defense does and it was nice to see for once from the Pacers, who held the Hawks to 35.7 percent shooting.
The Downs
1) OK, about those late game free throws. It would have been much easier to breath in the final seconds if West and Paul George had not each missed two free throws in the closing seconds. Hopefully, they will come through if given that chance again.
2) I'm not sure what game the referees were watching, but sometimes it wasn't this one. The call here didn't really favor one team, but they were equally bad at times. There was a foul they called on the Hawks' Pero Antic where he appeared to barely if at all touch West on a left-wing drive. Then there was a play where the Pacers had the rebound in hand and then the whistle blew to call a foul on the Pacers after the Hawks had yelled at the officials. It certainly looked like they let the players call that foul. Then, the double technical against the Hawks' Mike Scott and the Pacers' George Hill was unnecessary and I think it was only called to make the officials look like they were doing their job, which didn't do very well in this game.
Next Up
It will be interesting to see what adjustments each team makes for Game 5. The Hawks offense is to pretty much have Teague penetrate and dish or let Millsap try to take one the Pacers' big men off the dribble. The Pacers can't assume they can just come home and win without playing another solid game. The key here will be see if they have learned that they can't relax against the Hawks.

Friday, April 25, 2014

The Pacers problem . . . it's complicated

It's just hard to know what to make of the Pacers these days. One game, like their Game 2 win over Atlanta in the playoffs Tuesday, and you think, hey they've got that early season juice going again. The next game, like Thursday's 98-85 loss in Atlanta, it looks like they've forgotten to how to shoot the basketball.
Oddly enough Thursday was one of those games where the Pacers were not actually playing that bad for the much of the night. They were holding Atlanta to under 40 percent shooting. The Hawks were getting no second shots and really it was the kind of ugly looking defensive game the Pacers have excelled at more often that not in the past couple of seasons.
Why Roy Hibbert has lost his ability
 to put the ball in the basket is a mystery
 the Pacers would love to solve . . . right now.
It's not unusual to hear coaches say that when a team shoots the ball well, it can cover up a lot of other shortcomings. It was kind of opposite for the Pacers Thursday. Consider at halftime, even though they were down a point, they had held the Hawks to 30 percent shooting, had outrebounded them by six and had seven turnovers, which is actually not that bad of a number for the Pacers. The problem was, they had shot just 37 percent themselves, and no matter how poorly the other team shoots, it's still hard to win games when that happens. Part of the issue too with the Pacers is that they had open shots, and in the case of center Roy Hibbert, point-blank open shots from within five-feet of the basket, but couldn't make them. They were shooting like they were afraid to miss shots instead of shooting to make them. When that happens, you often get the result of 30-something percent shooting.
Speaking of Hibbert
Pacers coach Frank Vogel is loyal to his players, and really, that's a good trait for a coach to have (we'll have more on Vogel later). Generally, veteran players in the late 20s and early 30s will do what they have always done and when you're trying to coach a team you want to know what you have. The bad news for the Pacers right now is they know what they have in Hibbert and it's not good. I've long been a Hibbert fan and it's been enjoyable to watch him progress over the years. It's been just as painful to watch the obvious regression the past couple of months. He's shooting just 28 percent and averaging 4.7 rebounds in these first three playoff games. And worse yet, he's got zero blocked shots in those games. Yes, Atlanta is spreading the floor and pulling Hibbert out of the lane on defense, but still, zero blocks, that's not what the Pacers are paying him for. Just what happened with Hibbert is hard to say. Maybe it's combination of things. Maybe he gained a little too much muscle  this offseason and he doesn't have the type of quickness he needs to react on defense. Hibbert's never been super quick, but he's been quick enough the past couple of seasons.
Then, too, there's the offensive offense issue. His lack of foot quickness may have caught up to him there as well. A big key to being a good shooter on offense, no matter the position, is footwork, and it's rare to see Hibbert on balance when he takes a shot. The big guys do get those little nudges and subtle shoves that aren't called for fouls and can throw their shot off a bit. But that alone isn't causing 28 percent. The big question now is whether Vogel will start Hibbert in Saturday's game or not. Hibbert certainly doesn't deserve to start with his recent performance. Some say Vogel will lose Hibbert if he doesn't start him. Well, as Bob Dylan once wrote, if you ain't got nothing, you got nothing lose. So no one, not even Hibbert, could blame Vogel for not starting him. However, I think Vogel should start Hibbert on the off chance that Hibbert is at least a factor on offense. Give him the first six or eight minutes and if it's no different than the first three games, then there's no obligation to put him back in.
Speaking of Vogel
A lot of people are saying this is a do or die type of playoffs for Vogel. I'm not going to sit here and say he is perfect by any stretch. I mean when your team can't put the ball in the basket and you've got a guy like Chris Copeland not getting off the bench, you have to wonder. But nonetheless, there are some other things to consider here.
First, Vogel was dealt a significant challenge at midseason when the Pacers acquired Andrew Bynum. It's hard to know if Bynum has played good citizen or not while with the Pacers, But when you bring a such a strong personality like that, who was told not to comeback by his old team, the Cavaliers, the red flag has to go up. Bynum has won a title and made plenty of money, so you do have wonder what his motivation is other than money. While that's speculation, his history suggests him fitting in with what was a tight knit group would be a challenge.
Then, too, Vogel was dealt another challenge with the trade of Danny Granger for Evan Turner. Living in the Philadelphia area, no Sixers fan I have talked to was sorry to see Turner go. It's not that Granger was turning into his former self on the court, he wasn't and he hasn't been for the Clippers either. But the whole combination of bringing in Bynum to what was a supposedly strong lockerroom, and then subtracting one of the strongest character guys from that lockerroom and bringing in Turner maybe that was all just too much. What we do know for sure is that it was all too much to deal with in quick fashion. And no matter what Vogel's future is, team President and Indiana legend Larry Bird has to take some of the blame too. There's no question that Bird made the moves with the pure desire to win. Sometimes these things work and sometimes they don't and unless there's a turnaround in the coming weeks, Bird will have to be responsible for a big part of this too.
So now what?
It's not over yet
In the midst of all this so-called speculation and chaos, if the Pacers go out and win in Saturday afternoon's game in Atlanta, then win at home, things will be better at least for now. And really, it's not a reach at all for that to happen. They just can't stand around though and wait for someone else to do something. Even in this last loss, Luis Scola and Lance Stephenson showed there were ready to at least be active and not afraid to get on the floor for a loose ball. Maybe the rest of the team will join in too. Maybe not.
As the great Don Cannon says, there's three kinds of people in this world: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who don't know what's happenin'.
If the Pacers pick that middle choice, they'll join most of the rest of the NBA teams in that final category.
It's not too late.
But as Dylan also once wrote, it's not dark yet, but it's getting there.
It remains to be seen if the light can come back on for the Pacers.





Thursday, April 24, 2014

Festivus atmosphere good thing for Pacers

Sure, there is the perception that a team that has fighting among its members is a bad thing. Afterall, it just doesn't fit our Disney-fied image of what a team should be: All members pulling together in the same direction all the time with zero conflict.
But as if often the case with the perfect life Disney ideology we are fed over-and-over-and-over again, it's just not reality. The recent reports of Pacers guards Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner getting into an actual fistfight may or may not be true. But, let's just hope they are at least somewhat true and here's why.
Pacers guard Lance Stephenson has reportedly been a part
of a couple of confrontations with teammates recently,
but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
If one guy doesn't like another on a team (and you know this does happen in the real world) it doesn't mean they can't get along between the lines. However, if one guy is always questioning the other's motivations and they are each wondering what the other is thinking without the airing of grievances (yes, like the Festivus episode on Seinfield), that's when the cancer spreads in a team atmosphere. Even if Turner and Stephenson, or any of the other players on the team, have it out, whether it be verbally or physically, and even if they agree to disagree, then they can finally move on and get on with the business at hand of trying to win playoff games.
There was some speculation that in the Pacers Game 2 win over Atlanta Tuesday night that Stephenson and Turner didn't play many minutes together because of what had occurred between them. However, it was just common sense by coach Frank Vogel to put smaller quick guards C.J. Watson and George Hill in the game together when the Hawks had their smaller quicker guards Jeff Teague and Lou Williams in at the same time.
And it doesn't make good sense to holding all that anger, frustration, etc., in. That does no one any good, especially the person who is holding it in. It can often cause that person to think about himself more than others, focusing on the negative feelings instead of just getting it out and moving on.
There has been a lot of speculation in recent days that the arguments, and possible fights etc., are a sign that the Pacers are coming apart at the wrong time. I say it's a sign that they are coming together at just the right time.
Which one of us is right will likely be determined in the coming days.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Don't assume Hawks will be an easy exit

It's long been assumed, since the first couple of weeks of the NBA season back in November, that the Pacers and Heat will meet in the Eastern Conference finals in late May or early June to decide which team goes to the NBA Finals.
The Heat are two-time defending NBA Champions and many consider them the favorite simply because they have almost all of their players back from the past two seasons. And well, you get the benefit of the doubt until you are knocked off the top of the hill.
The Pacers have also been considered as the team with the best chance to knock the Heat off of their throne and helped their cause by winning the the No. 1 seed with a 56-26 mark. The Pacers have pretty much been built to beat the Heat by playing a more deliberate style to keep Miami from getting out and running.
And yes, it's still a high probability that we will see a Pacers-Heat matchup in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. But it's not just a mere formality that they have to face two opponents first.
So, yes, first things first.
The Pacers play the Hawks, as pretty much all of you know. While Atlanta finished at just 38-44 in the regular season, it did win seven of its last 11 games.
The Pacers need to control Hawks guard Jeff Teague in this playoff series.
As for the regular season, the Hawks have given Pacers some fits, including in their final regular season meeting at Banker's Life Fieldhouse, where the Hawks won 107-88. The main defensive issue for the Pacers is keeping Jeff Teague out of the lane with some regularity. Now, normally that's not that big of a deal with Pacers center Roy Hibbert usually waiting there to help out and the Pacers are accustomed to making the proper defensive rotations in that situation.
However, Hawks center Pero Antic loves to float around on the outside on offense, pulling Hibbert out of the lane. So, that means other players have to help out in the middle, which then leaves some of the Hawks sharpshooters open from 3-point land. And consider this, the Hawks had nine players hit 56 or more 3-pointers this season.
Those bombers were led by Kyle Korver who shot an NBA best 47 percent from long range and while hitting 185 3-pointers. He was followed by DeMarre Carroll at 97 3-pointers made, guard Lou Williams with 79, forward Paul Millsap with 76, Teague with 74, power forward Mike Scott and reserve point guard Shelvin Mack each with 62 and Antic and Cartier Martin each with 56.
So, yes, the Hawks aren't afraid to launch from downtown, but here's the good news. Aside from Korver, they aren't exactly lethal from the outside. Their next two best shooters from there are Martin at 38 percent and Carroll at 36 percent.
But what having all of these shooters (even if they are not necessarily all makers) on the court, is that it forces the defense to spread itself out and allow the talented Millsap to go one-on-one with his variety of inside moves.
So, yes, it's true the Hawks are a threat from the outside and yes, it's true they are all capable of being hot for a game or two. But in the playoffs, the better defensive team, which the Pacers are, generally figure out a way to effectively defend an opponent, even if it takes the first part of the first game to get the exact defensive system for that opponent figured out.
Part of the good news for the Pacers is that the Hawks are not exactly a defensive stalwart type of team. They allowed 101.5 points per game during the regular season good for 15th in the league. They also allowed opponents to shoot 46.5 percent from the field, which was 21st in the league and they were ranked 24th in the league in overall rebounding.
So, the big "if" here, will be for the Pacers to run their offense in a normal fashion because the Hawks have shown they have difficulty guarding a team for the full 24 seconds. Which brings us to the next point here: It's vital that the Pacers actually do make the right plays on offense because if they are lulled into a one-on-one type of game, it can put the defense a bad position to get back and cover those outside shooters, mainly Korver.
In games the Pacers shot 50 percent or better during the regular season, they were 14-1, with that one loss coming in a road loss to Phoenix. To shoot 50 percent from the field in the playoffs is difficult, but the main thing here will be to make the right passes on offense, as opposed to going one-on-one regularly, so the defense will not be put in a bad position.
Are there going to be some situations where a one-on-one play will be necessary, or even needed? Well, yes, that's going to happen from time-to-time in the NBA playoffs. It just can't be an almost every possession occurrence.
But in the end, the Pacers will have to lean on their defense. They were No. 1 in the league in field goal percentage allowed at 42 percent, No. 1 in defensive rebounding, No. 2 in points allowed per game at 92.3 and No. 4 in 3-point percentage allowed at 34.5 percent.
That should be the difference in this series with the Pacers winning by a 4-2 margin, just like they did last year against Atlanta.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

This win changes everything for Pacers

The Pacers defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 102-97 Sunday afternoon. The Pacers are now 55-26 while the Thunder are 58-22. The Pacers are one half game ahead of the Heat for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with one game left to play. The Pacers do hold the tiebreaker against the Heat because of a better record in the conference. The Heat play at Washington Monday night and play host to Philadelphia Wednesday night. If the Heat lose at Washington, their game against Philadelphia and the Pacers Wednesday game at Orlando will be meaningless.
Forethoughts
Lance Stephenson had his fifth triple-double of the season
in the Pacers' victory over the Thunder Sunday.
It's all different now. It's hard to dial up a better scenario for a team that had been struggling, still fighting for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, with the playoffs less than a week away. In any way shape or form, the Pacers needed a win over a good team in these final regular season days. Maybe the good news in this one, too, besides the obvious fact of the win, is that the Pacers were far from perfect yet still made key plays at key times to pull this one out. The Pacers reached 100 points or more for just the third time in 16 games. Their ball movement was the best it has been in quite sometime, even though it did lead to some turnovers that I'm sure were tough for everyone to watch. But it's true, as coach Frank Vogel said, that the turnovers were at least a sign the Pacers were trying to move the ball and that's certainly better than watching someone go one-on-one almost every time down the court. But maybe the best news in all of this, is that no matter what happened on the offensive end, is that the Pacers didn't let that influence how they played defense. And especially how they played defense against one of the better offensive teams in the league. To steal a line from the movie "Field of Dreams" this game reminded us of what once was good and that it can be again.
Big Plays
Well, where to start here? First, with the game tied at 89-89, Paul George came off a screen and hit a wide open 3-pointer to give the Pacers the lead for good with 2:09 left. He doesn't have to hit every shot he takes, but he has to hit those if the Pacers can entertain any kind of championship hopes. Then, you had David West make a key switch on the defensive end, and make a perfectly clean block on a Kevin Durant 3-point attempt when the Pacers were up 94-91. And finally, too, there was Lance Stephenson, with the shot clock running down on the possession after the West block. hitting a 3-pointer to put the Pacers up 97-91 with 34.2 seconds remaining. All necessary late plays to win this game.
The Ups
1) We'll start with C.J. Watson. During the Pacers' recent doldrums, one of the questions asked was if them missing the backup point guard for a stretch of 17 of 18 games before he returned against Milwaukee Wednesday was really that big of a deal. Well, it was hard to say for sure that it was, but it's hard to imagine the Pacers winning this game without Watson. He scored 20 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers, and also had another traditional 3-point play. Yes, there was the obvious lift he gave them simply based on numbers, but the emotional boost that came with those 3-pointers also played a significant role in the outcome of this one. In an odd sort of way, the Pacers might not have been sure what they were missing with Watson when he couldn't play due to a bad hamstring. But they certainly know what they have now that he is healthy and available again.
2) Next you've got Lance Stephenson in this one with his league leading fifth triple-double of the year with 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The good thing here is that the game was so close that whether he was going to get a triple-double or not didn't really matter. Maybe the best sign of all in this game was that after he hit his key 3-pointer, Stephenson ran back down the court and gave Vogel a low five. When Stephenson is having a fun and showing some confidence like that, he makes the Pacers a very difficult team to beat.
3) Let's not forget about David West in this game, too. West, along with having that key block, was efficient on offense, hitting 9 of 11 shots for 21 points. And maybe his biggest two points came on free throws with 8.3 seconds left that gave the Pacers a four-point lead. I've always said West is the Pacers best clutch player and it was no surprise to see him hit those free throws.
4) And finally, there was the bench frontcourt play of Luis Scola and Ian Mahinmi who combined for 21 points. With starting center Roy Hibbert struggling on offense, Mahinmi gave the Pacers 11 important points from the center position, hitting all four of his shots and adding five rebounds. Also, Scola continued his recent strong play with 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting and his ability to play productive extended minutes also helps keep West stretch for the later stages of the game.
The Downs
1) Well, yes, it seems a bit of miracle here that the Pacers beat such a good team with zero points from Hibbert, who was 0 for 9 from the field. It's clear the Pacers will need to get something from Hibbert on the offensive end in the playoffs if they want to reach the finals. I do give Hibbert's teammates credit for throwing the ball down to him when he had good post position. It was the right play to make, whether he made the shots or not, and making the right plays is still really important for this team if it wants to take steps forward.
2) Well, yes, about those turnovers. The Pacers had 23 of them and it's also amazing that they beat the Thunder with that many giveaways. However, the Pacers did shoot 53 percent, so here's the question you have to ask: Do you want the Pacers team that tries to move the ball around on offense and has a high turnover rate and high shooting percentage? Or do you want the team that stands around on offense and struggles to shoot 40 percent, but fewer turnovers? Well, the best answer is to move the ball without the turnovers, but make note of this, too: When an NBA team shoots 50 percent from the field, it almost never loses. So, for now, just live with the turnovers.
Next Up
The Pacers final regular season game before the playoffs which will begin for them either Saturday or Sunday, will be at Orlando in a 7 p.m. game. The Magic are (23-56) and play at Chicago on Monday. Orlando is led by Arron Afflalo at 18.2 points, Tobias Harris at 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds, Nikola Vucevic at 14.2 points and 11 rebounds, former Indiana University star Victor Oladipo at 14 points and point guard Jameer Nelson at 12 points and seven assists. If the Pacers need this game to reach the No. 1 seed, it's not going to be easy for them. The Magic are playing their final game of the season in front of their fans and they will want to leave their fans and themselves with a good ending to what has been a rebuilding season.  The Pacers defeated 97-87 in Orland on Oct. 29, Orlando 88-79 at Indiana on Feb. 3 and 93-92 at Orlando Feb. 9. None of those games were easy wins by any stretch.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Heat cast more doubt on Pacers

The visiting Pacers lost to the Miami Heat 98-86 Friday night. The Pacers are now 54-26 while the Heat are 54-25. The win for the Heat gives them a one half game lead in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Forethoughts
Well, that was a disappointment. The Pacers looked like they were ready to make this a down to the wire type of game in the first half, but the Heat used a big early second half run to take control of this one. Maybe the Pacers starters need more rest. While it wasn't a bad idea by Coach Frank Vogel to not play them against Milwaukee, it still wasn't enough to snap the team out of its late season doldrums. In the early part of the second half, it looked as if the Heat defense knew exactly where the Pacers were going to pass the ball. And when the Heat get turnovers and LeBron James gets going toward the basket, it's a foul or an easy basket for Miami. Had Miami been playing well as of late, maybe this loss wouldn't have been so disturbing. But the Heat had lost three of their last four and were without one of their stars in Dwyane Wade in this one. So. what looked to be a break for the Pacers just confirmed that this team still is at least a little broken. Roy Hibbert (more on him later) and George Hill were virtually non-existent in the offense and that's not good against a team like the Heat. The fact that Hill did not even have a shot attempt is just one symptom of the predictability of the offense, at least against the Heat anyway. It also is a sign of the lack of scoring from inside, which didn't allow Hill to have any open looks. So, barring a miracle win against the Thunder Sunday, it looks like the Pacers will have the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And if that happens, they won't have achieved one of their stated goals this season of earning the top spot in the event they need to play a seventh game at home against Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. But there still is some doubt if this version of the Pacers can even get to the Eastern Conference finals. And now, you have to wonder, if the Pacers need to win a seventh game on the road against the Heat, do they really believe they can? That's the biggest question of all.
Big Plays
This looked to be a competitive game for the first half, but the Heat went on a 20-2 run to start the second half to build a 65-44 lead and that was it. The Pacers did make a spirited 13-0 run to cut the deficit to nine early in the fourth quarter, but the Heat responded with an 8-0 run of their own.
The Ups
1) I thought the first half, the Pacers played with some confidence and shot the ball well and looked like they had a good plan against the Heat. Yes, the turnovers were an issue, but the Pacers were getting open shots and hitting as they shot 51 percent in the first half.
Paul George finished with 22 points, five rebounds
and five assists in Friday's loss to the Heat.
2) Don't blame Luis Scola for the Pacers recent struggles. After starting and playing well in Milwaukee Wednesday night, he came off the bench and played well again with 12 points and five rebounds. And if the Pacers aren't going to look at all to Hibbert on offense, you have to wonder if they are struggling to score in a playoff game if Vogel will go with Scola and West as his two big men on occasion. It may depend on matchups too, but if Scola continues to play well it's an idea that has to be considered.
The Downs
1) The Pacers need to get something, anything, from Roy Hibbert when they play the Heat. He went without a rebound and without a field goal attempt in the first half of this one, with just a free throw to show. The Heat put the shorter Udonis Haslem on him for much of the night, and it's a matchup where the Pacers should have had a clear advantage but did not. Hibbert's first field goal attempt didn't come until early in the second half and it was a miss. And then Hibbert's one rebound of the game came at the 2:20 mark of the fourth quarter, so at least he didn't get shutout in his 33 minutes of action.
2) The turnovers were an issue here again. The Pacers had 10 in the first half, and some of those were just careless and more than likely cost them the lead. Then they had four more in the third quarter which contributed to the game getting out of hand.
3) OK, three more stats to look at at here: 1) The Heat outscored the Pacers in the paint 44-26, had more second chance points at 16-5 and more fastbreak points at 18-7. The first two numbers are disconcerting because the Pacers have the size advantage up front and the Heat are the worst rebounding team in the league. Just not good signs folks, not good at all.
Next Up
The Pacers return home and play the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. game. The Thunder are pretty much guaranteed the second best record in the West and in the league behind the Spurs as they are 58-21. The Thunder are led by league MVP candidate (and yes, he would get my vote) Kevin Durant at 32 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. They also have Russell Westbrook at 21.7 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds, Serge Ibaka at 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds, Reggie Jackson at 13.3 points and 4.1 assists and Caron Butler at 9.8 points. The Thunder won the first meeting of the season 118-94.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Reserves answer the call in Milwaukee

The visiting Pacers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 104-102 Wednesday night. The Pacers improved to 54-25 while the Bucks fell to 14-64 to almost guarantee them the worst record in the league. The Pacers are now also one half game ahead of the Miami Heat for the best record in the East.
Forethoughts
Whether they would have won or lost Wednesday, I loved the fact that Pacers coach Frank Vogel gave the starters a night off for a lot of reasons. First, there was the simple matter of coming into Milwaukee and feeling the pressure of having to win against the league's worst team if the starters had played. Instead, the bench players would have the chance to seize an opportunity knowing they would be playing significant minutes. Second, sure the coach talked about the physical fatigue the starters may have, but lets not forget about the mental fatigue as well. Just not having to think about playing allowed them to let their guard down a little and is a good mental break for the team. And yes lastly, it gave the bench players a chance to get some confidence and also allowed Vogel to see how those players responded to certain situations. Because, there will likely be a playoff game where at some point one of those players, whether it be Evan Turner, Luis Scola or C.J. Watson will need to play a key role.
The Big Plays
Luis Scola had 24 points and nine rebounds
in Wednesday's win over the Bucks.
Well this one was easy as Chris Copeland capped an almost perfect shooting night for him by hitting the winning shot with 1.2 seconds left. And it was just as good to see the reaction of the regulars afterwards.
The Ups
1) We understand that one of the reasons the Bucks have the worst record in the league is that they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. But the Pacers shot 48 percent from the field for the game, including hitting 11 of 24 from 3-point range. It was nice to see some decent offense for once.
2) The Pacers brought in Chris Copeland during the offseason to provide some offense and he certainly did that Wednesday night, hitting 7 of 8 from the field, including four of five from 3-point land to finish with 18 points. It was good to see somebody shoot the ball with confidence, like he knew the shot was going in as soon as it left his hand, as compared to standing there and hoping it would go in.
3) For the Pacers to win this game they needed good games from Evan Turner and Luis Scola, the two most skilled players on the bench (not including the injured Andrew Bynum) and they did deliver. Turner finished with 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and is also beginning to look more comfortable from behind the 3-point line as he hit three of four in this game. Then there is Scola, who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds and had his usual good energy throughout the game.
4) And lastly here, Donald Sloan may have had eight points and eight assists, but the best number for the point guard came in the turnover category with a zero.
The Downs
1) One player who didn't excel with the extra minutes was Rasual Butler, who hit just 3 of 14 shots from the field, including just 2 of 10 from 3-point range. But remember, too, that Butler's contribution to this team is far deeper than what the numbers in the box score show.
Next Up
The Pacers travel to Miami to play the Heat in a 7:30 p.m. game that will likely decide who gets the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference race. The Heat are 53-25 after losing at Memphis Wednesday night. The Pacers and Heat each have won at home, with the Pacers having a 2-1 series lead this season. Whoever wins this game will likely be the top seed in the East. The Heat are of course led by LeBron James at 27 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists. They also have Dwyane Wade at 19.2 points, Chris Bosh at 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds and Mario Chalmers at 9.8 points and 4.9 assists and Ray Allen at 9.6 points. The Heat have had their struggles recently, too, going 1-3 in their last four games.


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Pacers running out of time to regain form

The Pacers suffered what was their most embarrassing defeat of the season, 107-88 to the visiting Atlanta Hawks Sunday night. The Pacers are now 53-25 while the Hawks are 34-42. The Pacers are now a full game behind Miami for the top seed in the East and two games behind in the loss column.
Forethoughts
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than losses on the road to Washington and Cleveland last week, well it got worse, a lot worse in this one. The Pacers scored a franchise low 23 points in the first half. For most of the last month and a half, it was easy to use excuses such as the Pacers are waiting on the playoffs to start, or that they are going through one of those tough stretches that any NBA team goes through from time to time during the 82-game season. But this is serious now. It's no longer safe to think the Pacers will have time to right their ship in a couple of early round playoff series. The question they and Pacers fans have to ask now is if they can even win a series. That's how bad it has become. The Pacers have now won just two of their last seven games. It's hard to say where this all started. Was with the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, who was so much of a cancer in Cleveland that they basically told him don't come around here no more? Was it with the departure of Danny Granger, who while certainly not the player he used to be, was still highly respected by his peers and may have had the right words to squelch such play before it became this much of a problem? Was it Evan Turner coming over from a win-challenged Philadelphia team being so accustomed to not doing the little things right and getting away with it that some of the others followed? Was it coach Frank Vogel having too much patience and being too much of a Mr. Positive guy when things started to go a little bad? Maybe it's a little bit of all those things. The big question now is if the Pacers can get it fixed. The answer is, nobody really knows and that's a scary thought with the playoffs less than two weeks away.
The Big Plays
How about these: The Hawks were up 9-0 and then 17-3. Their lead was never under double digits after that.
The Ups
The Pacers' Roy Hibbert did not have a point or rebound Sunday.
1) I thought Vogel taking out the starters at the six minute mark when they had worked the deficit to 17-3 was a move that has been in some ways long overdue. It was without question a risk because a coach doing that at the professional level may well be in danger of losing his team's respect. But at this point it was a risk Vogel had to take. The lack of attention to detail and the knack for not getting to loose balls first has been going on way too long. Hopefully it will get the attention of all the Pacers. Whether it works or not, who knows? But Vogel had to try something.
The Downs
1) The first one here is obvious and easy. The 23 points in the first half included 20 percent shooting and just one assist in the half. Sure, there were a few easy missed shots. But there was a lot more one-on-one play, too.
2) I've long been a Roy Hibbert fan, but the zero points and zero rebounds in nine minutes, that speaks for itself.  Hibbert didn't play in the second half and Vogel said it was because the center needed rest. Something tells me that was just part of the truth, but just the guys inside the locker room know that for sure. The fact that Hibbert declined comment after the game was also disappointing.
Next Up
The schedule maker can't do the Pacers any better favor than it did in
this one with a game at Milwaukee at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Bucks have the worst record in the league at 14-63. The Pacers defeated the Bucks 110-100 on Feb. 22, 101-96 on Feb. 27 and 104-77 on Nov. 15, back when the Pacers used to blowout bad teams. The Bucks are led by Brandon Knight at 17.5 points and 4.9 assists, Ramon Sessions at 12 points a game, Khris Middleton at 11.8 points, O.J. Mayo at 11.7 points, Ersan Illyasova at 11.2 points, John Henson at 11 points and 7.2 rebounds and Jeff Adrien at 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds in 23 games for the Bucks.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Pacers finally find their way in win

The Pacers defeated the visiting Detroit Pistons Wednesday night 101-94. The Pacers are now 53-23 while the Pistons are 27-48. The Pacers are now 34-5 at home after breaking a three-game losing streak overall.
Forethoughts
It's just hard to tell how much this game means in terms of playing better because the Pistons have been rising on the tank-meter (losing to get a better draft pick) lately. However, with the way Pacers had been playing, losing three straight and five of six and shooting below 40 percent from the field in six straight games, just getting a win by any means is positive step. The hopes here were that if the Pacers had really turned the corner, they would at some point take control of this game and pull away in the second half and go on to an easy victory. That didn't happen here, but at least a loss didn't happen either and for the moment that's the most important thing.
Big Plays
There were some stretches in this one where we saw the Pacers of pre-all-star break form, sharing the ball, and finding the open man, especially late in the second half when Lance Stephenson led a key run to get the Pacers into the lead. The big shot though was about a 35-footer by Paul George with just over three minutes left that gave the Pacers a four-point lead. The only reason he shot the ball was because the shot clock and mistakenly not reset and he thought the Pacers were in danger of a violation. But these days, who's complaining.
The Ups
Paul George had 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists
as the Pacers broke a three-game losing streak.
1) We always like to say that basketball is a team game and that not too much should fall on one player. But if the Pacers want to go far in the playoffs, and by that I mean beat the Heat, they're going to need a confident Paul George. They got that in this game with George scoring 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting, grabbing 13 rebounds and handing out seven assists. The Pacers are capable of winning when George has an off night, but their chances are much better when George is assertive like he was in this one.
2) We don't know when or if Andrew Bynum will play again, but Ian Mahinmi filled the reserve center role quite nicely in this game. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks and gave the Pacers a nice boost when Roy Hibbert went down with an injury after a hard fall to the floor in the second quarter.
3) After topping out at 84 points in the previous six games, including not reaching 80 in five of those, the Pacers seemed to remember how to shot and pass in this one. I thought maybe the scoreboard didn't reach triple digits any longer. But in this game, the offensive spacing was better, players cut to the basket on occasion, and the screens were more crisp than they have been in recent games. The spacing here is especially important because in the NBA players are taller and more athletic than at any other level. So, if the offense is bunched even a little too much, the defense has the ability to recover. The result was the Pacers shot just under 50 percent from the floor in this one at 39 of 79 from the field.
The Downs
1) While things were better in this game, it's also important to remember the Pistons came into this one not playing well at all. I can't help but think that earlier in the season the Pacers would have won a game against this kind of of team by 20-plus points. So, while it's OK to feel good about a win, to come out and say all of the problems the team has had in the last month plus are suddenly fixed is not true either. There were still errant post passes and there were still times the defense gave up the baseline and there were still times when the Pistons were beating the Pacers to loose balls. So yes, still plenty to work on, but at least they can do after a victory for once.
Next Up
The Pacers visit the Toronto Raptors in a 7 p.m. game Friday. The Raptors are 43-3) and are fighting for the fourth best record in the East as they aretied with the Bulls after Wednesday night's games
. The Raptors started the season a slowly, but have played well since trading Rudy Gay. The Pacers defeated the Raptors 91-84 in Indianapolis back on Nov. 8, lost to the Raptors in Toronto 92-85 on Jan. 1 and then defeated the Raptors back in Indianapolis 86-79 on Jan. 7. The Raptors are led by DeMar DeRozan at 22.7 points, Kyle Lowry at 17.4 points and 7.6 assists, Terrence Ross at 10.8 points, Amir Johnson at 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, Jonas Valanciunas at 10.7 points and 8.6 rebounds and Patrick Patterson at 9.5 points.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Spurs remind Pacers of who they were

The Pacers lost to the visiting San Antonio Spurs 103-77 Monday night. The Pacers are now 52-23
while the Spurs are 58-16. The Pacers are now one game behind in the loss column to the Miami Heat for the top spot in the East. It's the first time the Pacers have not held the top spot this season having lost five of their last six.
Forethoughts
Pacers center Roy Hibbert had 15 points
in Monday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
This may sound crazy and all, but it was really the perfect time to the play the Spurs, right now the hottest team in the league after extending their franchise record winning streak to 18 games. But here's why it was best to play them now. If the Pacers had come home and played a bad team, and played just OK and won by 8 or 10 points, then it would give the false sense of security that everything is fine and they can just continue on throughout the end of the regular season. But the Spurs, well,  if you have a weakness they will find it and expose it. And that they did Monday night. Some of the things were quite obvious. Like, when the led-footed Boris Diaw drove the lane from the wing and four Pacers just stood there and watched as he got a layup. Diaw is still a decent player, but Tony Parker he is not. Then, too, the Spurs often sent cutters to the basket that were found for layups. Remember when the Pacers used to do that? On the offensive end, there was actually some improvement in areas, but still the Pacers team that relied on movement and cutting to the basket and only one-on-one situations when the shot clock was running down was still pretty much missing. So, yes, the Pacers have a lot of problems now. It's like they've forgotten who they were in the first half of the season. The Spurs were a good reminder of who the Pacers once were and hopefully can become again.
The Big Plays
The Pacers were within 17-15 early on, and then the Spurs went on a 17-0 run through the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter and that was pretty much it. The Pacers did get the Spurs lead down to seven late in the third quarter, but there was never a serious threat to over throw the reigning Western Conference champions.
The Ups
1) The one thing I did like in this game was a concerted effort the Pacers made to get the ball into Roy Hibbert on offense. Hibbert wasn't great by any measure, 5 of 13 from the field for 15 points. But in terms of getting ready for the playoffs, it's the offensive commitment the Pacers need to make. We can't forget too that Hibbert is a good passer, so not only will that help Hibbert get more comfortable and find his rhythm around the basket, it may also breed movement away from the ball, something the Pacers have done very little of in the last month plus.
The Downs
1) There's all kind of reasons to like David West, and I still do, but he seems either a bit tired or just is kind of running through the motions. Those screens at the top of the key aren't nearly as crisp as they used to be. Sure, some of it is on the guard who is handling the ball to make better use of the that screen, but the defenses see it coming now and there's been no adjustment, or shall we say commitment, to do what has worked for much of the season.
2) The other big issue that popped up in this game was allowing offensive rebounds. The Spurs had 15 of them in this game. On several occasions the Pacers initial defense was solid, but you can only give up so many of those before it becomes a bit disheartening. The Pacers were kind of in that "I thought you had it" mode, instead of the "I'll get it" mode. Never a good mindset to have with the playoffs quickly approaching.
Next Up
The Pacers play again Wednesday when the play host to the Detroit Pistons in a 7 p.m. game. The Pistons are 26-47 and most recently became known as the team to stop the Philadelphia 76ers 26-game losing streak Saturday night, losing to the Sixers in Philadelphia. The Pacers rallied from 25 down to defeat the Pistons 112-104 in overtime back on March 15. The Pacers defeated the Pistons 99-91 back on Nov. 5 and then lost to the Pistons in Indianapolis 101-96 on Dec. 16. The Pistons are led by Josh Smith at 16.2 points and 7 rebounds, Brandon Jennings at 15.7 points and 7.7 assists, Greg Monroe at 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, Rodney Stuckey at 13.4 points, Andre Drummond at 13 points and 12.7 rebounds and Kyle Singler at 9.4 points.