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VISITING



THE SKINNY



The Pacers haven't had a two-game skid or slump or lull. They've had a two-game DISASTER. The team shot from under 35% and turned the ball over and over and over. The Nuggets lost a tough one against Chicago last night, so the Pacers will either see a fiery or exhausted Denver squad.

THE LINEUPS



Point Guard

The battle of young and old. Chauncey Billups is in season 14, while Darren Collison is in season 2. Collison has been shooting poorly, making only 37% of his shots, a sharp dropoff from his rookie year. He needs to get back and show why this team traded for him by getting his assist to turnover ratio straightened out and his shooting back on track. Also, he has to defend Chauncey Billups.

Shooting Guard

Mike Dunleavy is under 35% shooting thus far in the season. which may be a sign that the shooting guard spot needs some help. He's rebounded well, but Rush or George may be the better option to stop the sharpshooting Arron Afflalo, who, if he keeps his current numbers up, may be able to join the 50-40-90 club.

Small Forward

Danny Granger's average has fallen sharply after getting a favorable start. Against Carmelo Anthony, he needs to defend and attack aggressively to show that he can compete with the best of the all-stars. Carmelo has been on fire to start the season, assassinating teams with 55% from beyond the arc.

Power Forward

Josh McRoberts' hold on the starting job may be loosening. He has a real opportunity to step up and be a key factor in victory against a depleted Nuggets frontline. Shelden Williams has averaged almost a double-double in 24 minutes a game for the Nuggets, but his game is about strength, unlike McRobert's hustle and speed. McRoberts is one of many Pacers players who thrives in a faster tempo.

Center

Roy Hibbert is taking responsibility and a larger leadership role for the Pacers. He has come out strong in the season, and is among the NBA leaders in rebounds (T15th) and leading the league in blocked shots. His scoring percentages haven't been where he would like them to be, but he has changed the way the Pacers play. Nene will try to bully him in the post, so Hibbert's passing skills will be at the forefront of the offense.

THE BENCH







JR Smith has gone to the bench with the emergence of Arron Afflalo, but he is still a scoring threat. Paul George has steadily begun to find his shooting stroke, although his decision-making still needs work, as he defers in bad times. Tyler Hansbrough should be able to match up physically against the former Pacer Al Harrington. TJ Ford did not finish the Milwaukee game, and some would argue that he could have helped the lethargic offense find some life in crunch time.

THE COACHES





George Karl came back from cancer again and is back coaching a very fired up, if banged up, Nuggets team. Jim O'Brien needs to find ways to keep the Pacers from imploding without compromising the strengths of the team.

THE INJURY REPORT



Pacers
Mike Dunleavy - Knee: Probably
Jeff Foster - Ankle: Out

Nuggets
Nene - Groin: Questionable
Chris Anderson - Knee: Out
Kenyon Martin - Knee: Out

THE HEAVY MATTERS



-Take care of the ball.
-Work things inside to get better shots.
-Outrebound the opponent, especially with K-Mart and Birdman riding the pine.

THE TRADITION

Look forward to the return of Brandon Rush.

I still really want a win...

Hibbert looks like he is moving really well. Especially next to Nene, who looks like a quick guy but a lumbering ox at the same time. Like a 15 year-old in a fast car, you know?

Rush looks confident, off to a quick start. Obviously very small sample size but it's good to see, we really need him to be taken seriously this year.

Collison's looked good to start. Denver seems to be getting TO the rim quite easily though, not a lot of resistance, and the Pacers relying too much on long jumpers.

I am loving Rush right now. If he's even half this aggressive and motivated for the rest of the season, he deserves to stay.

tsherkin wrote:Collison's looked good to start. Denver seems to be getting TO the rim quite easily though, not a lot of resistance, and the Pacers relying too much on long jumpers.

Soooo, we're playing standard Pacers basketball?

Stick with what ya know I guess.

Gremz wrote:

tsherkin wrote:Collison's looked good to start. Denver seems to be getting TO the rim quite easily though, not a lot of resistance, and the Pacers relying too much on long jumpers.

Soooo, we're playing standard Pacers basketball?

Stick with what ya know I guess.

Seems very JOB-like, yes. But right now, the shots are falling. Collison's 6-7, Melo's 1-6, Hibbert's 3-5 since missing his first shot, Rush is 4-7... and funnily enough, the 3s aren't falling yet.

MOAR REBOUNDS!

tsherkin wrote:

Gremz wrote:

tsherkin wrote:Collison's looked good to start. Denver seems to be getting TO the rim quite easily though, not a lot of resistance, and the Pacers relying too much on long jumpers.

Soooo, we're playing standard Pacers basketball?

Stick with what ya know I guess.

Seems very JOB-like, yes. But right now, the shots are falling. Collison's 6-7, Melo's 1-6, Hibbert's 3-5 since missing his first shot, Rush is 4-7... and funnily enough, the 3s aren't falling yet.

What I do like the most is the movement of the ball tonight. Apart from a couple of questionable quick shots, it seems as though they're looking hard to get good looks.

Defensively, yeah, we can only last for so long by allowing them to get to the rim so easily.

Hibbert seems to have Nene figured out. Nice turnaround, and nice work on the offensive board before that to get to the line. Looking smooth. His hooks haven't been great, but he's been putting in the work.


EDIT: I'm liking the action that's happening at the elbow every time Hibbert gets the ball. Granger or Rush or Dunleavy or someone is usually curling around a screen to the top of the foul line or just on the left elbow to give Roy a pass option... and just now on his last bucket for his 11th point, he kicked it out to Granger at the FT line and then got a re-post pass and hit the baseline turnaround.

That was some beautiful basketball, classic use of a scoring big. Nice sequence.

Ooh, bail-out. Beautiful drive by Collison. Granger totally failed on that post-up opportunity against Billups. He tried to face-up and then the double game from the top and he was totally screwed. Fortunately, he got the ball back to the point and then into the corner and Collison just accelerated right to the rim for the lay-up.

tsherkin wrote:Hibbert seems to have Nene figured out. Nice turnaround, and nice work on the offensive board before that to get to the line. Looking smooth. His hooks haven't been great, but he's been putting in the work.


EDIT: I'm liking the action that's happening at the elbow every time Hibbert gets the ball. Granger or Rush or Dunleavy or someone is usually curling around a screen to the top of the foul line or just on the left elbow to give Roy a pass option... and just now on his last bucket for his 11th point, he kicked it out to Granger at the FT line and then got a re-post pass and hit the baseline turnaround.

That was some beautiful basketball, classic use of a scoring big. Nice sequence.

From what I've seen, it has taken Roy a little bit of time to get into that "groove" in most of the games so far this season. There are still times when he's a little uneasy with what to do at certain times, but the team is definitely benefiting from his decisions.

In past games when his post/passing game wasn't used, we'd be like headless chickens on offense.

tsherkin wrote:Ooh, bail-out. Beautiful drive by Collison. Granger totally failed on that post-up opportunity against Billups. He tried to face-up and then the double game from the top and he was totally screwed. Fortunately, he got the ball back to the point and then into the corner and Collison just accelerated right to the rim for the lay-up.

Well, we have a lot of practice with "When failing, what should I do?" situations.

Hey, if it works, it works. The defense pressured and the Pacers got a good shot out of it, that's the definition of success on offense.

And yeah, they look way better when Roy touches the ball, even if he doesn't shoot or directly assist. It's like they slip into a sort of structure that seems to make them work more fluidly.

Ahhhh nuts. I wanted us to get to 60 at the half.

I'd have to see what how many points we've given up on silly TOs this season, but overall the defense is a world apart from last year.

Anyone else think Anthony just looks bored?

Lazy turnovers, that's for sure. Melo is not having a good game at all. Billups has looked decent, bailing himself out of a few awkward situations but he's looked solid. The rest of them, though, not so much. Particularly Anthony.

Hansbrough is very good insurance.

tsherkin, what has you being a frequent patron of the Pacers board all of a sudden?

Good game at the moment, the second half they should play same