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Pacers just moved to 5-4 after a good win @ Boston. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game and the team as a whole:

-Paul George is playing ridiculous. He's bringing it every night and has the chance to be a legit MVP candidate if he keeps it up. Here is his line for the past 5 games: 29.4ppg, 9.4rpg, 4.4 apg, 48 fg%, 44% from three, 7.6 FTAs. He had a 9-point stretch after halftime that allowed us to take over the game. It was beautiful basketball on his part. He did get another technical tonight for overreacting on a so-so foul. I've been critical of his emotional intelligence on/off the court...hopefully he can improve in this area. I always hated D-West's constant whining/barking at officials and I hope PG will chill out on that.

-I'm sure people will disagree, but I think Monta is one of the best passers I've seen in a Pacers uniform. He's not putting up crazy assist numbers, but all the passes I see from him are right on the money...especially in pick n rolls and when he's driving to the hoop. He had some pretty feeds to Jordan hill all night. I feel like we haven't seen much of his elite ability to finish at the rim, but I'm hoping he can fill that role for us.

-Jordan Hill has been dogged on quite a bit, but overall I'm happy with this acquisition. He is working hard out there, getting tough boards, and getting back on D. Love the 1 yr contract because I think he's out to prove himself. His offense will be streaky, but he definitely has shown post moves unlike Ian or Lavoy.

-Frank Vogel is off to a great start so far. He's adapting on the fly and we've seen improvement each game on both sides of the ball.

-This team is fun to watch. I like how we're pushing the tempo after rebounds and getting easy buckets/looks on the run. There were times over the last couple years that I honestly couldn't stomach our team. I would get so angry at Hibbert killing the offense and D-West being late on defense. The teamwork with that group just fell apart after the all star break in 2014 and it never recovered. This team seems willing to share the ball and make the extra pass. I'm impressed with how the Pacers are moving the rock and hopefully this continues.

-Hopefully Myles thumb injury isn't too serious and he's ready to come back by December. This will be a good time to see what we have in Christmas or Whittington. Nothing new on Stuckeys timetable for a return but I hope he doesn't rush back.

-This is a playoff squad. Its hard for me to tell where we'll finish, but I don't really care what seed we get. I just want to see us keep improving and have the chance at a 7 game series with the Cavs. PG vs Lebron is always a fun playoff matchup.

One more thing. Boston wisely used the Hack-a-Mahimni strategy and I don't see why any team wouldn't. Watching Ian shoot free throws is like chewing tinfoil. Really can't stand having a a sub 50% ft shooter in the starting lineup. Wish Myles could step into the starting 5 role sooner, his ft shooting is a major plus at that size.

After we beat the Celts here they were complaining on there board about "I can't believe we got beat by the Pacers."

Now they are all saying "Damn PG is a monster, we need a guy like that!"

Cool I think we're gonna be ok this year.

ThirtyOne wrote:One more thing. Boston wisely used the Hack-a-Mahimni strategy and I don't see why any team wouldn't. Watching Ian shoot free throws is like chewing tinfoil. Really can't stand having a a sub 50% ft shooter in the starting lineup. Wish Myles could step into the starting 5 role sooner, his ft shooting is a major plus at that size.

It's really odd to me that he's that bad at FTs since he's shown he can hit a midrange jumper. He can't do it consistently, but the form is there, it's not like he's Deandre Jordan. As much as I'd like to see Myles start, I'm fine with Ian. He doesn't need touches on offense, generally sets good screens, is a good leader, and is our best defender down low right now. If Myles starts, he won't be getting near as many looks as he does with the second unit.

I'm still not fine with Bud getting as much time as he is though. He's played better the past few games, but offers little outside of his shooting when it's on. I'm over the fact that Solo isn't getting minutes and is done (don't like it, but whatever), but I won't ever be over the fact that we traded Rudez for Bud and Rudez shot better as a rookie. Rudez's shortcomings (rebounding, defense, etc.) are the same ones Bud has and he has the height to actually defend 4s.

I don't think Rudez has played a minute for Minn.

And Budinger would play just as much for Minnesota if he was there. They have their vets in KG, Martin, and Prince who will play and help the young guys. Outside of that, older players don't matter to a team rebuilding like them. They also have a ton of PFs so Dieng or Payne will be in line to get minutes before Rudez.

They did that trade for one reason and that was for saving money.

pacers33granger wrote: I won't ever be over the fact that we traded Rudez for Bud and Rudez shot better as a rookie. Rudez's shortcomings (rebounding, defense, etc.) are the same ones Bud has and he has the height to actually defend 4s.

There's many things to not like about the Budinger acquistion, but losing Rudez isn't one of them. Rudez only had one non-shortcoming in his game. He could shoot from 3. Otherwise, he was a complete liability in every other aspect of the game. He was historically one of the worst rebounders to ever play the 2, 3, or 4 positions in the NBA. He's an awful defender. Even if he is taller, he cannot in any way defend a 4, whereas Budinger, or better yet CJ Miles, can actually provide some semblance of opposition there. I would've liked to have acquired something like a 2nd rounder for eating the additional salary on Budinger, but otherwise, I'm more than fine with the swap for Rudez.

Scoot McGroot wrote:

pacers33granger wrote: I won't ever be over the fact that we traded Rudez for Bud and Rudez shot better as a rookie. Rudez's shortcomings (rebounding, defense, etc.) are the same ones Bud has and he has the height to actually defend 4s.

There's many things to not like about the Budinger acquistion, but losing Rudez isn't one of them. Rudez only had one non-shortcoming in his game. He could shoot from 3. Otherwise, he was a complete liability in every other aspect of the game. He was historically one of the worst rebounders to ever play the 2, 3, or 4 positions in the NBA. He's an awful defender. Even if he is taller, he cannot in any way defend a 4, whereas Budinger, or better yet CJ Miles, can actually provide some semblance of opposition there. I would've liked to have acquired something like a 2nd rounder for eating the additional salary on Budinger, but otherwise, I'm more than fine with the swap for Rudez.

I haven't seen Budinger offer anything further than occasional shooting so far either though. Sure Bud is a better rebounder, passer, etc. but he still is poor at those himself anyways.

And Bud's defense has been just as bad, if not worse. So far opponents are shooting an average of 8.7% higher on shots than usual when he guards them and 18% higher on shots less than 6 feet. Rudez's opponents shot 1.8% better than usual and 12% better less than 6 feet. Tracking shows that opponents shoot better at all types of shots against Bud, while opponents at least saw a slight dip in 3 pt% against Rudez.

I'd really just rather have the better shooting Rudez displayed (59 TS% last year as a rookie adjusting to the NBA, which is 4% higher than Bud's best shooting year) over the marginal upgrades Bud offers in areas we don't really need him for.