Game 77: Indiana Pacers (37-39) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (48-27) - 6:00 PM ET

[ducler]

[Cresy06]

Bad stretch to start the 4th quarter...but I like what Lance is adding to this team again, another ballhandler and some attitude on defense!
But why is Aaron Brooks still playing, he just gets abused on defense every single night, opposing teams just go at him every time...especially tonight, after the way the Cavs attacked him in the first half, I'm sorry but you can't put him back in, they are just waiting on it

[euphorbus]

Heck of a battle. Now in 2OT. Too bad Paul George missed one of the free throws.

[Pacersike]

Awesome game and Paul George was pretty awesome too.

Let's hope this game will put some sense into PG, that even if he was playing great, he still has ways to go to finish a crucial game on the road. His supporting cast ain't ready to contend, but because of the importance of this game for the Pacers playoffs chances, it is safe to say, Paul George isn't ready to contend either. This game was more crucial for the Pacers than for the Cavs, but still they and PG lost the game.

[CobraCommander]

Paul George was like a man possessed. He did everything he could...look at his +/- and then check the rest of the team. PG13 need some help like Lebron got...

[Jake0890]

Paul George is insane.

[+2number4+]

Paul George is insane.

He has that ability to be in that zone exclusive for some very few elite players.

[Pacers_Freak]

Awesome game and Paul George was pretty awesome too.

Let's hope this game will put some sense into PG, that even if he was playing great, he still has ways to go to finish a crucial game on the road. His supporting cast ain't ready to contend, but because of the importance of this game for the Pacers playoffs chances, it is safe to say, Paul George isn't ready to contend either. This game was more crucial for the Pacers than for the Cavs, but still they and PG lost the game.

Dude you obviously didn't watch the game. PG laid it all on the line. Like another poster mentioned the Pacers were +17 when he was on the floor.

[Pacersike]

Awesome game and Paul George was pretty awesome too.

Let's hope this game will put some sense into PG, that even if he was playing great, he still has ways to go to finish a crucial game on the road. His supporting cast ain't ready to contend, but because of the importance of this game for the Pacers playoffs chances, it is safe to say, Paul George isn't ready to contend either. This game was more crucial for the Pacers than for the Cavs, but still they and PG lost the game.

Dude you obviously didn't watch the game. PG laid it all on the line. Like another poster mentioned the Pacers were +17 when he was on the floor.

Paul George was great, but he wasn't great enough.

I did watch the game and I saw PG hitting important buckets but those crucial moments, where he could give the Pacers a 4 point lead with about 15 seconds to go or when he was taking free throws with 2 seconds to go to give the Pacers the lead, he choked.

The sooner PG realizes that he isn't ready to be the MVP, the sooner he will get less frustrated with the lack of help he is getting and the bigger the chance he will re-sign, patiently waiting for Turner to develop and waiting for some better bench players who might accidently be signed, while he gets mentally tougher.

What is your reasoning for the Pacers to have such a poor away record? Do you think it is impossible that it has something to do with the leader of the team not being mentally tough enough? Last night again, I did not see a player confident enough to seal the game. There are much better opportunities than with 2 seconds left to let your free throw rim out.

Sure, one day he might become confident enough, but all the signs I have absorbed, from body language to simple stats, he just doesn't seem like a guy who enjoys being in an hostile environment and prefers more friendly environments. Does Lebron really have to be his buddy? I'm not asking for the opposite or some hate between the two of them, but this Lebron dude has been standing in his way to true stardom for how many years now? You can't kill the King by hugging him. It says a lot about Paul that he needs a Lance type of player next to him, to make him think a little bit like this is a war going on, no buddy meets buddy on the playground.

ps There is a great Pacers forum out there, where your posts would get many thanks if you defend Indiana heroes when criticized.
I could give you the link if you did not know about it yet, but I left that place because that place has a bunch of Indiana hero defenders.

I am not the type of person who wants to dance around the obvious and embrace it. I want to investigate the underlying problems, which aren't so obvious. I want to investigate what is wrong with our defense when it is great (Hibbert Pacers). Trust me, that is hard to do when 90% of Pacer fans think Hibbert should get DPOY, while Hibbert's flaws stay beneath surface because the Pacers defense back then was among the league best.

So I'm asking you polite, please respect my opinion and leave the dudes or out of it in the future.
I want to point out the things that I think make PG not great enough to win a title with. My life isn't a big sunshine road.
I know I can be harsh in my judgements, but know that that might have something to do with how miserable my own life is
I bash Paul George and others because I need it, not because they deserve it.

I believe you need to accept that, because I don't see us agreeing upon how great Paul George really is.

[Pacers_Freak]

Awesome game and Paul George was pretty awesome too.

Let's hope this game will put some sense into PG, that even if he was playing great, he still has ways to go to finish a crucial game on the road. His supporting cast ain't ready to contend, but because of the importance of this game for the Pacers playoffs chances, it is safe to say, Paul George isn't ready to contend either. This game was more crucial for the Pacers than for the Cavs, but still they and PG lost the game.

Dude you obviously didn't watch the game. PG laid it all on the line. Like another poster mentioned the Pacers were +17 when he was on the floor.

Paul George was great, but he wasn't great enough.

I did watch the game and I saw PG hitting important buckets but those crucial moments, where he could give the Pacers a 4 point lead with about 15 seconds to go or when he was taking free throws with 2 seconds to go to give the Pacers the lead, he choked.

The sooner PG realizes that he isn't ready to be the MVP, the sooner he will get less frustrated with the lack of help he is getting and the bigger the chance he will re-sign, patiently waiting for Turner to develop and waiting for some better bench players who might accidently be signed, while he gets mentally tougher.

What is your reasoning for the Pacers to have such a poor away record? Do you think it is impossible that it has something to do with the leader of the team not being mentally tough enough? Last night again, I did not see a player confident enough to seal the game. There are much better opportunities than with 2 seconds left to let your free throw rim out.

Sure, one day he might become confident enough, but all the signs I have absorbed, from body language to simple stats, he just doesn't seem like a guy who enjoys being in an hostile environment and prefers more friendly environments. Does Lebron really have to be his buddy? I'm not asking for the opposite or some hate between the two of them, but this Lebron dude has been standing in his way to true stardom for how many years now? You can't kill the King by hugging him. It says a lot about Paul that he needs a Lance type of player next to him, to make him think a little bit like this is a war going on, no buddy meets buddy on the playground.

ps There is a great Pacers forum out there, where your posts would get many thanks if you defend Indiana heroes when criticized.
I could give you the link if you did not know about it yet, but I left that place because that place has a bunch of Indiana hero defenders.

I am not the type of person who wants to dance around the obvious and embrace it. I want to investigate the underlying problems, which aren't so obvious. I want to investigate what is wrong with our defense when it is great (Hibbert Pacers). Trust me, that is hard to do when 90% of Pacer fans think Hibbert should get DPOY, while Hibbert's flaws stay beneath surface because the Pacers defense back then was among the league best.

So I'm asking you polite, please respect my opinion and leave the dudes or out of it in the future.
I want to point out the things that I think make PG not great enough to win a title with. My life isn't a big sunshine road.
I know I can be harsh in my judgements, but know that that might have something to do with how miserable my own life is
I bash Paul George and others because I need it, not because they deserve it.

I believe you need to accept that, because I don't see us agreeing upon how great Paul George really is.

I apologize for the dude. Wasn't meant as disrespectful. More of how you would talk to a buddy. I respectful disagree with your stance on PG. I think there have many times to bash him throughout the year. He has certainly been in funks along the way. He has been beaten on multiple backdoor cuts this year etc. I just disagree that yesterday was a day to bash him. He shot 50% from the field with the best player in the world guarding him on his way to 43 points. If he is not on the court we lose by who knows how many and he almost won the damn game himself. I apologize if you took my post disrespectful... not my intention.... just respectfully disagree.

[Pacersike]

I apologize for the dude. Wasn't meant as disrespectful. More of how you would talk to a buddy. I respectful disagree with your stance on PG. I think there have many times to bash him throughout the year. He has certainly been in funks along the way. He has been beaten on multiple backdoor cuts this year etc. I just disagree that yesterday was a day to bash him. He shot 50% from the field with the best player in the world guarding him on his way to 43 points. If he is not on the court we lose by who knows how many and he almost won the damn game himself. I apologize if you took my post disrespectful... not my intention.... just respectfully disagree.

It's not so much about disrespect, but this is what I do. When Paul George has a near perfect game, I focus more on why it wasn't perfect, than celebrating the awesome performance he just had. Nobody can change that, so any attempt to have me change my mind, is not going to result to anything. That is what I would like you to understand.

I know, it is a quiet place here and we are all here for discussions but I rather not have the same conversation again.
But do you know the other Pacers forum? There is a lot of discussion going on right there and if you are not emotional indifferent about Pacer icons like me, it is a great place to hang out when it's quiet here.

[Jake0890]

Paul George is insane.

He has that ability to be in that zone exclusive for some very few elite players.

Agree. The amount of hate he's gotten since the Pacers have fallen from grace is ridiculous. There are very few people on the planet that can put on a show like he just did. That was one of the best games of his career. Going tit for tat with LeBron James is hard to do and the fact that we lost it is devastating.

The fact that we may lose him at the end of his contract makes me sick.

[Pacers_Freak]

Paul George is insane.

He has that ability to be in that zone exclusive for some very few elite players.

Agree. The amount of hate he's gotten since the Pacers have fallen from grace is ridiculous. There are very few people on the planet that can put on a show like he just did. That was one of the best games of his career. Going tit for tat with LeBron James is hard to do and the fact that we lost it is devastating.

The fact that we may lose him at the end of his contract makes me sick.

Root for that all NBA team. Then we can offer the mega deal. That would be really hard to turn down.

[basketballwacko2]

PG is one guy. We have no one else on the team that makes a great effort. I thought teague had a good game, thad young was ok, and turner did his part but wasn't that effective offensively. No body on this team wants to rebound! We got killed on the boards which is a nightly theme. They give up and roll over. This game was a little better they didn't roll over and die in the 4th it took the Cavs 2 Ot's to win it. But we're playing the Raptors again.