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Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:09 pm
by Jake0890
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The Indiana Pacers will look to snap a two-game skid when they visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

The Pacers (32-17) have lost 106-103 at Memphis and 132-100 to visiting Golden State since Victor Oladipo went out for the season with a torn quadriceps tendon last Wednesday.

"Right now we're finding ourselves," Thaddeus Young told the Indianapolis Star. "The vibe is just off right now."

The Pacers are 7-6 overall this season without Oladipo and facing Golden State was a tall order with or without him as the Warriors won their 11th straight game.

Now the Pacers begin a four-game road trip consisting of winnable games at Washington, Orlando, Miami and New Orleans as they try to remain within striking distance of Milwaukee and Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

"I think we need some toughness," Darren Collison told the team's website. "What better way to start than on this road trip? Sometimes you can tend to feel sorry for yourself, and that makes the situation worse. Or, you can do something about it. Being on the road in a hostile environment playing against teams that have something to play for, I think this can be good for us."

The Pacers may also be without guard Tyreke Evans for the road trip. Evans missed the game against the Warriors on Monday night due to lower back soreness and didn't participate in Tuesday's practice.

That means Edmond Sumner, who was playing in the Developmental League last week, could be in the starting lineup again for Wednesday's game at Washington.

Sumner, 23, was just 1-for-10 against the Warriors but has impressed the veteran Collison, who has gone head-to-head against Sumner during the preseason and regular season in practice.

"In this league, athleticism drives. Being young drives. Hungry. He has all three," Collison said. "He's hungry for the opportunity. I think people are going to be really impressed with what he can do."

One team who won't be feeling sorry for the banged-up Pacers is the Wizards (21-29), who have been playing without John Wall, Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris, and will be playing the second of back-to-backs.

The Wizards trailed the Cavaliers by 25 points in the fourth quarter before their reserves sparked a furious rally that fell just short in a 116-113 loss Tuesday.

Washington cut the deficit to three points in the final minute and had a chance to tie when they inbounded with 10.8 seconds left but Cedi Osman knocked the ball away from Troy Brown as Brown was attempting a 3-pointer and the Cavs held on despite missing nine fourth quarter free throws

Bradley Beal had 31 points for Washington but was on the bench during the fourth-quarter rally. Reserve Jordan McCrae had 15 points -- including 5-of-5 shooting from the field -- and Trevor Ariza added 13 for the Wizards, who have lost two straight.

"You can't take any team for granted. Everybody is a pro. It doesn't matter if they're the best team, worst team, middle of the pack," Beal told reporters. "You got to respect everybody in the league and we didn't do that."

Wizards center Ian Mahinmi (sprained right thumb) and forward Sam Dekker (back spasms) returned against Cleveland after missing one game apiece.

The Pacers won the teams' first two meetings of the season, both at Indiana in December.

--Field Level Media

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:03 pm
by ducler
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Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 1:31 am
by Wizop
I forgot that Ariza went to UCLA. just sayin'

Sent from my phone.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:01 am
by Scoot McGroot
Sumner is a really active player. Has that quick pass skill like Lance did.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:01 am
by pacers33granger
We're not using Domas the same as early on. Having our guards dribble for 20 seconds while he tries to get position and Doug waits in the corner is absolutely stupid.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:16 am
by Scoot McGroot
pacers33granger wrote:We're not using Domas the same as early on. Having our guards dribble for 20 seconds while he tries to get position and Doug waits in the corner is absolutely stupid.


We're also calling offensive sets that involve everyone standing around and waiting for Joseph to do something. I see what you mean by him dribbling the air out of the ball, but, I certainly don't fault him when it appears our coaches have designed the plays for him to do so.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:20 am
by pacers33granger
Scoot McGroot wrote:
pacers33granger wrote:We're not using Domas the same as early on. Having our guards dribble for 20 seconds while he tries to get position and Doug waits in the corner is absolutely stupid.


We're also calling offensive sets that involve everyone standing around and waiting for Joseph to do something. I see what you mean by him dribbling the air out of the ball, but, I certainly don't fault him when it appears our coaches have designed the plays for him to do so.
Yeah it's a problem with the whole offense when the bench comes in. Its just so weird that we watched it work well with Domas facilitating a bit and much more motion. Maybe it's Nate trying to get him to play a style that will work alongside Myles, or trying to get Doug going (doubtful), or something but its frustrating to watch.

Best guess is too many cooks in the kitchen with every bench player being score first but we should be able to use that to our advantage.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:22 am
by pacers33granger
Also, fouls aside, Sumner has been our best player so far. Which is encouraging on one hand yet very bad on another.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:50 am
by Wizop
Sumner doesn't know the whole playbook yet which limits sets.

bad night all around IU gave up early lead and Butler lost too.

Sent from my phone.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:21 am
by Scoot McGroot
pacers33granger wrote:Also, fouls aside, Sumner has been our best player so far. Which is encouraging on one hand yet very bad on another.


I'd still say Thad, but yeah, I would say Sumner has played very well. He does a lot of little things and the effort is certainly there. The fact he has some talent makes that effort more useful!

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:22 am
by Scoot McGroot
Also, Jeff Green is essentially the kind of player we lack for the team. Or Ariza. Some combo of the two. I like how Green can stretch from a bit of a rangy 3 to a strong 4. It's a nice flexible player to have.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:27 am
by pacers33granger
Scoot McGroot wrote:Also, Jeff Green is essentially the kind of player we lack for the team. Or Ariza. Some combo of the two. I like how Green can stretch from a bit of a rangy 3 to a strong 4. It's a nice flexible player to have.


Yeah, Green could be a good get next summer. Of course, this game is like one of five he has per year and the rest tend to be underwhelming. Which means he'll fit right in with our typical vet signings.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:28 am
by pacers33granger
So no surprise but this team is just deflated right now. Couple that with the fact that Vic also lifts others' games up in general with his leadership and we're going to need something to kick this team into gear or we'll be limping to the 7-8th seed.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:41 am
by basketballwacko2
Scoot McGroot wrote:
pacers33granger wrote:We're not using Domas the same as early on. Having our guards dribble for 20 seconds while he tries to get position and Doug waits in the corner is absolutely stupid.


We're also calling offensive sets that involve everyone standing around and waiting for Joseph to do something. I see what you mean by him dribbling the air out of the ball, but, I certainly don't fault him when it appears our coaches have designed the plays for him to do so.



He's doing his Travis Best impression! :crazy:

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:28 am
by basketballwacko2
Another week of this kind of game and we might be dealing at the deadline.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:44 am
by Grang33r
They can't continue to start Sumner. I like the kid's potential but just after two games i've seen enough.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:12 am
by boomershadow
89 points? Ugh.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 1:55 pm
by Scoot McGroot
Grang33r wrote:They can't continue to start Sumner. I like the kid's potential but just after two games i've seen enough.

Really? I mean, I’d be ok with seeing more. He’s learning quickly and seems to have the trust of the rest of the starters. Obviously Tyreke would start if he were healthy, and Sumner would be 3rd strong there (I guess we don’t want to mess with letting the bench gel, too?), but I think he’s learning quick.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:33 pm
by Wizop
Grang33r wrote:They can't continue to start Sumner. I like the kid's potential but just after two games i've seen enough.


disagree. I think Nate is right trying to keep the 2nd unit intact with CoJo at the 2. now what they do with Sumner after Tyreke returns is a separate question. I'm rapidly returning to the trade Tyreke for a bag of wet noodles team, if only because moving him makes it easier to give minutes to both Sumner and Holiday. we're a better team with a healthy Tyreke getting Victor's minutes, but if we don't plan to resign him in the summer, wins are suddenly less important than player development.

Re: Game Thread 1/30: Pacers vs. Wizards

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:00 pm
by pacers33granger
Scoot McGroot wrote:
Grang33r wrote:They can't continue to start Sumner. I like the kid's potential but just after two games i've seen enough.

Really? I mean, I’d be ok with seeing more. He’s learning quickly and seems to have the trust of the rest of the starters. Obviously Tyreke would start if he were healthy, and Sumner would be 3rd strong there (I guess we don’t want to mess with letting the bench gel, too?), but I think he’s learning quick.


Yeah he's made some mistakes, but let's not act like Tyreke wouldn't make some too. We don't have many other options. Holiday/CoJo are both too small to start as a SG and Doug would be abysmal there. It is difficult because his shot is mediocre at best and he's largely playing as a decoy, but teams haven't seemed to figure out they can leave him open yet.