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Starting slow. Spurs coming off big loss to Charlotte.

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First quarter double digit defense in play again tonight. Mathurin looks good early again.

Pretty disgusting Spurs 60% from 3 point land in first half.

Goga and Mathurin get a second half start for Jalen and Duarte.

Anyone who bet on over 25 wins should think about hedging.

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Again entertaining show in the 4th quarter to keep the few fans attending intrigued. My son said first night the place was half empty. Tonight didn’t seem any different.

Just lost to the other young team. Again I point out that the Spurs were running offensive sets the Pacers couldn’t defend. So where Rick is the offensive sets for the Pacers that other teams can’t defend ?

Didn’t look like a tank game in any way because our defense like last night dug us a hole we couldn’t climb out of. I’m wondering if the Pacers will ever control a game this year where they play from the lead ?

Bright spots are the play of Nembhard, Tyrese, and Mathurin. Goga and I Jax played well. Brissett no minutes and Duarte disappointed again. Nesmith played better.

Pacers Forever wrote:My son said first night the place was half empty.

Announced attendance was 15000

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Mathurin and Haliburton (although slow start for him) were the show. Everyone else just meh. Defense looks worse then ever and we've had some bad ones last few years.... not season... the year before wit Bjorkgren.... this is how the season will play out. Only thing is, and nothing against Mathurin, but this kind of play isn't sustainable for a rookie. He'll face better defending when theres more film on the guy and begins to play more with the first unit against the opponents best and he'll hit a wall eventually.

What happened to Duarte? He's awful now.

I thought Nembhard shined. Nesmith and Goga had more positives than negatives.

But yeah, the defense is terrible. And the Pacers still haven’t held a less for even one second this year.

Grang33r wrote:What happened to Duarte? He's awful now.

I wonder if the Pacers bringing in more guys that play his position is having an effect on his psyche. I would hope not, or he is in for a rough ride in his career. Maybe he is having a tough time finding his role in this line-up? Maybe his foot (toe?) is still bothering him?

I've always found it disturbing, to the point of almost humorous, that a team can play so darn lax on defense for parts of the game, then expect to go all spastic on defense late in the fourth quarter and expect that to make a difference. I'm not advocating a "zero tolerance" policy for the defense this early in the season, but someone has to convince these guys that giving a free pass to the opponent to drive untouched down the lane is going to get them benched regardless of when in the game it happens.

If Slick was still around, I'm afraid after a couple of those free passes he might be chasing some of these guys around the locker room while wielding a hockey stick.

I know, I know. It's only two games.

Grang33r wrote:Mathurin and Haliburton (although slow start for him) were the show. Everyone else just meh. Defense looks worse then ever and we've had some bad ones last few years.... not season... the year before wit Bjorkgren.... this is how the season will play out. Only thing is, and nothing against Mathurin, but this kind of play isn't sustainable for a rookie. He'll face better defending when theres more film on the guy and begins to play more with the first unit against the opponents best and he'll hit a wall eventually.

What happened to Duarte? He's awful now.

Doesn’t look to me like he gets any touches. He will do better once Hield is gone. Speaking of Hield, he’s not the ideal veteran to demonstrate defensive effort.

Grang33r wrote:Mathurin and Haliburton (although slow start for him) were the show. Everyone else just meh. Defense looks worse then ever and we've had some bad ones last few years.... not season... the year before wit Bjorkgren.... this is how the season will play out. Only thing is, and nothing against Mathurin, but this kind of play isn't sustainable for a rookie. He'll face better defending when theres more film on the guy and begins to play more with the first unit against the opponents best and he'll hit a wall eventually.

What happened to Duarte? He's awful now.

Maybe he is still adjusting playing sf ?

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Tom White wrote:

Grang33r wrote:What happened to Duarte? He's awful now.

I wonder if the Pacers bringing in more guys that play his position is having an effect on his psyche. I would hope not, or he is in for a rough ride in his career. Maybe he is having a tough time finding his role in this line-up? Maybe his foot (toe?) is still bothering him?

I've always found it disturbing, to the point of almost humorous, that a team can play so darn lax on defense for parts of the game, then expect to go all spastic on defense late in the fourth quarter and expect that to make a difference. I'm not advocating a "zero tolerance" policy for the defense this early in the season, but someone has to convince these guys that giving a free pass to the opponent to drive untouched down the lane is going to get them benched regardless of when in the game it happens.

If Slick was still around, I'm afraid after a couple of those free passes he might be chasing some of these guys around the locker room while wielding a hockey stick.

I know, I know. It's only two games.

I’ve noticed that the better teams in the league keep it close or are in the lead when they go lock down defense in the 4th quarter. Pacers as we know aren’t to the level where they can employ this tactic to secure wins. For us it’s just desperation trying to get back into the game from down double digits.