Indiana @ Miami

Post #1 » by **APerna** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:16 am

Saw there wasn't a thread...

We're up 33-25 through the start of the second...

CircleCitysportsfan · Post #2 » by **CircleCitysportsfan** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:37 am

Granger is going nuts from three.

CircleCitysportsfan · Post #3 » by **CircleCitysportsfan** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:38 am

Wade has NO help at all. None. Not that i care, just sayin

CircleCitysportsfan · Post #4 » by **CircleCitysportsfan** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:40 am

End of 1st half

Pacers 60

Wades 45

Bit's · Post #5 » by **Bit's** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:11 am

Mas, what's happening with Rasho??

He's terrible tonight! And yesterday he wasn't much better...

Bit's · Post #6 » by **Bit's** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:31 am

****

Danny sprained his left ankle adn went to lockerroon

Let's hope it isn't serious!

Bit's · Post #7 » by **Bit's** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:40 am

Good news: Danny is back

Bad news: We suck and Wade is completely unstoppable

cdash · Post #8 » by **cdash** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:45 am

Bad news: We cant hold a **** lead to save our lives. I am getting really tired of this bull ****.

Post #9 » by **APerna** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:51 am

I beginning to think we burn too much energy in the first half.

Cobol Sam · Post #10 » by **Cobol Sam** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:53 am

I think when our offense becomes stagnant the effort on the defensive end dwindles a bit.

cdash · Post #11 » by **cdash** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:54 am

I'm beginning to think we should tank the season and try to get Blake Griffin.

Post #12 » by **APerna** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:54 am

I think Roy would have been a nice play tonight.

He could have clogged the middle to fight against Wade driving, and Beasley beasting our other bigs.

cdash · Post #13 » by **cdash** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:57 am

We **** blow. I have never been more frustrated watching sports than this Pacers team. **** this.

Post #14 » by **APerna** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:59 am

cdash wrote:I'm beginning to think we should tank the season and try to get Blake Griffin.

We are, I believe, 12 games into the season. You can't be serious.

chatard5 · Post #15 » by **chatard5** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:00 am

Bit's · Post #16 » by **Bit's** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:09 am

It's really frustating watch this team...we are competitive against any team, we get a good lead, but in the end we lose unless we are playing against Thunder, Nets or Hawks (without Josh Smith and Al Horford)...

Rasho was horrible, he was so slow, wasn't making his shots, was blocked twice by Wade (n the second time the refs called a foul that I didn't see it), couldn't guard Haslen, made Joel Anthony looks like Olajuwon, made stupid passes and still played 38 minutes. His worst game by far, and it was the one that he played more minutes.

Well, at least I liked Rush tonight, he played very good D, in the offense he didn't make a lot of stupid decisions like he was doing in his first game, and he finally is making his long range shots, yesterday he hit some good shots too. And I love when he goes to the hoop, he's so fast and athletic and becomes very hard for someone block him. If everything goes right for him, he'll be a very good and versatile player.

Post #17 » by **PR07** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:33 am

Wait until Dunleavy gets back before we start the "tanking" philosophy. The season is way too early, and a lot can change. With that said, I think there's a lot of positives for this team going forward. We aren't quite there, but I think we're a front-court player away from really having a strong team.

Reasons for concern:

1. Closing games out. You have to play 48 minutes, not 40. Granger has proven he can take the big shot, but as defenses start focusing on him. He's going to have to learn when to shoot, and when to pass. Even LeBron struggled with this concept, so it's going to be a learning process. Tonight against Miami, Granger forced it down the stretch.

2. No low post presence. Hard to win long-term without this.

3. No shotblocking. Foster, Murphy, and Rasho are all blue-collar, but yeah....

4. Marquis Daniels ability to shoot 3. I have yet to see him hit a 3 this year, and he's often left wide open. Jarret Jack's free throws?

Kuq_e_Zi91 · Post #18 » by **Kuq_e_Zi91** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:38 am

If Hibbert ever gets in a game, your number 2 and 3 might not be that big of concerns.

bballpacen · Post #19 » by **bballpacen** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:43 am

Yeah, sure it is frustrating, but this is the type of season that we all were expecting... Dont let the win vs Boston get you over excited... This team is still trying to learn to play with each other... I cant believe that we are talking about tanking and it is STILL November... Cmon guys...

Post #20 » by **count55** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:24 pm

PacersRule07 wrote:Wait until Dunleavy gets back before we start the "tanking" philosophy. The season is way too early, and a lot can change. With that said, I think there's a lot of positives for this team going forward. We aren't quite there, but I think we're a front-court player away from really having a strong team.

People are always going to want to tank. It's pointless to argue with them.

Reasons for concern:

1. Closing games out. You have to play 48 minutes, not 40. Granger has proven he can take the big shot, but as defenses start focusing on him. He's going to have to learn when to shoot, and when to pass. Even LeBron struggled with this concept, so it's going to be a learning process. Tonight against Miami, Granger forced it down the stretch.

I agree with this. I saw several comments on PD saying that they wished we were just getting blown out, rather than not knowing how to win. That's ridiculous. Right now, we have a team that is learning to play together and playing hard that has some very correctable issues. If we're doing the same thing in February, I'd be concerned. However, as much as we'll regret losing these games, I think that later in the season, we'll be winning the games like Philly, Orlando, and last night.

I don't think this is limited to Danny, but he's a big part of it. Friday night, I thought he let the game go away from him a little too much. Last night, he made a couple of dumb turnovers, perhaps while forcing it. I actually think that shows progress. He also picked up 6 assists.

I look at this team, and see one that is much closer to being able to win games. I also see it in the context of a 35-45 win team. We're pretty much on schedule.

2. No low post presence. Hard to win long-term without this.

I also agree with this, but this is the team. I think the important part is for the team to figure out to win with what they have, while trying to add that piece in the future. Keep in mind that all of about six months ago, we were sitting with an oft-injured $44mm contract and a train wreck at the point guard position. Now, we've rearranged that contract and greatly improved the PG position.

3. No shotblocking. Foster, Murphy, and Rasho are all blue-collar, but yeah....

This is actually wrong, but may have a point. The Pacers are 2nd in the league (behind Orlando) with 6.9 blocks per game. They're tied for second with 83 total blocks. Last night's game was the first time they've had fewer than 3 blocks, and only the third time they've had fewer than 5. In fact, in the six games preceeding last night, the Pacers had blocked 10, 5, 10, 10, 9, and 10 shots, respectively. They've also had two games with 8 blocks.

Back to the point, they may not have any "intimidators", but they certainly have blocked plenty of shots.

4. Marquis Daniels ability to shoot 3. I have yet to see him hit a 3 this year, and he's often left wide open. Jarret Jack's free throws?

For as well as Marquis has played, I'd still prefer that he play less. The shooting is a huge part of it, but beyond that, I just think that part of the reason he gets so many opportunities to score is that it's what the defense is giving us. In other words, I think the defense prefers Marquis to have the ball, rather than Danny or TJ, as examples. He's just more predictable. He's a really good finisher, but he has no shot, to speak of, outside of 12 feet, and he's a poor decision maker/passer.

Yes, Danny is turnover prone. Yes, he is inconsistent in attacking the basket. No, he hasn't established a post game. However, he is getting to the line 6.3 times a game, while Daniels is only averaging 2.8 FT's a game. Danny has gotten 5 FT's in 8 of the 11 games he's played, while Marquis has done it in only twice. In fact, if you remove the 9 FT game Quisy had against Atlanta, he's only getting 2.2 per game. Daniels has gone without FTA's on 4 separate occasions. (As a reference, Junior averaged just under 5 FTA's per game last year.)

As for Jack's FT's, his percentage (.775) isn't bad, but it does feel like he (and a number of other Pacers) are missing seemingly crucial FT's. I have to assume Jack, a career 88% FT shooter (on over 3 FTA's per game) coming into the year, will sort it out.

I'm frustrated with the losses, but I'm not frustrated with the team. I think they're much better than they were last year, and I believe that they will be competitive, perhaps even strong, by the end of the season. I would like to see Roy go back to getting the 10-14 minutes a night, and I'd like to see a little less time for TJ Ford, but on the whole, I'm pretty happy.