Pacers vs. Cavs

[Miller4ever]

This is an important game. Obie needs to stop playing small ball.

[Grang33r]

I was at the bar for the game. Actually didn't even "plan" on it but a friend asked me to go and watch some hockey at the local bar so like any sane person i didn't turn him down and asked them to put on the game. But i had no sound. Here are some thoughts i had on the game-

-73 points for a team that's all about offense? How can this be?
-Brandon Rush 1-handed dunk miss was brutal.
-Murphy not starting? That's odd. We put him in single handed against the Lakers giant lineup and now vs. Cavs he's not even in at all? Odd.

They played so bad, that I needed to check out the stat line before making this post-

-Granger- 6-23 FG. 1-8 from 3. wow
-Pacers- 6-25 from 3-pt FG. wow
-1 field goal in the final 9 minutes. Crazzzzy.
-(read this else where) If you discredit Jones, Murphy and Price (who all shot 40% or higher), the rest of the team shot.... 28%.
-Out rebounded by 23. Granger had 10 boards, the next BEST 6 in the entire game, all came from Cleveland.
-AJ Price 0 assists in 20 minutes of work.
-Granger 0-0 from the line. What? Why doesn't he drive in.
-Pacers as a team 5-5 from the line. What? NOBODY is going inside. Getting those free points is what wins games.

As a whole, i have to say, i watched both games this week. Both times the Fieldhouse was sold out and both times the Pacers looked maybe as bad as i've ever seen them. In the past, even while rebuilding, this team looked like it had hope. For maybe the first time in my life as a Pacers fan, i can't see the hope. By all indications they will be too far out to have a realistic chance at a top 3 pick and it will be same old all over again, adding more role players to a star with no super star. Between Granger, Murphy and Dunleavy, they shot 3 for 15 from behind the arc. This is madness.

Just my thoughts. Feel free to tear me apart but it's how i feel. This team is pathetic right now.

[PR07]

This team just isn't very good.

We don't play defense, and for a team that is built on shooting the three ball, we don't really shoot it all that well. I saw way too many possessions where we'd have 4 guys camping on the three point line, and the player with the ball would just chuck up the ball without making a single pass. You've got to work the ball inside. You've got to have guys cutting.' It's called ball movement.

I'd like to see the team start Price-Rush-Granger-Hansbrough (when healthy)-Hibbert. There's really no reason not to. The team also needs to seriously consider moving Murphy or Foster.

[Miller4ever]

Granger was driving it in, just wasn't getting whistles. The whole thing about him not getting to the line was because refs saved all the star foul calls for Lebron (that was at least 25% of the reason, anyways). Rush started out really well, but the team as a whole doesn't have enough offensive stability. With Roy in foul trouble, there was no second go-to inside force. Dahntay can drive it a bit, and Rush can too, when he isn't fumbling the ball. Dunleavy is slower on cuts than he has been in the past, but he's got to do less telegraphed passing (I swear, even I could pick off some of his star-at-the-target-for-2-sceonds-and-then-dish passes).

There is no plan B on offense. There need to be contingencies. When our threes aren't falling, we need to make up for it on defense, not be thinking about the next offensive possession.

[TheOUTLAW]

C'mon now, please point out any "star calls" that LeBron got or that Granger shouldn't have gotten that he did. To me it just appeared that he wouldn't go inside at all. I do however think that the vast majority of the fouls on LeBron as well as Shaq were obvious and undeniable.

[PR07]

You must've not been watching the same game. I didn't see a whole lot of star treatment on LeBron, but Shaq was getting calls left and right. For instance, there was one time where he literally swung his elbows with the ball at Hibbert's face, Roy ducked, but somehow got called for a foul. It was absolutely ridiculous. Shaq was initiating all the contact, plowing into Roy all night.

[Dunthreevy]

Foul calls didn't decide this game. The Pacers pathetic performance decided the game. This is the worst version of the Pacers I've ever seen in my 17 years of fanhood.

[Miller4ever]

C'mon now, please point out any "star calls" that LeBron got or that Granger shouldn't have gotten that he did. To me it just appeared that he wouldn't go inside at all. I do however think that the vast majority of the fouls on LeBron as well as Shaq were obvious and undeniable.

You're right it was the Shaq fouls that were pissing me off.

Granger was driving it early, I know that for sure. Don't know what happened. I think Varejao started playing and it made it more difficult to drive inside.

[TheOUTLAW]

Gotta admit, I really didn't look to figure out Shaq fouls. I don't doubt it though since I know how it was when we were playing against him. I will say that there were likely times that Shaq was dealing out punishment for some of the fouls that he received. You guys threw some hard fouls at both him and LeBron yesterday.

[L&H_05]

Granger looks like a player that has let apathy set in and appears to have regressed a bit due to it.. He didn't bring it last night at all and was just chucking away from deep...

Just an off night ?

[Dunthreevy]

Granger looks like a player that has let apathy set in and appears to have regressed a bit due to it.. He didn't bring it last night at all and was just chucking away from deep...

Just an off night ?

As the season goes on, it seems like this is pretty much spot on. It seems like he doesn't even care anymore, and is basically just going through the motions out there.

[Miller4ever]

It's tough when you're in an organization that has been disappointing. He still gets his 24 when he's motivated, but that's only in cases when he is taking things personally. Otherwise, it looks like he wants John Wall next to him.

[Reginald Wayne]

Granger must not have drafted himself on any fantasy teams because he is playing like poop. Start Trying Granger!

[tundraknight]

it looks like he wants John Wall next to him.

Pacers with Wall, Bulls with Rose, Bucks with Jennings.

Central division PG's FTW??