Turnovers/Assists

EuroPacer · Post #1 » by **EuroPacer** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:00 am

I know it is pre-season and I shouldn't worry too much about anything, but the sloppy offensive play seems to carry over from last year. First Rockets game Hill had two turnovers, George had 5, Watson kept a clean nose in 11 minutes though. Second Rockets game Hill did well with only 1 turnover in 24 mins but Watson had a whopping 6 in 22.

In the meantime the total assists are ridiculously low, last Rockets game there were 14 assists total.

I feel it is time the coaching staff made it clear that turnovers can be avoided. It will probably mean playing a bit slower, but it is the one area where the team can improve dramatically. We also seem to rely on single players for offense too much, so there clearly are no plays that work at the basis?

Starkiller · Post #2 » by **Starkiller** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:32 pm

I was going to start a thread and see if there was anything in our 0-3 start that would be alarming, this may be it. We got burned on a lot of turnovers in the playoffs last year.

Wizop · Post #3 » by **Wizop** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:43 pm

I'm alarmed by the possibility that the team thinks they are guaranteed to be better. they'll still need to put the work in.

Post #4 » by **pacers33granger** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:58 pm

It's preseason and we have an entirely new bench. I'm not that worried about the turnover issues. I think, no matter what, this is a team that will be higher than average in turnovers. However, we were awful in the playoffs with them, so all we really need is some improvement. Simply losing DJ should be enough to help.

Having shooters will help this problem a lot this year. Our bench last year basically had no shooters and outside of Hill, no consistent threats in the starting lineup either. It's going to open things up a lot.

Copeland, Watson, and Granger all played major minutes in those games. Cope/Granger are shaking off injury rust and all are playing new roles. Scola also hasn't been playing and he'll be key off the bench.

And on Wizop's point, I don't think this team believes they're just guaranteed to be better. Not with West's leadership and Vogel preaching hard work. Mcmillan should help too. We already know that Lance worked on his shooting this offseason and Hibbert worked on some things as well. I'd find it hard to believe that George and Hill didn't work on things too.

EuroPacer · Post #5 » by **EuroPacer** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:16 pm

I realise it is a new squad and it will take time, but after last season's start where basically all set plays were removed to ensure at least some offence, I feel that this is the one thing that I could criticise Vogel on. Don't get me wrong, he is a great coach and I hope he stays for the next three decades, but this has to be a focal point this season and I am not seeing a lot of evidence.

Indianafan51 · Post #6 » by **Indianafan51** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 1:22 am

If they improve offensively and hit baskets, the turnovers mostly will be a lot less. I feel the problem in playoffs was not enough baskets. Turnovers didn't lose game 7. Needed more points and no bench help to relieve starters.

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Moooose · Post #7 » by **Moooose** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 11:13 am

I don't really look much into preseason but I do not like what we did in all the preseason games. Feels like everyone is a newcomer, chemistry was a mess. Hope the guys are just warming up.

Post #8 » by **Scoot McGroot** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 2:36 pm

Moooose wrote:I don't really look much into preseason but I do not like what we did in all the preseason games. Feels like everyone is a newcomer, chemistry was a mess. Hope the guys are just warming up.

To me, that's what it's for. Cope and Danny appear to be knocking the rust off. I'm most concerned that Scola hasn't gotten to play with the rest of the team yet for chemistry reasons.

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JohnnyNightrain · Post #9 » by **JohnnyNightrain** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 4:39 pm

Pacers are always toward the bottom (bottom third) of the league in assists and scoring and they were dead last in assist to turnover ratio last season. They addressed the bench scoring issues with Scola and Copeland, but, on the other hand, those guys are defensive liabilities, so when they score, they are also gonna give up points. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Unless George really ups his scoring, I think they are still one player away. They need a guy who can take over on a consistent basis. 17.4 points is nice, but that's not good enough on an offensively-challenged team.

Also, does anyone find Hibbert's weight gain a concern? I mean I know it was on purpose and he's in shape, but fifteen pounds is still fifteen pounds and Hibbert is already pretty slow and immobile. I would have thought he would have tried to drop five to ten pounds. I mean, no one is pushing him around in the paint as is, but guards do smoke him.