May 11, 2014
8:00 PM EST
Verizon Center - Washington D.C.
The Skinny
In quite possibly the most ugly playoff game in history, with the Wizards scoring a franchise low 63 points, 15 shy of the franchise low previously. On both sides of the ball, it seemed like there was a lid on the basket, with the Wizards shooting a putrid 33% and the Pacers shooting a slightly less bad 42%. In the end, that slightly better field goal percentage made the difference and was the key to the Pacers’ victory, though no one looked good. The Pacers now lead the series 2-1 and now have history on their side: the winner of game 3 has a 75% chance to win the series. If the Pacers can pull of another win in Washington, it almost certainly signals a Pacers’ victory and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row to play either Miami or Brooklyn. But don’t count out the Wizards yet, you won’t see another shooting performance that bad from them for decades, but maybe the Pacers defense is starting to get to Washington and they’ll be able to close out the series with stifling Wall and co. So, is game 4 going to be another low scoring battle? Or will the Wizards get back on track and tie the series up?
The Lineups
Point Guard
The Wizards certainly aren’t going to win many games with Wall playing like that. His 7 turnovers in game 3 were 1 more than in the 2 previous games combined. Wall couldn’t even get in transition and increase the pace like usual, with the Wizards only having 8 fast break point on the night. George Hill was his normal, nondescript self. He shot 3 of 6 for 9 points with 5 assists in 5 rebounds. It’s what Indiana has come to expect from him, and his performance elicits a weak ‘meh’, but still, it’s better than Wall’s game.
Shooting Guard
The usually sharpshooting Beal and flashy Stephenson weren’t themselves in game 3. Lance shot 25% from the field while Beal shot a little less than 33%. Lance’s 5 assists and 7 rebounds somewhat salvage his performance, but things that don’t show up in the box score, like allowing Trevor Ariza 4 offensive rebounds in the 1st quarter, overdribbling, and taking god-awful shots really made this a game to forget for Lance. Both of these players need to bounce back in game 4 for their teams.
Small Forward
Paul George came to play in game 3 after a weak showing and really showed old man Ariza how its done. Though he only shot 6 of 15, he shot 10 free throws, making 9 of them, and had 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Ariza shot 4 of 8 with a +/- of -24, the worst of all players, and really was invisible on the court, though he had 15 rebounds, the highest of anyone. When Ariza plays well, like in game 1, the Wizards seem unbeatable, but he’s been pretty average the last 2 games after shooting 6 for 6 from deep in game 1. PG needs to keep up this level of play and the Pacers will be golden.
Power Forward
The real discrepancies for these two teams start with the big men. Nene was just bad in game 3, there’s no way around it. He played so poorly Whitman sat him most of the 4th quarter because Drew Gooden did a better job, even though he scored only 1 point. Shooting 3-14 is unacceptable for any NBA player, let alone a big man. David West had 12 points with a +/- of +27, lived up to his role of being the “rock” of this team. Nothing special, nothing flashy, but West gets the job done.
Center
We haven’t seen Roy Hibbert play this well in a 2 game stretch since November; Roy looks to be back on track. Shooting 66%, the highest of all players, with 14 points, 3 blocks, and 5 rebounds, he far outplayed Marcin Gortat who shot 2 of 7 for 4 points. Roy doesn’t looked scared anymore. He’s got a smile on his face, he’s pumped up, and he’s playing like he has an infinite amount of fouls to give. You can’t help but feel happy for the guy after all the stuff he’s put up with in the last month. Area 55 is back.
The Bench
Washington’s bench continues to be non-existent, with a laughable 6 points total in game 3. The Pacers bench was slightly better, specifically Scola, who with 8 mid range jumpers, had 11 points and 3 rebounds. Mahinmi made 2 free throws and grabbed 7 rebounds for his usual statline. But I don’t think I can emphasize how bad Evan Turner is playing right now. Every time he steps on the court, he acts like he’s still in Philly where he’s the best playing on the floor for the team and needs to take the majority of the shots. News flash, he’s not. He needs to stop shooting and pass the ball. But Evan has been like this his entire career, and he’ll likely never change, so Vogel just needs to replace him in the lineup with Copeland, like we saw in games 6 and 7 of round 1 against the Hawks.
Injury Report
Pacers
None
Wizards
None
The Tradition
Spoiler:
