Game Thead 10/4: Pacers @ Bucks

Post #1 » by **boomershadow** » Wed Oct 4, 2017 11:12 pm

Normally I am not a huge preseason fan, but with all the lineup changes I am looking forward at this peak of how our team might look this year. I am really interested to take a closer look at Oladipo than I have in years past. It'll also might give us a chance to check out some of the new faces. Definitely interested to see if this Wilkins character looks like he has any gas left in the tank.

What are you looking forward to seeing?

AussiePacer · Post #2 » by **AussiePacer** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 12:50 am

A few times early we missed BB open with an extra pass, but we're flicking the ball around which is good to see.

Sabonis has looked good.

VO has some wheels, we may be a quicker side in transition this year.

Post #3 » by **boomershadow** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 1:15 am

AussiePacer wrote:VO has some wheels, we may be a quicker side in transition this year.

Agreed. I'm low-key very optimistic about his future here. I know it's only preseason, and no real conclusions can be drawn yet about any of what we're seeing from anybody on the court, but I like quite a bit of what I'm seeing in a lot of places.

I saw Lance play the 3 at the end of the first quarter along with two other guards. It definitely felt a bit awkward, like they weren't sure who was supposed to be handling the ball. He came back in at the 2 to start the second quarter and definitely saw a more natural fit and even score the last 8 points of the half for our team.

We saw Sabonis play center with the second unit as we've been expecting, but there was a Big Al appearance in the middle of the second quarter. Didn't see much post up action. He was setting screens and rolling to the basket quite a bit. Is this a sign that even if he plays, we might not see much of his old school, post-up brand of offense?

Wilkins looks way better than I expected. He snuck his way in for a put back out of nowhere, then later on hit a couple outside shots. He's vocal on the court and directing traffic. I hope he ends up being a good vet presence, because I assume that's what he mostly was brought in for.

Post #4 » by **Miller4ever** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 4:37 am

I only caught a few minutes. Even if it's just the preseason and Giannis didn't play, it's nice to know that our team wanted it.

Pacersike · Post #5 » by **Pacersike** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 4:49 am

This team is hungry and they can run.
Lance is back and Sabonis is an important glue guy.

Jefferson, to be a good fit with this team, which is faster than last years, needs to drop another 40 pounds. :lol:

Leaf even though he looks so stiff, did allright for a rookie.

I'm going to go Turner on this one and say this is the most fun the Pacers have looked since Turner got here.

And it is the first time I feel like Zach Lowe is just a human like everyone else, making mistakes because of poor judgment like everyone else. I guess he loves watching the same 15 player roster year after year, because with all the new and faster players, how can you not be excited to watch how the Pacers are gonna play without their "super"star. Ask the Bucks what it felt like, to try to defend our new offense. Our opponents are going to watch this game to figure out our offense and our defense so that they are prepared to face us, while they don't have so much to figure out about teams that have changed only a couple guys in their rotation.

Veteran teams with all the same players who have reached their peak, those are the teams I can wait to watch.
But young teams with new and young players, who have to create their own identity, those are the ones I'm excited to watch and analyze. I thought that would be the case for every basketball analyst, but some seem to like being starstruck.

basketballwacko2 · Post #6 » by **basketballwacko2** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 6:13 am

I didn't get to watch the game, looks like Lance Played really well. The issue is gonna be he is best suited to play SG but they have Oladipo in that spot. I have always thought Lance could be a great point guard, but they went out and signed Collison. Depending on how things go, Collison is only partly guaranteed for 2018 he could be dealt at the deadline.

PerkinsFor3 · Post #7 » by **PerkinsFor3** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 11:08 am

Collison was really good.

PerkinsFor3 · Post #8 » by **PerkinsFor3** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 11:09 am

Collison was really good.

Cresy06 · Post #9 » by **Cresy06** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 11:39 am

You can see that VO played with Westbrook last year and learned a lot from him. The way he attacks in transition looks exactly the same way as Westbrook. A little less explosive but the the layups off the wrong foot, the early jump offs to fly to the rim, it's all there.
I think Pacers-Lance is my favorite player ever. Can't recall enjoying someone play as much as I do Lance when he plays with confidence.
Leaf looked terrible on close-outs and on defense I thought, but well he's a rook.

Enjoyed the first game!

Pacers_Freak · Post #10 » by **Pacers_Freak** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 1:24 pm

It was just a pre-season game. But here were my takeaways from seeing this group for the 1st time.

The Good
-The energy. You can tell this group has some scrappers on it. I thought our energy in a pre-season game was better than it was in regular season games last year. Everyone hustled.
- Myles. Continues to impress.
- Lance. Was great in a short span last year. Was interested to see how he would come back this year.... NICE!
-VO. Liked it when we got him. Liked him even more after seeing him last night.
- Wilkens was a surprise. Was it a flash in the pan?
- Although he went 3-11 I really like Sabonis game.
- Nate. I've been critical of him from the jump. One thing I saw from him last night was he was a lot more involved coaching and teaching. A play that sticks out with me was at the end of a quarter Lance makes a shot and he was out there coaching him up about the possession before. Don't recall seeing that last year.
- Ball movement. Very little Iso ball. The ball was swinging around well.

The Bad
-Leaf. We have to remember he is young and still developing. But, the guy simply isn't ready to guard NBA guys right now. He needs time.
-Bogdonovic. Shooters gotta shoot. But Bogdonathree went 2-7 from the field and 1-5 from three. The made three was banked in. If he ain't hittin shots he ain't helping us.
- Big Al. Only played 10 minutes. No FG attempts. Woulda liked to have seen a couple post touches to see how the new body looked on the block.
- It was only a pre-season game, but some hope was developed.

Post #11 » by **ThunderBolt** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 3:39 pm

Cresy06 wrote:You can see that VO played with Westbrook last year and learned a lot from him. The way he attacks in transition looks exactly the same way as Westbrook. A little less explosive but the the layups off the wrong foot, the early jump offs to fly to the rim, it's all there.

For the Pacers sake, I hope you’re right. Vic sure as heck didn’t look like Russ when attacking the rim last year. He really struggled finishing at the rim, especially with contact. He’s always had the physical abilities though.

Post #12 » by **boomershadow** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 4:52 pm

The biggest takeaway for me was it looked like they gave a crap, even about a game that doesnt count in any official standings. If last year's team gave the effort I saw last night in games that were determining the playoff standings, we might not have had to play the Cavs in the first round. Before Lance, it didn't even look like we cared much if we made the playoffs at all.

Lance nailed some off the dribble jumpers to end the 2nd and 3rd quarters that looked real nice, too.

We saw Turner taking some 3s which is good to see.

tocooks101 · Post #13 » by **tocooks101** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 6:57 pm

Lance looks like he is in great shape and a great place mentally, the rest was as expected or better, great start.

Pacersike · Post #14 » by **Pacersike** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 9:06 pm

Love those jerseys btw. In action the yellow accents seem to come to life. Very modern and cool. Best Pacer jersey ever.

Exactly what the Pacers best center rotation ever deserves. Turner, Sabonis, Anigbogu. Love our potential at the 5. No mo slow mo plodding centers ever again please. Thank you Larry and Kevin

Wizop · Post #15 » by **Wizop** » Thu Oct 5, 2017 9:38 pm

I'm traveling and couldn't watch but I don't think lances role is an issue. Joseph played off the ball a lot in Toronto. The second unit will have lance on the ball and Joseph off the ball on offense but lance guarding the two on defense.

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xBulletproof · Post #16 » by **xBulletproof** » Fri Oct 6, 2017 12:59 am

My goodness TJ Leaf looked gross. When Mirza Teletovic blows by you like he's Westbrook that's scary to see. He was absolutely lost on defense, besides being slow.

I doubt he plays at all this year. Outside of garbage time.

Pacers_Freak · Post #17 » by **Pacers_Freak** » Fri Oct 6, 2017 1:28 pm

xBulletproof wrote:My goodness TJ Leaf looked gross. When Mirza Teletovic blows by you like he's Westbrook that's scary to see. He was absolutely lost on defense, besides being slow.

I doubt he plays at all this year. Outside of garbage time.

At least he shouldn't. His year should be focused on becoming a better athlete. Strength coach Shawn Windle needs to be Leaf's best friend for the next 365 days.