Game 59: Indiana Pacers (34-24) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (26-33) - 8:00 PM ET

[ducler]

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[boomershadow]

Nail biter here at the end. I think I held my breath for two minutes until that last Turner 3.

Good win. Portland plays tough.

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[Lazlo4D]

Hey I finally got to see a game that wasn't Blacked Out in my Area.

They have to play smarter down the stretch. They had a 10 point lead with less than 2 minutes left and they are heaving open three's, with 8 seconds on the shot clock, which is what Portland is daring them to do.

All they needed was a couple points to truly put out of reach in the last 2 minutes. Use up the clock then drive it inside, score or get fouled. They are at home, you are gonna get to the foul line if you drive, at least once or twice.

Pacers go cold, Portland hits few 3 pointers, hey its a 3 point game...

[Topofthekey]

The better question is why didn't the coaching staff point that out to them

I can accept that players sometimes get a little carried away, but isn't it then the coaches job to, well, coach them on what they're expected to do

[Wizop]

The better question is why didn't the coaching staff point that out to them

you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I'm absolutely sure the need to keep the ball moving in the final minutes has been pointed out plenty of times. it is even obvious to the staff writer.

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[Tom White]

The better question is why didn't the coaching staff point that out to them

you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I'm absolutely sure the need to keep the ball moving in the final minutes has been pointed out plenty of times. it is even obvious to the staff writer.

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I agree with that assessment, but in order to move the ball you also have to have player movement. So, if you were to put together a "motion lineup" on the floor, who would you choose? Seems to me Domas is a player who does both (passing and movement), and McDermott is very good at moving without the ball. Probably Justin as well as McConnell. So who is the fifth player? Starting to sound a lot like the second string lineup we already use, isn't it?

It would just be kind of odd to not have your starters on the floor at crunch time.

[Wizop]

It would just be kind of odd to not have your starters on the floor at crunch time.

Maybe the coaches just need to tell the starters that if they stop moving, they'll sit .... and do it. Once should work.

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[boomershadow]

It looks more like indecision to me than refusal to move the ball. It's almost as if they don't know what their preferred shots are. And given the egalitarian, share the ball offensive philosophy they've been running they might really not know.

It's strange to watch, really. They can move the ball around and go up by 10, but with 1 minute or so left in the game they need a bucket just to keep their lead. Who does it go to? It really doesn't look like they know. So they move the ball around unsure if the look they're getting is what they want. So they end up with one guy holding the ball as the clock runs down and something needs to happen. Then it's iso time just to try to do something.

[Wizop]

I think they reach a point where running clock takes priority and over do it.

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[Tom White]

I think they reach a point where running clock takes priority and over do it.

Which brings me to one of the things I shout most late in a game - "Play the game, not the clock!".

Or, as a frustrated Tony Dungy once shouted to a surprised Payton Manning - "Just run the damn play!"

[Wizop]

Or, as a frustrated Tony Dungy once shouted to a surprised Payton Manning - "Just run the damn play!"

Tony cussed?

[Tom White]

Or, as a frustrated Tony Dungy once shouted to a surprised Payton Manning - "Just run the damn play!"

Tony cussed?

Yeah, I know. It convinced me the End of Days could surely not be far behind.

I don't remember which game it was, but you could clearly hear him on the TV broadcast, then local sports radio was having some fun with it afterwards.

[pacers33granger]

It looks more like indecision to me than refusal to move the ball. It's almost as if they don't know what their preferred shots are. And given the egalitarian, share the ball offensive philosophy they've been running they might really not know.

It's strange to watch, really. They can move the ball around and go up by 10, but with 1 minute or so left in the game they need a bucket just to keep their lead. Who does it go to? It really doesn't look like they know. So they move the ball around unsure if the look they're getting is what they want. So they end up with one guy holding the ball as the clock runs down and something needs to happen. Then it's iso time just to try to do something.

It's the double edged sword of Nate's offense, which lets the players play more freely. We get some guys who have high IQ and react instinctively (Domas, Justin Holiday, etc.) and we get some guys who overthink it a lot (Myles, Aaron, etc.). Not to say that second group doesn't have high IQ as Myles definitely does, but the looser offense just isn't ideal for their games.

But at end of games, it screws us honestly and almost never helps, except maybe when Vic was/is healthy. That's how we end up with Brogdon holding the ball before taking a bad layup or passing too late. There's a lack of cohesiveness on what to do unless we're running the TJ Warren midrange out of bounds play or a simple two man game with Domas and someone else.

I think the things Nate does well doesn't get enough attention, but this is a major issue that will prevent us from taking the next step at any point.

[Topofthekey]

Yes, Nate's hands-off approach certainly has its pros and cons

On one hand, it's allowed players like Vic, Domas, Warren, and to a lesser extent Brogdon break out into much better players

Otoh, it also shows when the players all start hesitating and deferring to each other with no clear indication of what's suppose to happen

And yes, totally agreed that players like Myles (and perhaps Leaf and Goga) have been the ones most greatly affected