SB Nation - Earl Watson

Pacers 101, Bobcats 98: Pacer Hang On For Win; Murphy, Ford Lead The Way

Tom Lewis — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:13:06 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

T.J. Ford rose up to help lead the Pacers to a win over Charlotte.

The Indiana Pacers led all the way but still almost lost.

But almost wasn't good enough for the Charlotte Bobcats and since almost losing equals winning you won't hear any complaints from the Pacers as they'll gladly take the 101-98 win.

The Pacers ambushed the Bobcats in the first five minutes of the game, jumping out to a 21-7 lead. They made eight straight field goals including three from behind the arc and another couple perimeter shots and three layups. The Pacers made it look easy with nice ball movement. In fact, six of the first eight buckets were assisted. Funny how those perimeter shots start falling with good passing finding shooters in rhythm as opposed to just standing and jacking up shots.

But the action in this game was just getting started.

Despite the fast start by the Pacers, Charlotte worked their way back into the game and cut that early lead to four late in the first quarter. The Pacers maintained control of the game though and took a ten-point lead to the half.

Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy were wearing out the nets in the first half, combining for 27 points including five 3-balls, but T.J. Ford was running the offensive show. He finished the half with 9 assists, several on nice kick-out passes after breaking down the Charlotte defense on the dribble.

When Ford opened the third quarter with his tenth assist and Murphy knocked down another three-pointer, it appeared like the Pacers might run away and hide. They did push the lead to 18 early in the third, but from there the home team held on for dear life as the lead gradually dwindled until a corner three to tie the game left Gerald Wallace's hand with four seconds left to play.

As the final score indicates, Wallace missed, but the game was not over. No way. Couldn't be that easy could it?

With 1.8 seconds left, Dahntay Jones missed two free throws when one would've iced the game. After a timeout, the Pacers once again had to defend their three point lead for 1.4 seconds and that's exactly what they did.

With the refs taking their sweet time counting to five, the Pacers made it extremely difficult for Charlotte to inbound the ball. Finally Flip Murray found Boris Diawas he popped to the top of the arc. Diaw was in rhythm to turn around a let the 3-ball go, but T.J. Ford rotated off of D.J. Augustine to greet Diaw in mid-turn. This force Diaw to pass off-balance to Augustine, whose shot hit all net but was released well after the buzzer sounded.

More thoughts and observations on the game:

T.J. Ford had his game flowing tonight. Maybe having his Texas Longhorn understudy, D.J. Augustine on the other side brought his game into focus. I hope not, though. Rather think he just put everything together tonight and there will be more of this type of play to come. His 15 points and 13 assists made the Pacers go, but that final defensive play sealed the win. All of that good play, helps mask the 6 turnovers and a few gawd awful possessions down the stretch when the Pacers had multiple opportunities to put Charlotte away, but just couldn't.
Speaking of gawd awful, the Pacers' effort to close out the game was painful. T.J. Ford had a sweet layup and 1 with 1:32 left in the game. After making the free throw the Pacers were up 8, one stop away from securing the W. But after Augustine made a three-pointer, the Ford and Earl Watson couldn't get a shot up and Brandon Rush's 3-ball was waved off after review showed it was after the shot clock lit up. Wallace is fouled and suddenly with 40 seconds left, the lead is down to three points. The Pacers use up most of the shot clock before going into a play, but after one pass, Earl Watson launches a three-pointer that misses and gives the Bobcats the first of those two final chances to tie the game. Somehow the Pacers survived without scoring in that final 1:32.
Troy Murphy was a monster for the Pacers, shooting the ball better than he has all year and maybe even last year. Murph had 26 points and 15 rebounds. He scored on 10-13 from the floor including 5-7 from 3-land. He also had three assists and zero turnovers.
Dahntay Jones struggled off the bench making just 2 of 8 shots and missing those critical free throws that would've sealed the win. Jim O'Brien did turn to Jones to finish the game with the Pacers hanging on to the lead with a death grip. Getting the stops was more important than the offense at that point.
Tyler Hansbroughhad trouble getting his shots to fall but he played some solid minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. He had a nice bucket inside off a floating feed from T.J. Ford and then with two minutes left and the lead down to five, Hansbrough was clobbered underneath the hoop and sent to the line. He calmly knocked down both free throws to push the lead back to seven. The Bobcats weren't through coming at the Pacers, but those makes were huge to keep Charlotte at bay. After struggling at the free throw line through much of the young season, Hansbrough is now 19-23 from the line in the past five games which is more in line with his college free throw success.
Jim O'Brien found some time for rookie A.J. Price in the first half, allowing the rookie point guard almost ten minutes of burn. Price came out firing...and missing, but per usual, Price helped push the Pacers in the right direction leaving the lead seven points better than when he entered the game.
The Pacers have won three of their last four games and now head out for back-to-back road games at Memphis and San Antonio beginning Friday.

Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:35:22 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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The Orlando Magic rode Vince Carter's offense, Dwight Howard's defense, and the superb all-around play of reserve guards Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick to an impressive, 106-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Indiana raced out to a 30-point first quarter and at one time doubled up the Magic at 34-17, but Johnson and Redick keyed the Magic's 21-6 run to bring them back into the game. The Pacers, without All-Star forward and leading scorer Danny Granger, played a great offensive game for the first 42 minutes, sinking open jumpers with ease against an uncharacteristically soft Magic defense. They closed the game out with 4 points on their final 11 possessions, including 3 turnovers. Jon will have more on the Magic's defense in this game later this week, but suffice it to say that Orlando's effort in the game's waning moments more than made up for the porousness that characterized their early defensive stands.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Pacers	92	107.0	51.7%	8.0	15.9	10.9
Magic	94	113.4	47.1%	29.1	22.4	7.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Orlando came out of the gate looking like it was on the second night of a back-to-back, even though it had 2 days of rest after its 4-game, 8-day road trip. Indeed, Howard and Carter were the only Magic players to score until the 10:20 mark of the second period, when Matt Barnes got into the scoring column with a driving layup. Carter nearly missed the game due to a stomach ailment which kept him out of practice today and yesterday, but you wouldn't know it based on his performance tonight. He looked to get to the rim and create contact, and save for a vintage Carter no-no-no-no-yes! shot--a pull-up three on the fast break, with 5 Pacers defenders back, which he made--he didn't appear to settle too often. No, he forced the issue, to the Magic's benefit. 28 points for Carter on 10-of-21 shooting, to go with an impressive 7 defensive boards and no turnovers in 33 minutes.

Redick's strong play limited Carter's playing time a bit, as coach Stan Van Gundy couldn't afford to take Redick off the floor. Redick made plays and baskets, without making mistakes. 13 points on 7 shots, with 4 assists and no turnovers. Redick's growth into a sound all-around player has been a pleasure to watch, and he's playing his way into a decent portion of the mid-level exception when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. We'll save the discussion about whether or not the Magic should keep him until much later this year, however.

Overall, the energy Johnson and Redick brought may have proven to be the difference in the game. Johnson has far outplayed starting point guard Jason Williams of late; Williams missed all 4 of his shots tonight and tallied 1 assist, while Johnson scored 13 and added 7 assists. He simply looks fresher than Williams, and the burden of starting 13 consecutive games during Jameer Nelson's absence appears to have taken its toll. Johnson's the sharper, fresher point guard, and while I wouldn't put him in the starting lineup ahead of Williams, I would make sure he's on the floor with victory on the line, as he has been in each of the Magic's last two games. A.J. has never really dazzled me with his passing ability, his on-point crosscourt pass to Rashard Lewis for an open three-pointer with 2:11 to play was impressive. The Pacers overloaded the right side of the floor to account for Johnson's penetration; he read the defense and threw the ball right to Lewis' shooting pocket. The shot had a certain ring of inevitability to it--play-by-play man David Steele said "He's due!" with the shot en route--and when it dropped, it gave Orlando a 5-point lead, not to mention the momentum.

Even with Indiana's strong start and the Magic's poor shooting, I never got the sense that the Pacers were in firm control, mostly because their offense didn't look sustainable. Howard locked down the middle with 4 blocks, and it never ceases to amuse me when an offensive player drives, recognizes Howard's presence, and dribbles back out to re-set, as Tyler Hansbrough did at least once tonight. But the Pacers were effectively counting on T.J. Ford, Earl Watson, Jeff Foster, and Brandon Rush to knock down jumpers if Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were covered. That well was bound to dry-up eventually. No Pacer seemed eager to drive the ball, even if only to create contact. The result was a meager 10 free-throw attempts 2 of which came quite late with the outcome already decided. Howard shot 22 on his own, while the Carter/Redick shooting guard tandem combined for another 10.

On the one hand, the Magic needed a big rally just to beat a lottery team, on the road, missing its best player, which could be cause for concern; on the other, they looked dominant for almost every minute after the disastrous first quarter, and they won with a team effort rather than a monstrous individual one, which bears noting. Great teams rarely fall into such large holes against lesser ones, but when they do, they (usually) respond. That's what Orlando did tonight.

You know what Howard did tonight? He only rebounded the Pacers' starting frontline of Dunleavy, Murphy, and Roy Hibbert by himself, 23-15. You know, in addition to shooting more than twice as many free throws as the entire Pacers team. Howard needs to deliver more of these dominant performances, especially on nights when the offense needs a kick-start. Orlando exceeded its usual offensive efficiency despite shooting poorly, aided both by Howard's offensive rebounding giving it second-chance points as well as by everyone's taking care of the ball. Of Orlando's 7 turnovers tonight, 2 were obvious offensive fouls, and another was a shot-clock violation with 4 seconds left and nothing at stake except for stats to pad (Johnson missed a layup, Howard gathered the rebound and bungled a tip-in attempt). In other words, only 4 came due to silly passes or ballhandling errors. Sharp decision-making compensates for a lack of sharp shooting.

Overall, Orlando responded fairly well after a lackluster road trip, and can continue looking forward to playing 6 of the final 7 games of the calendar year at Amway Arena. Great to see the second unit deliver when called upon, although it'd be much nicer if Lewis, Williams, and Mickael Pietrus simply played better to begin with.

Wizards lose to Pacers: Final wrap (quickly) and more bemoaning our lack of role players

Mike Prada — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:48:25 -0000

More photos » by Ned Dishman - NBAE/Getty Images

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Sitting up in the nosebleeds, where you can see the whole court, kind of gives you a new perspective on the team. I figured the team's problem was that nobody did the little things and nobody had any attention to detail, but watching this game, that truth was just staggering.

So many missed defensive rotations. So many dumb turnovers killing any positive momentum we created. So many poor shots. So many times where guys just don't run hard through their cuts. So many weak screens, or times when people slip the screen unnecessarily because they want to get the pass and shoot.

Then, there was the end of the game. Kyle beautifully broke down the staggering lack of detail on the final play of the game, one that cost them the win, but it was the possessions before as well. When the Wizards should have been clamping down on defense to put the game away, they were allowing Earl Watson and Tyler Hansbrough to complete lob passes for dunks. Simply unacceptable.

I'm firmly convinced this is a roster construction problem. Right now, everyone wants to be the guy who saves this team. There are only two guys on the team who truly don't care what kind of role they play in the team's success -- Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller, who is injured because the Wizards decided to run him out when he was clearly injured instead of making sure he was okay. Everyone else wants credit. They won't say it, but they play like it. On an NBA team, only so many people can be the shot-makers. You need guys who have no egos to blend in with the ones who do.

An addition-for-subtraction trade needs to happen pronto. It could be anyone. The ones who remain just need that wakeup call, that message that nobody is safe from getting dealt.

Four Factors (Bold=very good | Italics=very bad)

Team	Pace	Off Eff	eFG%	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Indiana	96	118.8	47.8	31.1	34	14.6
Washington		117.7	59.8	18.3	34.2	17.7

Snap Reaction: It's nice that we shot well, but how the heck do you let Indiana get to the free-throw line that much? Who do they have that can draw fouls? Ridiculous.

Lineup Details, via Popcorn Machine

Highest individual plus/minus: Nick Young (+14 in 14:00)
Lowest individual plus/minus: Randy Foye (-12 in 7:12)
Best five-man unit: Gilbert Arenas/Nick Young/Caron Butler/Antawn Jamison/Andray Blatche (+9 in the third quarter)
Worst five-man unit: Gilbert Arenas/DeShawn Stevenson/Caron Butler/Antawn Jamison/Brendan Haywood (-6 in the second quarter)

Snap Reaction: It's becoming clear that Nick Young is winning the Young/Randy Foye death match we all anticipated coming into the season (okay, just me). So why does Young only play 14 minutes? That's right, DeShawn Stevenson took the rest of the shooting guard minutes. How Young doesn't have a regular rotation spot is beyond me. Also, why doesn't Dominic McGuire get all of Stevenson's minutes?

IC Cold Links: Reserves Lead Pacers To Another Victory With Big Second, Fourth Quarters

spstevenson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:20:05 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

Brandon Rush attacks the basket during the Pacers thrilla-in-Washington win Saturday evening.

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The Indiana Pacers bench players are crushing teams. They are on a seven-game winning streak and should be heading toward a spot in April's NBA playoffs.

But, after toppling the Wizards with a 49-29 advantage off the bench, the Pacers are still only 8-13 after escaping out of Washington with a nail-biting finish for the blue and gold's second straight win. While the bench attempts to the lead the team to victories, the starters pulls the team in the other direction. The bench continues to outplay the starters. As Mike Wells wrote in his notebook today, the second unit scored 49 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds against the Wiz. In the past three games, the bench consisting of Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough, Luther Head, Earl Watson and Jeff Foster have combined for 136 points, 55 rebounds and 34 assists, and have outscored its past seven bench opponents, 293-196.

There are four prominent reasons that the starters continue to get outplayed by the team's bench guys: 1) The starters are playing the opposing team's starters, a definite disadvantage for a starting unit playing without its all-star Danny Granger; 2) T.J. Ford is still starting, a definite disadvantage for any unit that the point guard inhabits, at least until he finally lives up to his billing as a leader and provides some much-needed stability at his roster spot. Until then, he continues to disappoint (including another team-high -13 in the +/- stat department last night which bumps his season total to another team high, -123);

3) The starters are on the bench in the fourth quarter. Last night, Hansbrough, Dunleavy (the free-throw savior with 0.1 seconds remaining) and Watson were killers in the final minutes; and 4) There's this thing called defense and the starters aren't playing it. The starting unit gave up 76 points in the first and third quarters combined. The Pacers gave up less in the second and fourth quarters combined (37 points) than the team did in just one of the other two periods. Obviously, these quarters are played with a mix of both units, but the tone of the quarter is set in the first few minutes and can be maintained for the remaining minutes of the stazna. The bench is setting a good tone in their quarters.

Coach Jim O'Brien on his team's spirited bench play: "I think that they know they are important and we have confidence in them to succeed. Generally you're playing against the other team's bench and I think they're hungry. Earl has done a good job."

The starters, and bench, will have a big challenge come Monday when the team visits the Magic. Watson moved from the bench unit to the starting point guard spot at the start of the second half during Saturday's win. It will be interesting to see if Watson's move is permanent and whether any other changes will occur before Monday's game. Check out the jump for more links.

Box Score
Photo Gallery
AP Story
NBA.com Recap
The Inside the Game report from Pacers.com gives us some good quotables from after last night's crazy finish. Here's coach Jim O'Brien: "It was one for the ages. A great win for us to be able to get that and scratch out everything we did at the end ... I'm real proud of our guys. To scratch out a back-to-back on the road says a lot about the toughness our guys are starting to develop. We feel very lucky to get out of here with a W."
Mike Wells writes about Dunleavy's dedication in the gym during his rehabilitation which helped lead him to casually dropping the two game-winning free throws. Dunleavy told Wells, "Forget thinking about it in the driveway as a kid, I was thinking about that scenario lying in the hospital bed. It's all you think about, being able to have a chance to win it at the end." Wells also noted that Dunleavy played three minutes past his 24-minute restriction. O'Brien said there was "no way" he would take Dunleavy out of the game in the final two minutes because of the limit. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you medical bastards.
In his Pacers Insider post, Wells talks more about Dunleavy, some tidbits on Ford's amazing performance (including a 1-of-9 fourth-quarter shooting display), and more on Troy Murphy's change in his offensive approach.
Wells also reported in his notebook that Dahntay Jones, who left the game midway through the fourth quarter, reported that he had a sore hip and shoulder after the game. Jones said he was "sore, but I'll be fine."
Always Miller Time gives a take on the fun win for Pacers fans.
Wizards fans apparently didn't find the last call to be...well, fair. The Washington Examiner decided that it was a call that would "be debated until the end of eternity". Nothing like a flair for the dramatic. The Washington Post puts the blame more squarely on the Wizards for blowing their lead in their final two minutes. Also, a recap from the Washington Times.
Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen has an interesting read about his recent discussions with the commish, David Stern, about the future of the league including a more lenient zone defense, legalized gambling on the NBA and the potential lockout.

Pacers 114, Wizards 113: Whirlwind Finish Ends As Mike Dunleavy's Free Throws Ice Victory

spstevenson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:06:46 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

Mike Dunleavy ties the game with one-tenths of a second remaining after being fouled on an in-bounds play. His second free throw gave the Pacers a 114-113 victory.

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Don't believe the text messages or the e-mail alerts. Don't believe the scoreboards on your cell phones.

When the hoards of e-alerts went circling around cyberspace that the Indiana Pacers had seemingly dropped a one-point loss to the Wizards Saturday, fans who believed the initial warning were in for a special treat -- a Pacers win.

In a finale that brought back memories of last year's miraculous finish against the Cavs, it took several replays, a controversial foul and two Mike Dunleavy free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining for the Pacers to nab a 114-113 win in Washington. The win was the team's second in a row and snapped a six-game losing streak on the road.

Are we ready to recap this? Take a deep breath because here we go right into the thick of things in the final seconds. Gilbert Arenas clanks two free throws with 6.6 seconds left in the game and the Wiz up, 113-112. On the rebound, the Pacers are forced to make something happen quickly as the team has no timeouts hanging around in coach Jim O'Brien's pocket, so T.J. Ford decides it's his game to win/lose.

The guard takes it coast-to-coast, flings up a layup that sails beyond the goal, but Washington's Brandon Haywood decides he'd like to keep this game going and tips the ball out-of-bounds with 0.0 seconds on the clock. This is when all those alerts hit the airwaves. Game over. Pacers lose.

But, occasionally there's a deity out there that feels sorry about The Brawl and sends some luck toward Indy. After a referee review, it's determined there are actually 0.5 seconds left in the game. The Pacers pull out a page from their past and lob the ball to Dunleavy in the paint, hoping to draw the foul or luck into an easy bucket. Dun's does what he does best -- draws the foul on Haywood. Wizards fans boo. Pacers fans cheer. After another review to make sure that the foul occurred in regulation, Dunleavy stepped to the line and drained two free throws with 0.1 left on the clock and iced the win.

Wizards fans boo (particularly a nutjob behind the scorer's table). Pacers fans cheer. A new batch of alerts are sent out. The end.

That's a lot of junk that happened in just six seconds, but this game was chalk-full of fun material. Check out the jump for more about the other 47 minutes, 54 seconds of this one.

T.J. Ford wanted to be the goat of this game, really, really badly. The starting point guard (well, of the first half...Ford was demoted for Earl Watson at the start of the third quarter) had only two assists (eight less than Watson), two turnovers and 6-of-16 shooting from the field heading into the final minutes. Read our game thread and you can see the gang readying with fire-lit torches and heading to Conseco to rid themselves of the point guard monster. And it got worse before it got better. With just under two minutes remaining in the game and the Pacers down four with the ball, Ford circumvented the entire perimeter of the court for an isolated pick-and-roll situation with Troy Murphy. Ford then lobbed the ball to the post to the rolling Murphy. The problem? Murph was still setting the pick. The turnover then led to an Earl Boykins jumper (which was made as Ford tried to recover defensively on the weakside), sending the Pacers back six and into a timeout, their last of the game which would effect the finale and yada, yada ,yada...the Pacers miraculously win the game. Needless to say, this stretch of time resulted hair-pulling, tongue-lashing at Ford from my couch. But, we won, so until next time.
Troy Murphy had a heck of a game, unloading 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. Even more impressive was Mike Dunleavy's line of 24 points, five assists, three steals and two game-winning free throws in 26 minutes. It'll be great to get Mike out there for another 10 minutes per game. His cutting, quick-release shots and leadership are top of the pops right now. Jim O'Brien said after the game: ""Troy (Murphy) was terrific but Michael (Dunleavy)'s line, for not having played many games, was terrific. Those two clutch foul shots didn't even move the net. It says a lot for him."
According to Pacers.com, Indiana's bench outscored its seventh straight opponent. The blue and gold's second unit toppled the Wiz's bench, 49-29.
Rookie Tyler Hansbrough was clutch in the fourth quarter tonight and may have cemented his role of being on-the-court during crunch-time moments.He scored twice down the stretch in the final minutes and dropped 13 of his 19 points in the fourth while playing like a controlled madman in the post.
Dahntay Jones left the game midway through the fourth quarter when he landed hard on a dunk attempt. The Pacers said he was diagnosed with a right shoulder contusion. In his place, JOB implemented a version of last year's Jarrett Jack-T.J. Ford backcourt with a Earl Watson-T.J. Ford lineup. I gotta say, I feel much more at ease watching games with Ford at the two-guard spot and Watson controlling the ball.
What a difference a quarter makes. After giving up 38 first-quarter points to the Wizards, the Pacers defense made a late-appearance and held the home team to just 14 points in the second, allowing the blue and gold to garner a 66-52 halftime advantage. The bad news, of course, was that the Pacers blew that lead by giving up 38 points again the third quarter.
Gilbert Arenas torched the Pacers for his first triple-double (22 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) in 5 years.
Dunleavy crushed a half-court heave at the end of the first quarter to keep the Pacers within two at the end of the first period. The shot helped swing the momentum heading into the Pacers' critical second quarter.

Pacers 107, Nets 91: Pacers Enjoy Winning Feeling Again

Tom Lewis — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:39:38 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

Roy Hibbert and the Pacers made things tough on the Nets in the second half.

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Winning is fun, remember?

The Indiana Pacers enjoyed contributions from several sources, made plenty of shots and applied enough pressure to put away a struggling New Jersey Nets team, 107-91.

Forget the opponent though, the Pacers ended their own struggles by winning for the first time in six games and just the second time in their past 12. Plus, the way the Pacers played and the players that stepped up to put away the win was a welcome sight for Jim O'Brien.

Once again, the Pacers second unit provided the spark the Pacers needed to take control of the game early. In particular, Earl Watson, Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough worked well together while pushing the Pacers out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter.

The first unit kept the flow going to start the second half and after the bench continued their solid play it became apparent the Pacers' were headed for a win. Shots were falling, offensive rebounds were plentiful and nothing was coming easy for the Nets. In fact, Rafer Alston's three-pointer was the only bucket New Jersey scored in a ten minute stretch covering the end of the third quarter and early fourth.

Shortly after the New Jersey drought, Roy Hibbertended any doubt in the Fieldhouse that this was the Pacers' night, when he beat the shot clock with a 3-ball (in rhythm, nice stroke, the whole thing) to put the Pacers up 21 points with about eight minutes left.

No lead is ever big enough with the Pacers, but against the Nets that would be enough on this night.

More thoughts and observations on the Pacers' win:

Consider that without Danny Granger's 25 points per game and Dahntay Jones only scoring five, ten below his 15 point per game average, the Pacers were still able to score 107 points and cruise to a 16-point win. Five Pacers scored in double figures to fill the scoring void.
Roy Hibbert finished with 20 points on his 23rd birthday which exceeded the 18 points he scored in the previous three games combined. Roy had that energetic bounce to his game that seems to lift the spirits of the whole team. Hibby also finished with 3 blocks and 9 rebounds, including 7 second-chance boards which helped earn him some easy buckets.
Tyler Hansbrough took full advantage of his minutes limit rising to 24 minutes. He used up all of the minutes to score a game-high and career-high 21 points. He too worked the offensive glass, with 4 of his 7 rebounds at the offensive end. Hansbrough held up well defensively with three steals while guarding everyone from Brook Lopez to Chris Douglas-Roberts.
Earl Watson was solid off the bench at the point making things go for the second unit without needing to take many shots. His +22 on the night reveals his effectiveness, especially compared to another up and down performance from T.J. Ford. The downside of Watson's great play was that A.J. Price didn't get any minutes. Hard to blame JOB on this night because Watson was playing well and the team desperately needed a win.
Mike Dunleavy also had his minutes limit boosted to 24 and he was available for most of the fourth quarter. Dunleavy played 21 minutes and pumped in an efficient 15 points with a nice stroke going on his perimeter shot. Dunleavy made all three of his 3-ball attempts and continued to keep that second unit in motion.
Brandon Rush played a ton of minutes thanks to his defensive effort. He also chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds with a few nice buckets. There were also a handful of possessions I'm sure he'd like to do over.
Dahntay Jones had a real interesting game, as well. He was on the court quite a bit, but with things going well offensively for the team he never gave into the temptation to pad his scoring average. In fact, Dahntay only took four shots on the night, instead settling in to chase around the Nets' dangerous guard duo of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee.
Speaking of Devin Harris, I was surprised to see him in a heated discussion with Rod Thorn in the tunnel outside the Nets' locker room at halftime. Not sure exactly what the discussion was about, but I don't think he and Rafer Alston are on the same page.
Troy Murphyalso had an efficient night with 15 points and 12 rebounds on just 7 FGAs. Before the game he also expressed his happiness with Brian Kelly taking over as Notre Dame's football coach. Acknowledging that Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops weren't leaving their gigs, he figures Kelly was the best the Domers could do, so he's keeping the faith.
Prior to the game, the Pacers announced that Reggie Miller will be at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday to make a major announcement to benefit the Pacers Foundation, The People's Burn Foundation/Brave Hearts Camp and Riley Hospital for Children Pediatric Burn Unit. Sounds like Reggie will be showing his hero chops in Indy once again. Wonder if a '3' will be included in the final numbers.

Starters Continue To Get Outplayed, Outscored During Losing Streak

spstevenson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:41:46 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Tyler Hansbrough and the rest of the bench has been keeping the Pacers in games, while the starters have been helping the team add up losses.

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They are the players that set the tone. From start to finish, the players who get their names called under the bright lights and rip off their warm-ups first are there for a reason. To compete and get the team off to a good start.

For the Indiana Pacers, the starting lineup is not getting the job done.

In the six-game losing streak, which increased last night after a 102-91 loss to the Blazers, the starters have been outscored 443-314, an average deficit of 21.5 per game. Seven players have cycled in and out of the starting gig during those six games. The culprits? Let's see the lineup: Danny Granger (five games), T.J. Ford (6), Dahntay Jones (4), Brandon Rush (3), Troy Murphy (6), Roy Hibbert (4) and Jeff Foster (2). The starters were outscored 72-51 last night, and it didn't help that the unit gave up the tied game that the bench climbed back for midway through the fourth. As Tom pointed out during his recap, Brandon Roy probably would have destroyed the bench just as well as he pummeled the starters down the stretch. but the starters were there when the possible win waved bye-bye.

With each game, it's taken an unsung bench player to keep the Pacers within striking distance and keep hope alive. It was rookies Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price last night. On other nights, Earl Watson and Mike Dunleavy have stepped up.

Coach Jim O'Brien commended his second unit after Thursday's loss: "I thought they played with a great deal of energy and gave us good tempo. I thought A.J. (Price) did a real good job for us. He's played at a very high level in practice and he's a very mature user of the pick and roll and he's a guy that can shoot the three off the pick and roll."

It's very difficult, as we've seen, to win in the NBA when your starters are treated by opponents like a JV squad and your bench is spending all of its energy trying to claw back into a hopeless game. For the starters, a possible quick cure is arriving at Conseco "Reggie Miller" Fieldhouse on Friday -- the Nets. More links after the jump.

AP Story
Box Score
Photo Gallery
NBA.com Recap
Pacers.com dishes out the quotes and +/- in the latest Inside the Game edition. We'll let guard Dahntay Jones explain this one: "We had a problem with the pick and roll and did not defend very well against it. Couldn't stop it. We've go to learn to finish the ball game a little better. So it's back to the drawing board and get this thing turned around. Losing is not fun." Jones scored a team-high 19 points, but only put two through the hoop in the final 18 minutes of play.
Mike Wells recaps the game as he notes that the Pacers are definitely one All-Star short of competing with the likes of Brandon Roy and the Blazers.
IndyStar columnist Bob Kravitz says that Danny Granger's injury has given the greenlight for Brandon Rush and that we'll know now if he's a bust or not. Kravitz extended his streak of mentioning Shawne Williams in a Pacers-related column to a career-high 25 consecutive pieces.
John Oehser covered the game for his Examiner page.
Here are some previews to the Blazers-Pacers matchup that were posted yesterday: Eight Points, Nine Seconds and Always Miller Time.
Wells posted on his Pacers Insider page about the great game for rookie A.J. Price.
SB Nation's Blazers Edge had the game covered from the enemy's perspective. Rip City Project also chimed in with a recap and Jason Quick covered the game for The Oregonian.
And as the Pacers continue to increase their chances of getting lucky in the lottery, check out the recap of John Wall's performance against UConn last night. Oh yeah, we're already there.

Clippers 88, Pacers 72: Granger Leaves Game As Indiana Crumbles Late Without Star Guard

spstevenson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:20:25 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

Danny Granger left Saturday's game at the beginning of the second half and did not return as the Pacers dropped another loss.

Browse more photos »

If only Jimmy Chitwood could have donned his Hickory High jersey and played the second half with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. The actor who played the Hoosiers icon sat courtside as the Pacers put on another disaster of a performance during the waning minutes in their final game of a Western road trip.

After trailing by only two points at halftime, star Danny Granger reinjured his bruised right heel at the start of the second half and although the blue and gold hung around until the fourth, the injury helped sealed the team's fate. Even Chitwood couldn't have stopped the ensuing collapse.

The Pacers committed 21 turnovers, made only 37.5 percent from the floor, produced a season-low point total and lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games as the Clippers steamrolled the blue and gold in the final seven minutes en route to a 88-72 Pacers loss. The young season reached another low point for the Pacers (6-12).

With 2:38 remaining in the third quarter, rookie Tyler Hansbrough's two free throws brought the Pacers within two as the Cips led 56-54. Indiana would remain in the game until midway through the fourth quarter when an Earl Watson layup brought the Paces within two again with 6:54 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, Indiana would score only four more points in the final seven minutes. Three crucial turnovers, including a 24-second violation, and several clankers off the basket showed some glaring holes in the Pacers offense down the stretch. Granger's playmaking ability was sorely missed as the team was left without anyone to take over the game.

While the Pacers' offense went comatose in the final minutes, the defense and rebounding was also to blame. All five Clippers starters scored in double figures. Marcus Camby also grabbed 17 rebounds, helping Los Angeles to a 58-34 rebounding advantage, including a 19-4 edge on the offensive end. Both totals were season highs for the Clippers.

Indiana finished its Western road trip with an unimpressive and disheartening 0-4 record. This game was really a downer in the fourth. Just read some of our fan's reactions on the game thread. This one was got ugly, quickly. Check out more after the jump, if you dare.

Before leaving the game with his injury, Granger made 4-of-12 shots for 11 points. He had a couple of nice, forceful drives in the first half, but he was mostly a nonfactor before the injury anyway. Clippers center Chris Kaman said the following about the Pacers star: "He was not playing well tonight," Kaman said of Granger. "He is a great player and does a great job for them, but we did a good job defensively. He was missing shots and then he got injured."
Troy Murphy came through with a team-high 37 minutes and team-high 13 points tonight. Yeah, that should tell you a lot about the game. Murph also grabbed a team-high nine boards.
Jeff Foster started in place of Roy Hibbert in this one, but he didn't stay on the court very long. Hibbert entered the game quickly with about eight minutes to go in the first quarter and Foster was limited to only 12 minutes. Hibbert bounced back from his past two bad performances on the road trip to score 12 points in the post. It was nice to see the team feed him the ball on the block after being neglected of late. It was Hibbert's first game in double-digits in the past nine games.
Where art thou, T.J. Ford? The starting point guard must be playing some of the worst ball that a starting NBA caliber point guard can play right now. Another listless performance left the team's leadership position at a season-low in this one. Ford had another goose egg in the points column, had two assists, two turnovers and four fouls in 18 minutes. Luckily, Earl Watson, who struggled shooting the ball, proved his worth again by dishing out nine of the team's 19 assists.
Mike Dunleavy and Hansbrough both exceeded their minute limits tonight as Dunleavy played 22 and the rookie totaled 20. Dunleavy scored 10 points off the bench.
The Pacers held the Clippers to shooting 34.9 percent from the field tonight. Indiana shot 37.9 percent from the court.
Eric Gordon, who is still struggling with injuries, started for the Clippers but scored a season-low six points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Kings 110, Pacers 105: Indiana Fights Until The End, But Kings Escape With Win

spstevenson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:59:14 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Tyler Hansbrough heard the Home Court Gift Shop needed some new posters and happily obliged by making a new one on Thursday.

Browse more photos »

It was the starting lineup that seemed like the obvious choice -- a roll call featuring Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert. In the end, however, it didn't make a difference on the final scoreboard.

A listless performance from T.J. Ford, some poor defense from the starting frontcourt of Troy Murphy and Hibbert and a turnover-prone second half (14) were nearly negated by some very energized and surprising bench play, but it wasn't enough as the Pacers dropped a 110-105 loss outing to the Kings on Thursday. The Pacers have now lost seven of their last eight.

The starters helped put the team in a hole in the first and third quarters. Ford, Murphy and Hibbert, particularly, didn't have the best games of their careers. Ford may as well have been in Utah already. The starting PG had no points, one assist and two turnovers in a very forgettable 20 minutes of play. Luckily, the second unit, led by a fiesty and spirited group consisting of Earl Watson, Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Foster, kept the Pacers in the game until the very end.

Watson and Foster's determination late, along with Danny Granger's offense, gave the Pacers a fighting chance in the final minute of the game as the Pacers erased a seven-point third quarter deficit. Indiana cut the Kings' lead to 108-105 with 16 seconds remaining, but it was too late. More on that final minute after the jump.

Coach Jim O'Brien attempted to sport only a nine-man playing rotation Thursday. That left Brandon Rush at the end of the bench until midway through the fourth (he played only because Mike Dunleavy had to sit after reaching his 20-minute max) after being relieved from his starting spot for Jones.

Overall, the Pacers at least hung tough in this one and played up until the final buzzer to make it interesting. They were never out of it and there were some great performances from players such as Granger, Watson and Foster, and the Pacers even outrebounded the Kings 49-39...22-10 on offensive boards, yet, still lost! Had Dunleavy been allowed to keep playing with six minutes to go and right when the Pacers started making a run, it could have been even more interesting. But, alas, wishing don't make it happen folks. The Kings shot 51 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc, and executed the pick and roll to decimate the Pacers defense.

The Pacers have lost three straight. More after the jump.

Danny Granger and Dahntay Jones again proved that they work well together, at least on the offensive side of the ball. Between Granger's outside shooting and Jones' mid-range jumpers, the two carried what amounted to the Pacers' offense for most of the game. Granger finished with 33 points (his fifth 30-point game of the season) on 10-of-24 shooting, while Jones dropped 16 points.
Mike Dunleavy's "Minute Watch" caught up to him unexpectedly with more than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Dunleavy reached his 20-minute limit early and was sent to the bench right as the Pacers began pulling within striking distance of the Kings. Dunleavy contributed six points in 20 minutes. His absence allowed Brandon Rush to avoid the DNP-CD.
Speaking of Rush, he came in for some brief minutes at the end of the game and on an important possession that could pull the Pacers within five points late, Rush passed up a wide-open 3-pointer for...well, I'll let Jared Wade of Eight Points, Nine Seconds do the commentary from his Twitter page: "So Brandon Rush forgoes a nice, in-rhythm three in transition for a pump-fake, dribble left, pull-up 22-foot two-pointer 2 secs later?"
The Pacers' defense continues to struggle with the pick-and-roll and it continues to allow opposing playmakers to have field days against the blue and gold. Rookie Tyreke Evans exploded for 16 points in the first quarter (finished with 26), while Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes thrived on the generosity of the Pacers spacing issues by going for 22 and 21, respectively.
Granger attempted to put on the Batman mask during the final minute for a near-superhero comeback. A Granger 3-pointer pulled the team within five points with 1:13 left in the game. After getting the ball back on a jump ball, Jones casually threw the ball away on the inbounds pass with 50 seconds left. Granger struck another crazy 3-pointer with 36 seconds on the clock to pull Indiana 107-103. After an Evans made free throw, Granger bricked a three, but was fouled on a second attempt behind the line. Unfortunately, the star clanked the first free throw and made the second two, pulling the blue and gold within a 108-105 score with 16 seconds remaining. Jones missed a 3-ball on the next possession to effectively end the Pacers attempted comeback.
T.J. Ford. Yuck.
Watson played really well in place of the point guard mentioned in the previous bullet point. The backup was all over the court, dishing and hitting the open man. Playing along with Dunleavy really opened up the offense for the Pacers. He finished with 15 points.

IC Cold Links: Waiting On The Pacers vs. Kings

Tom Lewis — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:38:04 -0000

Could this be the night Dahntay Jones starts over Brandon Rush?

Bruno's Scouting Report broaches the subject and and it seems like the time is now for a change. The Sacramento Kings offer up some crazy matchup problems, what with a 6'11" shooting guard and 6'7" center in the starting lineup. But the biggest problem is their stout, 6'6" rookie point guard, Tyreke Evans who was just named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month.

It would be nice to have Dahntay Jones following the rookie's every move, but initially T.J. Ford or Earl Watson will have to try to pester Evans. I know, this sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen, but the Pacers only succeed with a full team effort on defense and with some of these odd matchups that team mentality should take root out of pure necessity. Plus, the Kings normally spend more time playing with a traditional lineup by sliding Evans to the two-guard and bringing Beno Udrih and Sergio Rodriguez in to play the point.

Any way you slice it, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Pacers attack the Kings tonigt. And attack they must, or they'll be left on the side of the road again dragging another L with them to Salt Lake City.

A few more links of interest after the jump.

Pacers must put up better defense
Mike Wells reports on the Pacers looking to shore up their defense at the point of attack with another scoring guard to contend with tonight in Tyreke Evans.
Video: Dahntay Jones springboards off Monta Ellis - Ball Don't Lie
Forget the poster, this is Dahntay's Picasso over Monta Ellis.
Game #15 Recap: The Monta Ellis Show
Jared Wade at Eight Points, Nine Seconds recaps the Dubs second-half destruction of the Pacers.
Kings game plan vs. Indiana - Sacramento Sports
Quick preview of tonight's game from the Sacramento Bee.
Team celebrates Evans' accolade
Sam Amick reports on Tyreke Evans lifting the Kings' spirits after being named Western Conference Rookie of the Month yesterday.
Let's Not Decide the Rookie of the Year Race Just Yet...
Zach Harper makes the case that despite Brandong Jenning bursting on the scene early in his rookie year, that Tyreke Evans and his steady (and huge) play for the Kings deserves the same amount of attention. So let the rooks play it out before locking up your ROY vote too early.
Also, I will be talking about the Pacers this evening on WNDE-1260AM around 5:30PM with Zakk from Indy Sports Nation who is hosting The Drive today while WNDE tries to figure out how to replace JMV.