SB Nation - Roy Hibbert

Recap: Bucks 84, Pacers 81

Alex Boeder — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:16:23 -0000

More photos » by Ron Hoskins - NBAE via Getty Images

Even if it wasn't always pretty, Bogut's finishing was almost perfect in Indianapolis

The bad news: The Pacers played all the part of a last-place team, and the Bucks were barely better.

Like so many games before, the Bucks found themselves in a close-and-late one. Unlike most before though, they had the game-changing players, big and small, both playing big.

Andrew Bogut was the biggest, headlining the show with a career-high 31 points (14/19 fg). And surrounded by players on both teams mighty determined to lose, Brandon Jennings carried it in the clutch.

In a game that looked like the 84-81 final score, the Bucks and Pacers slopped through Indianapolis. The game was fittingly capped by seven straight misses at the free throw line by the Bucks and two wayward T.J. Ford three-point attempts in the last five seconds, underscoring a rough game for both teams.

The good news: The Bucks were barely better.

Three Bucks

Andrew Bogut. The only player to really stand out in all good ways, Bogut scored the first basket of the game, foretelling a breakout not only from his three-game shooting slump but also a point-scoring breakout half a decade in the making.

He scored 20+ plenty prior to tonight: 37 times. But just now the Aussie made it into the 30's scoring for the first time in his career, with 31 points on a tremendous 14-19 shooting night.

Andrew's only first-half miss was an atypical jumper perhaps spurred on by a long j that Hibbert had just knocked down on the other end. He made the other eight. And unlike so many times before when he started hot, Bogut looked for the ball, the Bucks found him, and he attacked. So rare that those three things come together at once for two hours.

And while I'm not really okay with Roy Hibbert going for 16, Bogut (18 rebounds and three blocks) pretty much controlled the paint from start to finish. Another level, tonight.

Brandon Jennings. The point guard of Bucks' future haunted the point guard of Bucks' past with a few dagger-swishes late in the fourth.

Jennings made three of Milwaukee's last four shots from the field, all long, tough shots, each one better than the one before. He capped it with a ~~Iversonish~~ dribble-around, step-back jumper in T.J. Ford's face to give the Bucks an 84-79 cushion that they very much needed.

A slow start, but he finds a way to put up the points, and tonight he finished with 16, good enough for second to Bogut in the game. Not a stellar shooting night (7-19) again, but also again, he didn't get the benefit of calls and added six assists, four rebounds, and two steals against just two turnovers.

Michael Redd. Hard to tell if he deserves this, but rather than talk about him in the Good and Bad, I'll just cover Mike here. And for Mike, it was a mixed showing, which is simultaneously an upgrade.

This looked like a Redd-not-Reddy-redux return to the starting lineup early on. Seemingly slower than ever, he had three of his first six shots blocked. And he almost gave it all away late, missing two free throws.

But in between, Mike was alright. He swished some shots (5-12 from the field, 2-3 on threes) on a night when the Bucks couldn't shoot from the field (.422), from deep (.312), or at the line (.450). Needed that bit of offense he provided tonight.

Three Numbers

11.5 % Best known as tall guys who can shoot the ball, Mike Dunleavy (2-17) and Ersan Ilyasova (1-9) combined to shoot 3-26 from the field, or 11.5 %.

1. The Bucks only made it to the 20's in scoring in one quarter, when they threw down 29 points in the third quarter. Not something I'd usually sponsor, but they made it work.

0. Second scoreless night for Delfino in four games. He got blanked against the Lakers and was a zero again tonight. Odd. This time, he went 0-3, all on threes.

Three Good

On the road. The Bucks won for the first time on the road in a month and won for the first time at Conseco in ten tries. All in the past.

Young Buck. On the same night when the former star (Mike Redd) returned to the starting lineup and the current star (Andrew Bogut) had his most productive offensive game ever, it was the current/future star (Brandon Jennings) who made the plays down the stretch, sinking eight points in the final 5:22 when everyone else on the court for both teams was thoroughly convinced that scoring was against the rules.

Some experience he's getting in these late-game situations, and I always like how he handles it, win or lose, coming back for more.

Bogut. I remember Frank called out Bogut (Brogut, actually) in the preview of the Celts game. And I highlighted the center's issues of late before this game. Both times, huge games followed.

[Bonus Good/Humor: Completely off-topic, but the Kings outscored the Bulls 33-10 in the fourth quarter in Chicago tonight to win 102-98 tonight, and yeah, I'm thinking about the division and playoff implications a little bit in December. At least I get to think about such things these days.]

Three Bad

45.0 % Just when you thought the Bucks had hit the bottom of the earth at the free throw line, they fall all the way through into a previously uncharted Galaxy of Ineptitude.

The only time Milwaukee's tragic free throw shooting can avoid Three Numbers is when it becomes so Bad that it must be singled out here.

And tonight is one of those nights.

The Bucks missed their final seven free throws of the game. First it was Luc, then two from Charlie Bell. Two more from Redd, capped off by two misses from Bogut.In all, 9-20, much like middle school teams might shoot.

The... game? In the end, I'll take a sloppy win over an exciting loss. In the end. During the game? That's another one.

All the usual suspects were present: the orange basketball, the hardwood floor, the nets, the rims, the unreasonably tall humans. And so on.

But it was generous to call most of what happened "basketball." This is one of those times when the only logical explanation is that everyone contracted H1N1. Airballs, shots thrown off the side of the backboard, bricked free throws in the clutch, the refs fitting right in with the whole thing.

This was the bad kind of ~~speechless~~ typeless.

41 minutes? Skiles has been so on this year, but did Mike Redd really just play more than anyone else tonight? Delfino was off, but a little more from Luc Mbah a Moute (21 minutes) or Luke Ridnour (12 minutes) perhaps? Both played fairly well when they had a chance.

Bucks 84, Pacers 81: Pacers Can't Figure Out How To Win

Tom Lewis — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:11:17 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

The rookies showed up well, in a game without many bright spots.

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What are we doing?

That was the question Mike Dunleavy was asking no teammate in particular after the Indiana Pacers failed to get an open 3-point look for their preferred shooters with the game on the line, instead leaving the 84-81 win sitting on the table for the Milwaukee Bucks to scoop up and take home.

After Michael Redd was gracious enough to miss two free throws, the Pacers had their last real chance to extend the game with the ball and 18 seconds to play. Dahntay Jones inbounded to Troy Murphyat the top of the key, but Luc Mbah a Moute arrived at the same time forcing Murph to give up the ball to Mike Dunleavy guarded 25 feet from the hoop.

Dunleavy quickly back to T.J. Ford who pump fake Brandon Jennings out of the way and drove in the lane. Instead of taking a pull up for two with 12 seconds left, Ford was forced to toss it back out the Dahntay Jones. Jones was covered and knew better than to force a three. Murph was pinned in the corner and covered up, so Jones tossed it back to Ford behind the arc. After pumping Jennings past him, Ford let go a clean 3-ball with five seconds left.

The missed bounced to Andrew Bogut, leaving Dunleavy wondering what had just happened. After watching the replay, I understand Dunleavy's disgust but he and Murph were checked.

After the game Jim O'Brien didn't critique the play, only saying that when they needed a three, they wanted to go for Murph first and Michael (Dunleavy) second. Of course, those first two options were quickly covered up by the Bucks and after both had to give up the ball, they never touched it again.

Once the play broke down, Ford was left to create something but passed on a two, before being stuck launching a three with five seconds left. Yes, it clanked and much credit goes to the Bucks for defending the Pacers into a 3-ball from a guy who has only made one all season.

Still, Murph and Dunleavy didn't touch it in the final15 seconds thanks to Milwaukee's defense, but it seems like there was enough time to keep moving the ball and trying to free one of them for a shot. The shooters were left stuck as an easy cover with nowhere to move. Once Ford dribbled into the middle, everything broke down, most notably the Pacers chances to steal a win.

T.J. Ford did have one last shot at redemption after Bogut missed both of his free throws. With no timeouts, Ford had to race the ball up the floor and did get off a clean game-tying attempt, but once again, the game ended with a shot bouncing off the rim.

More observations:

This game was a real grind with two of the worst shooting teams in the league living up to their reputations. The Bucks shot 42% on the night while the Pacers clanked their way to a 36% (if you're generous and round up) shooting night. Coaches will point to good defense and there was some of that without a doubt, but there were also a lot of good looks that went sideways.
The Bucks helped keep the Pacers afloat in the fourth quarter with their poor free throw shooting. On the night Milwaukee was only 9 for 20 from the line, but they also missed six straight freebies in the final 1:02 of regulation, giving the Pacers multiple chances to sneak up and win the game.
Aside from the final two shots, which in reality were thrust upon T.J. Ford, the point guard was looking for someone else to play the hero role down the stretch. Inside of two minutes, down four, Ford passed up good looks which seemed to surprise his teammates and jumbled up the possessions. One in particular had Ford in his wheelhouse - wide open just inside the free throw line for a jumper with 1:08 to play. After jumping though, he tried to pass it out to Mike Dunleavy who had continued moving past where Ford threw the ball. Turnover and worse a blown opportunity to close the gap.
Mike Dunleavy is officially in his first shooting slump of the season. He struggled to get anything going, making just 2 of 17 shots on the night. That makes him 6 for 27 in the last two games which includes 0 of 9 from 3-land.
Brandon Rush and Luther Head both played strong minutes off the bench. Luther continued his positive play making plays at both ends when given a chance. Sure would like to see him play more down the stretch. Rush was used about right tonight, logging 20 minutes off the bench. He was as assertive as I've seen him all year. One play in particular stuck out as he ran baseline to the left corner, he was actually calling for the ball. Then when he received it, turned and knocked down the shot. Nice to see.
The Pacer bigs had their moments offensively, especially Roy Hibbert using his low post repertoire to log 16 points. But defensively, everyone struggled trying to slow down Andrew Bogut. The Aussie center nuked the Pacers for a career-high 31 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Rookie sensation, Brandon Jennings didn't do much of note through three quarters, but flashed a little brilliance in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Most notably, hitting a well-defended 3-pointer and another two late to score five of the Bucks' last seven points. While the Pacers seemed to be looking at each other for a hero to make a shot, Jennings didn't flinch at the opportunity to step up at winning time.
Tyler Hansbrough had another strong outing with 11 points, 5 rebounds and a couple blocks. It remains incredible to see how many opponents end up on the ground when in the vicinity of Hansbrough. He earned some late-game burn and actually scored the Pacers' final two field goals, one on a sweet spin move past Bogut that resulted in a nice little four-footer for two.
Luc Mbah a Moute was king of the little things, giving the Bucks a nice boost late in the game. Scott Skiles went with the defensive-minded Mbah a Moute when the game appeared set to be a grind all the way through. The Bucks' forward not only defended the heck out of Troy Murphy, he also tracked down some critical loose balls to keep possessions alive for Milwaukee at winning time.
Along with the poor shooting, the Pacers donated 18 turnovers on the night. Troy Murphy had seven donations on his own, not to mention how a really solid second quarter could've been fantastic if not for too many careless possessions.
The Pacers have to get up off the mat to take on the Celtics in Boston tomorrow night. I myself will be heading out west for a week, so posting may be lighter than normal, although Sean will fill in the gaps when he can. Let me encourage you to use the FanPosts to offer more thorough thoughts on the games or general issues of the day with the Pacers. I'd love to promote some of the varied opinions around here to the front page. Just keep it clean. I know, not always easy...

Spurs 100, Pacers 99: Pacers Miss Out On Chance For Road Win

Tom Lewis — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:14:52 -0000

It's about time to issue a warning: Follow the Indiana Pacers at your own risk.

On any given night, their play may force your heart to stop intermittently or your brain to go numb. You may pull a hammy dancing with joy, or become life-less, depressed pile of bones as the buzzer sounds.

Against the San Antonio Spurs tonight, all of the above side effects were felt as the Pacers rallied from a 13-point second quarter deficit to take a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter.

From there, the heart fluttered, mind froze, dancing ceased and depression set in after T.J. Ford's potential game-winning jump shot was just wide right, allowing the Spurs to escape with a win, 100-99.

Just when the expectations for the Pacers sink, as they did after last night's double-digit loss to Memphis, the team puts together an effort to draw you back into and actually have you thinking win...on the road...at San Antonio. It was all there for the taking early in the fourth quarter.

But you could feel the Spurs mounting an attack, plus the Pacers' recent history made a late run by the Spurs standard operating procedure. Once the Spurs made their run to make it a one possession game with five minutes left to play, I began to wonder if this would be a repeat of Orlando where the Pacers would shut down offensively while the Spurs methodically pulled away.

Not tonight.

The Spurs biggest lead would be three points with three minutes to go. But a dunk by Brandon Rush and a near-miraculous tip by Roy Hibbert gave the Pacers points on consecutive possessions and a one-point lead with a minute to go.

Nope, no fade tonight, just a missed opportunity.

After weathering a couple of Tim Duncan offensive rebounds, the Pacers had the ball and the lead with 33 seconds to go. After using up some clock, T.J. Ford missed one of his patented little 12-foot fade away jumpers, leaving the Spurs 10 seconds to win the game.

Naturally, the Spurs went to Duncan. Roy Hibbert met Duncan at the rim and stuffed the Hall of Famer's first offering. But Duncan quickly took the rejecting and jammed it home. Spurs up one with four seconds left.

Once again, the Pacers went to Ford to be the hero, clearing out for the point guard to work from the top of the key. It appeared he had George Hill off-balance and rose up for a clean 16-footer which helplessly clanked of the right side of the rim. Depression.

Plenty of thoughts and observations from this one:

For starters, why go with T.J. Ford down the stretch? Pretty good question, but T.J. was a catalyst, making the Pacers go through much of the second half. Ford was playing off the bench, with Earl Watson starting, but he had a nice offensive flow going much of the night. Plus, he's made that type of shot in the past and Mike Dunleavy was off all night and didn't play much in the second half.
As mentioned above, Jim O'Brien shook up his starting lineup, moving Ford and Brandon Rush to the bench to start Watson and Dahntay Jones. The team jumped out to a solid start in the first quarter, but a late 9-2 run to end the first quarter, with mostly bench players on the floor, nullified the good start.
Things switch in the second half, when the second unit played the Pacers back into the game. T.J. Ford ended up playing more minutes than Watson.
Roy Hibbert had moments of brilliance at the offensive end. The Spurs didn't feel the need to double Hibbert much and the big fella took his time and made them pay, even squaring up and scoring over Tim Duncan with a solid move in the lane. Hibbert's presence was felt at the defensive end as well, especially late with a couple of big blocks. Hibbert finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Brandon Rush played a lot of minutes off the bench, as well. His play was up and down as usual, but he was hardly floating. Although, floating would've been better than the end result of a few possessions Rush botched. His baseline back-cut for a dunk late in the game was sweet and gave the Pacers a boost to eventually reclaim the lead.
Troy Murphyhad his shot going early and finished with 21 points on 8 of 13 from the floor. Murph was saddled with fouls as he struggled to defend Duncan at times.
Tyler Hansbroughwas in the mix during the Pacers late second quarter run which helped set up a late third quarter run, also involving Hansbrough, to give the Pacers the lead. The rook finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds with a few blips along the way. Actually, one was more than a blip. After being hung out to dry guarding Richard Jeffersonon the wing, RJ crossed-up Hansbrough and left him leaning in cement sneakers as Jefferson threw down a pretty reverse dunk. Wasn't a poster dunk, because Hansbrough would've been out of the picture.
The Pacers caught a break with the Spurs missing 15 free throws. Tony Parker missed five of his 12 attempts.
Life doesn't get any easier for the Pacers as they head home for a day before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, followed by a quick trip to Boston to play the Celtics on Tuesday.
Jeff Foster played a few minutes before retiring for the night with more back issues.
Luther Head took advantage of some rare playing time to provide a nice spark for the Pacers, as he has done in the past. Luther had 9 points on 6 shots and once again made a case for more playing time.

IC Cold Links: Waiting on the Bobcats at Pacers

Tom Lewis — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:36:38 -0000

Here are a few links of interest to peruse while waiting for tonight's opening tip against Charlotte.

PACERS: Pacers-Bobcats preview
Bruno's Scouting Report focuses on the Pacers continuing to struggle with the long-distance shooting.
Miller film to premiere at Conseco Fieldhouse
Jeff Rabjohns reports on Reggie Miller's presser yesterday.
Indy .500 Long Way Off for Pacers -- NBA FanHouse
Tim Povtak gets up to speed with the Pacers' current situation.
Dwight Howard gets a pass from NBA on swing at Murphy
Brian Schmitz reports that the NBA won't penalize Dwight Howard for taking a swipe at Troy Murphy after a hard foul.
AP: Knicks' Bender hopeful he can return to NBA
With his comeback officially underway, Jonathan Bender will have to be patient.
NBA.com: Kentucky phenom Wall could have Jazz thinking big
David Aldridge takes a look around the NBA.
Hoya dreams stalk Hibbert
Roy Hibbert still feels the impact of his intense playing days at Georgetown.

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.

Magic 106, Pacers 98: Magic Zoom By Pacers At The Finish

Tom Lewis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:11:55 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

A win for the Pacers was just out of reach against Dwight Howard and the Magic.

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The Orlando Magic made a 17-point deficit disappear in the first half and then the Indiana Pacers' offense vanished into thin air during the final five minutes of the game, leaving the Pacers losers on the road, 106-98.

Stick with me as I shift to a little Indy Car analogy. For the uninitiated, Indy Cars have different fuel settings allowing the cars to run at different levels of performance depending on whether they're trying to save fuel or run up front. The best cars can stay within sight of the lead on a lower fuel setting and then eventually switch to full rich, meaning they're running wide open allowing them to track down and overtake a car with lesser equipment.

Throughout the third quarter, the Magic felt like a Penske or Ganassi car tucked in behind a Vision Racing car (Pacers), staying close without running on full rich. While still a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, you could sense the Magic had raised their level of play to "full rich" and expected to overwhelm the Pacers.

The Pacers hung tough, though and appeared to frustrate the Magic as the hosts tried to impose their will on the game. With 4:58 in the game, T.J. Ford rose up to knock down a baseline jumper to give the Pacers a 96-94 lead. At that point, it appeared Ford may cap off a solid night by pushing the Pacers to an upset win.

Instead, Ford's shot was the last field goal the Pacers would make. Meanwhile, the Magic used back-to-back three-pointers from Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick to pull away from the Pacers at winning time. In essence, the Pacers ran out of push-to-pass button boosts allowing the Magic to zoom past them to victory lane.

After the jump, back to straight hoops talk with more thoughts and observations from the loss.

Let's start with Mike Dunleavy. Actually, Jim O'Brien started Mike Dunleavy, making the move because his minutes limit had been bumped up to 28 and Dahntay Jones was available but still feeling the effects of his hard fall in Washington. Dunleavy had another great outing and JOB used that minutes limit as a mere suggestion, using up 18 minutes in the first half and eventually playing 17 more than 33 minutes. While his shot betrayed him at time, Dunleavy still finished with 26 points.
With Dunleavy starting the game, the first unit jumped out to a quick start at 12-2 on a 12-0 run. Within th first five minutes all five starters scored thanks to solid ball and player movement. For the Pacers first bucket of the game, things stagnated a bit and Dunleavy and Brandon Rush nearly bumped into each other on the perimeter. Dunleavy directed a little traffic and as Rush swung the ball to Ford on the perimeter, Dunleavy cut through the lane. When Ford's drive to the hoop was stopped, Dunleavy was there for a pass. His little hook missed but drew a defender which left Roy Hibbert open to dunk the follow. Can't help but think that possession would've ended with a jacked-up shot without Dunleavy involved.
The free throw differential was an eyesore reminiscent of several games last season. The Magic shot 35 free throws compared to the Pacers' 10. Of course, Dwight Howard accounted for 22 of Orlando's freebies. Howard missed nine of those attempts, but was nothing short of a beast with 21 points and 22 rebounds. Still, you'd like to have more points than free throw attempts at the end of the night. I guess he'll take the win, though.
Clark Kellogg made a great call at the start of the fourth quarter with the Pacers clinging to a two-point lead. He noticed that the Magic had only made five 3-balls and they averaged 10 per game. Sure enough, at winning time it was raining threes as the Magic made four, including the two daggers to decided it late.
T.J. Ford nearly put together his best full game of the season, and in fact, maybe this was his best full game thus far, but it certainly wasn't complete. Ford did his part to push the Pacers out to a 17-point lead in the first half. The lead would dwindle to one at the break, but Ford had 11 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers. HUGE numbers compared to his recent production. He was unable to pick up where he left off in the second half, finishing with 13 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Worse, he dribbled away a few critical possessions in the final five minutes making some poor decisions with the ball and game in his hands.
Tyler Hansbrough had a rough shooting night making just 4 of 12 shots, finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. He seemed to really miss running with Dunleavy on the second unit. They did play some together but in the first half that second unit was lost.
Roy Hibbert picked up 3 early fouls which nullified a pretty good start for the big fella. From there Hibby had minimal impact on the game.
Former Pacer, Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick were huge off the bench for the Magic. The relief backcourt tandem combined for 26 points and 12 assists. Redick also drained 3 of 4 three-pointers.

IC Cold Links: Hansbrough, Dunleavy Will See More Minutes

spstevenson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:10:16 -0000

More photos » by Ron Hoskins - NBAE via Getty Images

Tyler Hansbrough blows by the Nets during the Pacers first win in, like, forever.

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Rookie Tyler Hansbrough and veteran Mike Dunleavy nearly have the official green light. Right now, it's still at a cautionary yellow, but that could soon change as well.

After both were restricted for several weeks with limited minutes of under 20 per game, Friday's victory against the Nets brought to light that the Indiana Pacers medical staff has made the decision to decrease the minute restriction and allow for more playing time. Mike Wells reported in his notebook today that both players now have a ceiling of 24 minutes per contest. Dunleavy is recovering from a knee injury, while Hansbrough is still rehabilitating his injured shin.

Maybe it wasn't just having more minutes, but Hansbrough took full advantage of the increased amount of time he spent on the court Friday. The rook dropped 21 points and three steals, while Dunleavy compiled 15 points off the bench. Coach Jim O'Brien on Hansbrough: "He was playing as well as anybody on the team (tonight). We're fortunate he got kicked up another four minutes. His intensity on the court was something we needed."

Hopefully we'll continue to see these minute restrictions go by the way-side through the month of December. We'll see tonight if the minute restriction is any different for Dunleavy and Hansbrough during the second game of a back-to-back. Not only does the lessening of the minute restriction help in games, but hopefully both can contribute and participate more in practice situations as well.

More links after the jump, but before we link it up, here's Hansbrough's reaction to his great game and the team's struggles of late: "I felt good and it felt good to get a win tonight," Hansbrough said. "This win does not erase the losses that we had, but it sure helps out. It's very frustrating to lose but I have to keep working and we have to keep working on our game to get better. We showed up tonight, played hard and won. We see what can happen when you keep pushing and helping each other out. It was a good win and we want it to carry over to tomorrow."

Box Score
Photo Gallery
AP Story
NBA.com Recap
The Pacers.com Inside the Game where the Stat of the Night was represented by the Pacers holding the Nets to 4-of-20 shooting in the fourth quarter, including 12 misses in a row to start the quarter. Wam, bam, thank ma'am. Other interesting stat was this one -- starters scoring: Nets 68, Pacers 60. Hey, it's an improvement. We can live with that as long as the bench keeps playing the way it does. With Dunleavy's minute restriction starting to increase, we may see him in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Mike Wells notes that it was the happiest of birthdays for the Pacers big man yesterday as Roy "Hungry Hungry" Hibbert went on a feeding frenzy for 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Wells quoted Hibbert, who sank an uncharacteristic 3-pointer late in the game, about his apparently uncanny and lethal ability at draining 3's with the shot clock winding down. "In practice sometimes I win shooting H-O-R-S-E, so I feel I can shoot from out there," Hibbert said about his first 3-pointer of the season.
In his Pacers Insider post, Wells writes that even though Friday's victory was over the league-worst Nets, well, sometimes a win is just win.
Examiner's John Oehser provides his recap from the game, and Josh Dhani of Always Miller Time also add his two cents worth here.
Get the Nets perspective of the game from Nets Are Scorching and The Star-Ledger.
If you're in the Muncie area or spending a day visiting the confines of my alma mater's Journalism Building next week, you'll be able to catch the Pacers Fan Van at Ball State University on Tuesday. Students, faculty and staff at BSU can show their ID for a free t-shirt as the blue and gold arrive on campus to promote College Night. Check out more info at the BSU Daily News.
Preview for tonight's matchup against the Wiz.

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.

Happy Birthday, Dwight Howard!

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:00:20 -0000

by John Raoux - AP

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For the second consecutive year, Dwight Howard will spend his birthday in Los Angeles, hoping to lead the Orlando Magic to victory over the Clippers. He turns 24 today, which makes him younger than every NBA regular starting center save for Andris Biedrins, Andrew Bynum, Spencer Hawes, Al Horford, Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, and Greg Oden.

I'm not sure what else to say, really. Anyone who's watched the Magic since the 2006/07 season--turnover-plagued, sure, but check his splits from February--knew he'd be more than a defense and rebounding specialist, as not a few people predicted was his ceiling. Needle his unrefined post game all you want. Berate him for smiling (?) on the court, or for complaining about whistles who don't go his way. But in no way can anyone argue with Howard's overall results. Even his slump during the first 9 games of this season, when he could not seem to avoid foul trouble, Howard was average at the very worst among NBA centers who average at least 30 minutes per game:

"Slumping" Dwight Howard, Average NBA Center (min. 30 MPG), and "Post-Slump" Dwight Howard, 2009/10 NBA Season
Player	Pts	Rebs	Blks	Fouls	Mins	FG%
Dwight Howard (slump)	18.1	10.6	1.4	4.1	31.1	64.7%
Avg. NBA Center	14.3	9.3	1.5	3.0	33.0	52.5%
Dwight Howard (post-slump)	17.8	13.4	2.1	3.7	33.7	64.4%
Howard statistics from Basketball-Reference.com; avg. center statistics from Hoopdata.com

So he brought the stats just about every night, even if his commitment to defense wasn't quite there until recently. That's how good he is just when he shows up and tries a little. Think of what he can do when he's really engaged.

Maybe that last paragraph comes off as harsh, and I don't mean to disparage Howard (especially not on his birthday). But it was obvious to anyone who watched the first 9 games of the season that Dwight wasn't all there. Now? He's more into it. For me, the biggest statistical indicator of that is his fouls-to-block ratio. In the slump, he averaged 2.8 fouls per blocked shot. In the games since, he's improved that figure to 1.8.

We've gone way off the rails in what was meant to be a simple happy birthday post, so I'll conclude here before I get too carried away. In any event, I hope we appreciate Howard's improving work on the court, as well as his efforts in the community.

Many happy returns, Dwight.