Maybe it’s time to realize these Indiana Pacers are a team that is building for the future. They entered this season with the expectations to just make the playoffs. Their early season success has led me, and others, to believe they should be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. However, their inability to defeat fellow playoff teams leads me to believe they won’t be able to win just one playoff series this season. They are currently 23-14 and fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Pacers began their second half of the season with games against the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans. That’s two teams that have combined records of 27-49. We beat both teams handedly and outscoring each team by more than 15.
Indiana had established a six-game winning streak and the next game was a road trip to face the Chicago Bulls. Even though the Bulls were the top team in the East, we had already beaten them once on their court so why couldn’t we beat them again? Indiana played tough against Chicago in the first half and even had the lead at halftime. That completely changed in the second half when the Bulls outscored the Pacers 50-29. The final score was 92-72. How do you go from having such a great first half to playing awfully in the second half? Coaching is part of it, but so is the heart and determination the players have.
That lack of heart and determination presented itself Tuesday night in a home bout versus the Atlanta Hawks. The two teams played a close game but the Pacers could never get the lead down the stretch. In a close game like that, the final result often comes down to the team that makes more “hustle plays” and who wants it more. It just seemed like the Hawks were playing at a 100% level while the Pacers were playing at 85%. The Hawks’ players were moving on offense and making great passes and getting open. On defense they were rotating and not allowing any Pacer to get open looks. The Pacers just stood around and didn’t make much effort to get open shots or play any defense.
On the final play of the game, Danny Granger shot a contested three that went off the rim and out of bounds. Roy Hibbert chased down the ball and while leaping out of bounds, caught the ball and threw it back onto the court. The only problem was it went right to an Atlanta Hawk.
The telling picture of the whole scene was that after missing the shot, Granger went to the other half of the court to get ready for defense; even though there were just seconds left on the clock. Had Granger stood his ground where he took that shot, he would have been in perfect position to catch Hibbert’s inbound pass.
Granger is the captain and veteran of the team, but he takes way too many bad shots. Since the All-Star Break he has shot 26-61. That’s a 43% field goal percentage. Shooting in the 40%’s isn’t that bad but it could seriously improve if Granger didn’t so many unnecessary jump shots on the fast break. I see that happen at least twice a game. Somebody will get a steal and then pass it down court to Granger. Instead of dribbling it in the lane to try and draw a foul, he’ll stand behind the arc or right within it and take the jump shot. Of course, the ball clangs off the rim and the opposing team grabs the rebound.
Heading into the rest of March with on a two-game losing streak is not where the Pacers can be. The next six games could all easily be losses if the Pacers don’t come out and establish they want to win, not just hoping to win.
Next six games:
3/10- at Miami Heat
3/11- at Orlando Magic
3/13- vs. Portland Trailblazers
3/14- vs. Philadelphia 76ers
3/16- at New York Knicks
3/17- vs. New York Knicks
The Heat have dominated us in the last two matchups so I doubt we’ll be able to win that game tonight. We have a 1-2 record against the Magic so this final game against them is vitally important. If they win, they would also win a tiebreaker at the end of the season to determine seeding in the playoffs. The Trailblazers are struggling so we should get a win there. The 76ers game is also important because we are battling with them for that #3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Plus, they have already beat us. The Knicks are 18-22 and haven’t won since the All-Star Break. I would almost guarantee the Pacers find a way to end that streak for New York.
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