The Pacers rallied big time Saturday night to beat the visiting Charlotte Bobcats 99-77. Indiana trailed up until the 3rd quarter, but they finally got the lead and never looked back. In the second half the Pacers outscored the Bobcats 56-28. Six Pacers scored in double figures, with center Roy Hibbert leading all scorers with 20 points.
Hibbert got injured in the 4th quarter with an apparent leg injury and was replaced by Jeff Foster. Foster came in and did what he does best, play aggressively and grab rebounds. The long-time Pacer played 13 minutes, got three offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds. Eventually Hibbert returned, but Foster did a good job of making most Pacers’ fans forget all about Hibbert’s injury.
With the win against Charlotte, Indiana is now 6-2. They are second in the division (behind the Bulls) and third in the Eastern Conference (behind the Bulls and Heat). They are averaging 93 points per game (ranked 18th in the NBA) and allowing 89 points per game (ranked 27th in the NBA). Obviously defense is not the strength of the team. The biggest thing I notice when I watch the Pacers play is that they don’t “rotate” on defense. All a team has to do is pass the ball a few times to get our players confused and find the open guy. It also seems like the Pacers are beaten a lot by “pick and roll” plays, perhaps the most elementary of all basketball plays. Hopefully head coach Frank Vogel spends some time on shoring up the defense.
The Pacers’ worst performance of the season so far was the thrashing they got from the Miami Heat. Even without Dwayne Wade, the Heat were able to score from anywhere on the court and never allowed the Pacers to score consistently. In that game, the Heat shot 52% from the field, as opposed to the Pacers shooting 35%.
The Pacers’ best performance, in my opinion, was the Charlotte game I wrote about first. When the starting five began to struggle, the Pacers’ bench players went in and kept the game close heading into halftime. After the starters got that lead back, the bench guys not only led the lead, but increased. Indiana has to have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA.
By the way, the Pacers current starting five are: Darren Collison, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West, and Roy Hibbert. The bench players are: George Hill, A.J. Price, Dahntay Jones, Tyler Hansbrough, and Jeff Foster. Plus Lou Amundson, Lance Stephenson, and Jeff Pendergraph.
Next seven games:
1/9- at Philadelphia 76ers (5-2)
1/11- vs. Atlanta Hawks (6-3)
1/13- vs. Toronto Raptors (3-5)
1/14- vs. Boston Celtics (4-4)
1/18- at Sacramento Kings (3-5)
1/20- at Golden State Warriors (2-6)
1/22- at L.A. Lakers (5-4)
The Pacers currently hold the third spot in their conference, but the 76ers and Hawks are right behind them. The Blue and Gold can make a big statement to the whole league by beating these two. We already beat the Raptors and Celtics so they shouldn’t be a problem. Indiana then travels to the West Coast for the first time and should head home with at least two wins. If the Pacers can get through those games with a 4-3 record, it’ll put us in a good position to finish near the top of the conference.
One final note, there are rumors that the Pacers are interested in acquiring point guard Steve Nash. Nash is one of the best point guards in the NBA, and would be a huge weapon in the East. The price to get him would be pretty steep. It would most likely require trading away Darren Collison and perhaps Danny Granger. I could see getting rid of Granger, but there’s no way the Pacers can get rid of him and another starter.
Oh wait, one more thing. Be sure to vote for the Pacers on the 2012 All-Star Ballot. You can vote here: http://www.nba.com/allstar/2012/asb/eng/landing.jsp?referrer=asb12_mainGeneral&cid=asb12_mainGeneral
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