Comments on: Rookie Mistakes

By: Matt Teague

Matt Teague — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:10:21 +0000

I fealt that way too unitl ive seen him play this year (about lance). I don’t know, he’s such a head case thers no telling how anything will effect him.

By: kester

kester — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:48:28 +0000

I agree that Brandon isn’t what we are looking for, really. But Dunleavy’s out, period. My main concern here is chemistry…call it familiarity, and that’s fine. If the core of our starters were KG, Pierce, Rondo and Allen, we could plug anyone we wanted in and out of the starting roster. With the guys we actually have, however, that chemistry seems to me both vital and fragile. Each of our guys has a limited bag of tricks (compared to a really veteran lineup), and the guys on the floor with them need to know when and where to feed them, and when not to.

Put Tyler back in the second unit, and include Brandon there…leaving George in the starters…I could live with that. Granger and George have some history and seem to feed off each other at times.

By: Terry Donahue

Terry Donahue — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:01:19 +0000

Matt, I both agree and disagree with your comment. My earlier comment was concerned mostly with moving Tyler to the starting lineup. I think his offense there replaces rather than compliments that of Hibbert and Collison, to the detriment of the bench. I wrote something last week on this board suggesting moving Dahntay Jones to the starting lineup, and I am as frustrated as anyone by the lack of production from Brandon Rush. Although I think that in the offense we run you could change the name of the position from shooting guard to lead spectator. Where I disagree with you is over Lance Stephenson. I think he should have sat and watched this season and got his head straight and come back next year with a clean slate and full training camp and competed for minutes. I just think his inexperience will outweigh any gain his abilities might bring us.

By: Manfred James

Manfred James — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:37:47 +0000

Hansbrough should go back to the bench, and George should continue to start. Without Tyler — the leader of the Goon Squad — in the second unit, there is no real scoring ability, and George is just better than Rush.

Rush should continue to play in the rotation, however, in order that we may showcase what skills he has for trade in the offseason. Lance is too disruptive a presence and should remain on the inactive list until he grows up a little.

By: Matt teague

Matt teague — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:55:07 +0000

I disagree with this article. Everything changed when Dunleavy went down because Rush & George don’t know how to move without the ball. When people aren’t moving point guard play suffers, hence darren Collison has been playing the worst basketball of his life. Lastly, when Lance is on the court he makes things happen and he’s one of the few Pacers that do. The idea that its ok to start Rush is because he is “familar” is ridiculous.
You threw out some nice stats, I’d like to see Rush’s plus minus since in the starting line up. I’d also like to see the Pacers’ record since Dunleavy went down. I never really understood JOB’s rotations but Vogels are almost worse. You don’t want to mess with the “goon squad’s” minutes? Are You Kidding me!? clearly Dahntay Jones should be starting. Lance can back up the 2 and then Paul at the 3. Rush should collect dust on the bench while we keep Solo activated for when Roy & Josh get into foul trouble.

By: Terry Donahue

Terry Donahue — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:49:10 +0000

Good article. I think you are right. Unfortunately I think that the change you are talking about is unlikely to occur. Tyler Hansborough and Paul George are seen by most fans as the two most worthy, and by many as the only members of this team worthy of keeping around. Sending them back to the bench would be seen by a lot of people as a demotion, and unfair. But if we can`t keep up with the other team with them on the floor the experiment is a failure, and the bench players coming in are less capable of changing things. I`ve heard it said that we are a deep team without enough at the top. But regardless of the talent of this “depth”, if they can`t translate that talent into points on the floor the talent is useless. It appears at times that the only people on this team who can score are Granger and Hansborough.

By: Steve Olson

Steve Olson — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:03:47 +0000

I think there is a better alternative. Since the creation of the “Goon Squad” they have been the benchmark of the team. They set the tempo and intensity. Unfortunately, by the time they have entered the game, the team was down double digits.

START THE GOON SQUAD!!!!!! 3 Minutes of in your face, I’ll knock you on your butt, play will get the team fired up. Then start bringing in the “starters” one or two at a time, so they can feed off the energy.

Another thought is shorten players stay on the floor. If they are playing hard, “Smash Mouth” basketball, they can’t play 9 minutes. The average shift for a professional hockey player is 45 seconds, and they are incredibly well conditioned athletes. While basketball has much more standing around, 6 minutes would seem borderline for over the top muscle fatigue.

Players are rationing their energy by slowing down, or conserving energy on the defensive end, and at times on the offensive end. I am watching on TV and I can see this. Why can’t the coaches and trainers???