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Charlotte Bobcats

Post-Game Grades: Pacers Rout Bobcats on the Strength of an Impeccable Second Half

by Jared Wade on January 7, 2012 at 10:11 pm · 6 comments

The Bobcats led the Pacers 49-43 half-way through this game. Then they scored 28 points in the entire second half. Meanwhile, the Pacers scored 28 points in the third quarter. And then again in the fourth.

You really can’t dominate another team as much as Indiana did Charlotte in the final 24 minutes. The best part? No one person outshone the rest. George Hill, Jeff Foster, Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, AJ Price and Tyler Hansbrough were all forces. Even Danny Granger managed to knock down a few shots. Combined, the team’s “seven starters” tallied 91 of the team’s 99 points. But Price and Foster, who scored a combined 2 points, were just as important. The team improves to 6-2 on the year while shooting over 41% for only the second time. And for the first time, they actually looked like a squad that could care less about individual play and instead are steadfast on winning through togetherness.

The record is of course something Pacers fans should consider wonderful. But a performance like this — on the second night of a back-to-back that had them beating the Celtics in Boston last night — is the most encouraging sign the team has shown so far this year.

Here is how each player faired during the win.

Agree? Disagree?

Express your thoughts below in the comments or yell at me on Twitter @8pts9secs.

Indiana Pacers 99 – Charlotte Bobcats 77

	DAVID WEST 22 MIN \| 5/8 FG \| 5 REB \| 10 PTS Nothing special statistically, but he had an aggressive stretch in the third that helped get the team going. He wasn’t even so much making shots as establishing a forceful presence in the paint that led to good things.
	DANNY GRANGER 34 MIN \| 4-12 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 13 PTS Surprise, surprise: Yet another struggle night for Granger. He hit back-to-back buckets at one point in the second half, however, and stayed aggressive at least.
	ROY HIBBERT 31 MIN \| 10-16 FG \| 8 REB \| 20 PTS \| 3 BLK A big sigh of relief for Pacers fans tonight as Roy came back — as strong as ever — from an apparent sprained ankle in the third quarter. Had one block/hook sequence on back-to-back plays that showed his potential. Beast game for Roy.
	DARREN COLLISON 34 MIN \| 5-10 FG \| 8 REB \| 14 PTS This guy looks better and better each game. Stats speak for themselves here, but it’s the willingness to call his own number — and the feel to now know when to do it — that really made this a stand-out night for DC.
	PAUL GEORGE 23 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 4 PF \| 6 PTS Quiet night. Just the odd man out seemed like more than anything to be concerned over.

	JEFF FOSTER 13 MIN \| 1-1 FG \| 7 REB (3 ORB) \| 2 PTS If you can be the player of the game logging 13 minutes and not even taking 2 shots, Jeff just did it. The boards were expected but how about that pass to Hill in the corner? Had a few other nice little dishes/redirects that led to buckets.
	DAHNTAY JONES 14 MIN \| 0-3 FG (6-7 FT) \| 6 PTS 7 FTAs is wonderful. But 3 TOs in short time is too many.
	AJ PRICE 14 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 PTS If AJ’s play over the past two games doesn’t keep Lance Stephenson glued to the bench, I’ll be shocked.
	GEORGE HILL 25 MIN \| 6-8 FG \| 4 REB \| 13 PTS 75% shooting as the go-to scorer in the second unit. Not sure there’s another 5-man bench unit in the league playing better than AJ/Hill/Dahntay/Tyler/Foster right now.
	TYLER HANSBROUGH 23 MIN \| 6-12 FG (3-5 FT) \| 6 REB \| 15 PTS Just a very Tyler night. Even finishing with a reverse layup at one point to go along with his other herky-jerky attempts.

Related Topics: Charlotte Bobcats, Post-Game Grades

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Game #78 Recap: Despite Blowout Loss, Pacers Inch Closer to Playoff Spot

by Ronald Eugene on April 3, 2011 at 10:58 pm · 1 comment

(Footage of the Pacers valiant, fourth quarter “comeback.” via Graydon Gordian)

The Pacers lost in New Orleans badly (108-96) in a contest where the final score was not very indicative of the whole game. The end result was pretty apparent toward the beginning of the third quarter as the Hornets padded a lead north of 20 points. Both teams had their starters out by the start of the fourth, and there was even an alleged James Posey sighting. A flurry of outside shots got the Pacers much closer in the waning minutes, but the game was never in doubt.

We could go over the stats, but it’s not really necessary. Chris Paul was excellent and New Orleans’ starters shot 32-for-55 (58.2%) while nothing really stood out for Indy aside from decent play by AJ Price and Paul George’s 1-for-5 shooting, 3-point performance. This was his the 12th time in his 15 starts that he failed to score in double-digits and the 9th time in this stretch he has failed to even put up 7 points. Meanwhile, Mike Dunleavy dropped 15 points on 7 shots, in fewer minutes than George played, largely because he got to the line 6 times in just his 3rd game back from sitting out for five weeks with a busted thumb. Paul George has only attempted 6 free throws once in a game since February 12.

Pointless numbers aside, the outcome should not have been too surprising.

The Hornets, with a current record of 44-33, will ultimately wind up as either the 6th, 7th or 8th playoff seed in the vastly superior Western Conference; the Pacers, with a 35-43 record, are destined for the 8th seed in the East (which comes with a I-65 playoff date and a two games in a half-red Conseco Fieldhouse in a series against the Bulls).

Yes, I wrote it.

The Pacers are headed to the playoffs. Tim Donahue may not have been ready to call it after the team’s nail-biter against Milwaukee last Friday, but I’m ready to dive across Charlotte’s limp carcass like a UFC referee just 48 hours later.

Perhaps the assertion that Charlotte has no interest in making the playoffs and receiving a first-round smackdown is true. The Bobcats, just two games back in the standings, lost 97-91 at home to lowly Washington in what was just the Wizards’ third road win in 38 tries. Charlotte’s leading scorer, the infamous Stephen Jackson, did not play due to a sore hamstring, and the team seems to be in no hurry to bring him back. This does not seem like a club very intent on winning.

It may seem out of place to be so upbeat about the season after the Pacers were on the receiving end of such a solid beating. Sure, there were some really disconcerting things to see, especially confirmation of an earlier assertion that the starting line-up just doesn’t play very well together.

But if the team’s preseason goal was to make the playoffs, it looks good now.

Milwaukee is too far back, and Charlotte is seemingly holding up its white flag. Before play started Sunday, Hollinger listed Indiana’s chances at appearing in the playoffs as 94.2% (with Charlotte at 5.7% and Milwaukee at a thread-like 0.1%). Essentially, there is no one left to challenge the Pacers for the final playoff spot; it’s just a matter of cleaning up with a couple of wins in the final four contests against teams already locked into playoff positioning.

The champagne is on ice.

Stay tuned.

Other deep thoughts:

Looking for a time-killer at work this week? Play ESPN’s playoff predictor and try to get the Pacers into the Finals. Odds are between 0.2% and 0.3%. Good luck!

I would pay any price for a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket.

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Beating the Bobcats

by Jared Wade on February 10, 2011 at 11:26 am · 1 comment

I didn’t see one second of the game last night as I was busy rescuing kittens from trees and helping grandmas carry home their groceries while you just sat there on your couch, selfishly eating nachos and watching basketball. Really altruistic guy you are. Way to go, jerk.

But a bunch of actually smart people did tune in to watch Indy hold on to beat Charlotte. Here’s what Kelly Dwyer had to say, which I thought was pretty eloquent. It’s not so much about the game as the team under new coach Frank Vogel.

Lots of running and confidence and pell-mell ball from the Pacers on Wednesday, but they also run good plays, and are paying more attention to detail now that they, well, want to. And while that’s not fair to former coach Jim O’Brien, it still is his fault. Even if it’s the players’ fault, if that makes sense.

Well put, KD.

As for the game, again, I have nothing to add. But The Basketball Jones did highlight Stephen Jackson’s final shot. They ask “Did Darren Collison Foul Stephen Jackson?”

Well … obviously he did. It’s really not a debate. Good for the Pacers that they didn’t call it, but that’s a fairly foolish challenge by Darren. Give credit to Cpt. Jack for forcing the controversy, but at some point you just need to let the guy throw a heave at the rim and hope for the best. Throw up a hand, sure, but your defense really isn’t going to have a lot of effect on a buzzer-beating prayer.

Check the play below. Also of note is DC’s reaction.

“I didn’t feel like I fouled him,” Collison said. “I made a play and whatever happened, happened. I’m not answering that type of question because I hate lying.”

Collison would be a good politician.

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Pacers Beat Bobcats — Now That’s More Like It

by Jared Wade on December 11, 2010 at 1:36 am · 2 comments

It’s nice to see Indiana win another ugly game. It really now feels like they should beat any team aside from perhaps the true NBA elite at home. A mediocre team like the Bobcats shows up to Conseco, and the Pacers simply prove they are better with a 100-92 win.

Not only that, they reinforced the notion that it’s really hard to shoot well against them by holding Charlotte to 41.4% shooting, including a dreadful 3-for-17 (17.6%) from behind the arc. Like the loss in Milwaukee, however, the Pacers did not take care of the glass, giving up 16 offensive rebounds to the Bobcats (9 of which were hauled in by Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace). They need to work on that. Josh McRoberts in particular seems to always be on the court when the other team is getting second-chance points. That’s concerning. (And it’s something we’ll delve into more soon. Stay tuned.)

But getting back to positive news, the whole team shot very well from three, sticking 13 of their 31 attempts. Brandon Rush (4/8), James Posey (3/6), Mike Dunleavy (3/6) and McRoberts (2/4) all hit 50% of their long-range tries.

Against such a weak front line, you would also have liked to see the team pound it inside to Roy Hibbert more. He did make 6 of 11 shots, but the fact that he only earned a single free-throw attempt is disheartening. Still, on a night when he dropped he had 14 boards, 6 assists and 3 blocks to go along with his 13 points, we can forgive such a venial sin. The big guy played well. One assist in particular stood out. He was drifting across the lane and caught a pass while off-balance. Then, as soon as he gathered the ball, he left a pretty little drop-off pass to a cutting Darren Collison who finished in the paint. It was lovely. (DC, meanwhile, had 7 assists of his own — the most he has recorded since an 11/23 win over the Cavaliers.)

We can’t just totally gloss over the the issue of not getting to the free-throw line team-wide, however. Tonight, the D was strong and the threes were raining. But at least that second factor is not always reliable. If Posey and Dunleavy don’t hit two big threes late in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats might very well have turned this into a game that could have been a toss-up in the final minute.

Had the Pacers gotten to the line more than 18 times throughout the contest, however, they could have used some free points to extend the margin. These are the little differences between being an average team and a good team. The Pacers really are starting to look like a good team.

But if they could find a way to get to the line once in a while, it would go a long way towards instilling some real confidence — in me, in the rest of the NBA outlookers and in the team itself — that they truly can beat any team on any night even if they don’t play at their absolute best.

Something to work on.

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	DAVID WEST 22 MIN \| 5/8 FG \| 5 REB \| 10 PTS Nothing special statistically, but he had an aggressive stretch in the third that helped get the team going. He wasn’t even so much making shots as establishing a forceful presence in the paint that led to good things.
	DANNY GRANGER 34 MIN \| 4-12 FG \| 4-6 FT \| 13 PTS Surprise, surprise: Yet another struggle night for Granger. He hit back-to-back buckets at one point in the second half, however, and stayed aggressive at least.
	ROY HIBBERT 31 MIN \| 10-16 FG \| 8 REB \| 20 PTS \| 3 BLK A big sigh of relief for Pacers fans tonight as Roy came back — as strong as ever — from an apparent sprained ankle in the third quarter. Had one block/hook sequence on back-to-back plays that showed his potential. Beast game for Roy.
	DARREN COLLISON 34 MIN \| 5-10 FG \| 8 REB \| 14 PTS This guy looks better and better each game. Stats speak for themselves here, but it’s the willingness to call his own number — and the feel to now know when to do it — that really made this a stand-out night for DC.
	PAUL GEORGE 23 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 4 PF \| 6 PTS Quiet night. Just the odd man out seemed like more than anything to be concerned over.

	JEFF FOSTER 13 MIN \| 1-1 FG \| 7 REB (3 ORB) \| 2 PTS If you can be the player of the game logging 13 minutes and not even taking 2 shots, Jeff just did it. The boards were expected but how about that pass to Hill in the corner? Had a few other nice little dishes/redirects that led to buckets.
	DAHNTAY JONES 14 MIN \| 0-3 FG (6-7 FT) \| 6 PTS 7 FTAs is wonderful. But 3 TOs in short time is too many.
	AJ PRICE 14 MIN \| 0-2 FG \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 PTS If AJ’s play over the past two games doesn’t keep Lance Stephenson glued to the bench, I’ll be shocked.
	GEORGE HILL 25 MIN \| 6-8 FG \| 4 REB \| 13 PTS 75% shooting as the go-to scorer in the second unit. Not sure there’s another 5-man bench unit in the league playing better than AJ/Hill/Dahntay/Tyler/Foster right now.
	TYLER HANSBROUGH 23 MIN \| 6-12 FG (3-5 FT) \| 6 REB \| 15 PTS Just a very Tyler night. Even finishing with a reverse layup at one point to go along with his other herky-jerky attempts.