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Dahntay Jones

Game #74 Recap: Al Horford REALLY Likes Playing the Pacers

by Tim Donahue on March 28, 2010 at 7:58 pm

Atlanta Hawks 94 – Indiana Pacers 84

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Well, you knew it couldn’t go on forever. Heck, you’re probably still not sure that the Pacers really and truly had a five-game winning streak. Regardless, it all ground to a halt in the second half as the Pacer offense that had been running like well-oiled machine seized up.

Atlanta is a tough matchup for our boys in Blue. Their frontcourt is quick and athletic, capable of protecting the rim and controlling the glass. Backcourt mates Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, and Jamal Crawford all can make you pay if you lose them on the perimeter.

The most glaring advantage Atlanta has is in the pivot, where Al Horford has just destroyed Roy Hibbert all season long. In the first two matchups, Horford has outscored Roy 49-12, outrebounded him 35-13, and recorded 7 blocks vs. only 2 for Roy. Still, those were both played before the first of the year, and Hibbert has made some great strides since then.

Unfortunately, not great enough. A good chunk of the story can be seen on their comparative shot charts:

alvroy

The Pacers tried to work Roy early, but he missed his first four shots as Horford used his strength to force Roy into jump hooks from just a foot or two outside his comfort zone. Meanwhile, Horford continually found himself wide open for 12 to 15-foot jumpers, and he capitalized. Hibbert either got lost in rotations or (understandably) gave the Hawks’ center space due to a lack of foot speed. At the end of the day, Horford posted 18 points and 12 boards, essentially in three quarters of play. Conversely, Roy managed only 6 points and 2 rebounds in 23 ineffectual minutes.

As for the rest of the Pacers, they posted an impressive 31-point 1st 1uarter, buoyed by 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Brandon Rush drained all four three-point tries in his 12 first quarter minutes, and the Pacers entered the 2nd up 31-26. From there, it was a tough road-a-hoe.

Over the next 36 minutes, the Pacers managed only 53 points while hitting only 2 of their 17 threes. Brandon Rush, who was so hot in the first, didn’t play at all in the second, then went 1-for-5 from the floor the rest of the game and was generally nonexistent. At least twice in the second half, he was completely exploited defensively by Jamal Crawford. Rush committed a dumb foul on Joe Johnson late in the first. It’s unclear as to whether his second quarter absence was some sort of punishment by O’Brien, or if it was because Brandon had two fouls. Unfortunately, there was no Pacer TV coverage, and Mike Wells didn’t make the trip to Atlanta, so we’ll have to wait to find out what happened there.

Danny played a good, bordering on great, floor game today, but couldn’t buy a bucket. He scored 18 points on 7-for-19 shooting. He did play some good defense, and his attacking the basket was creating the few second quarter opportunities the Pacers got. Unfortunately, any day that finds both Danny and Roy struggling to score is pretty much going to doom the Pacers limited offense.

Watson, like Rush, played a fantastic first quarter, then showed us his down side. Josh McRoberts was unable to repeat his recent aerobatics, as he was at an athletic disadvantage to Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford. Solo got the call after McBob’s first rotation, and performed admirably, posting 7 points and 7 boards. AJ Price and Dahntay Jones, God Love ‘em, played like hot garbage. The only Pacer who was able to maintain his play of late was Troy Murphy, with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Still, despite being overwhelmed by the Hawks, the Pacers largely kept their heads in the game. This wasn’t a game where they just rolled over. No question they were soundly beaten in the second half, but they kept chasing it. The Pacers have had several losses this year where the final score was closer than the game really was. This game was really closer than the fourth quarter and the final score showed.

None of it was good enough, and the Pacers dropped their 47th game in 74 tries. It’s long been a foregone conclusion, but if Toronto holds onto the double-digit lead they hold in Miami late in the third, then the Pacers will officially be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. One more loss, and the Pacers will be guaranteed of having their worst record in 21 seasons.

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Game #59 Recap – That Was Fun

by Tim Donahue on February 28, 2010 at 11:20 am

We at 8p9s have made it a point to try to make “new age” NBA Advanced Statistics a part of the normal conversation. Some might say that we – or, more accurately, I – might tend to get a little bit in the weeds. That may be so, but we will continue to believe we’re on the side of the angels, there. However, we’re not going to do numbers today. Without wavering in our commitment to Advanced Stats, I’m just going to talk about the experience of the game last night

The Crowd – Though it’s true that there were plenty of Bulls fans there, it was still heartening to see the Fieldhouse pretty much full. It was also nice to see a connection between the crowd and the players. Bulls fans, though full-throated early, were pretty easily shouted down by the Pacer partisans. The atmosphere was as energetic as I’ve felt this year.

The Movement – Backcuts, passing, alley-oops. Last night was one of the few times that this team didn’t look like they’d met each other for the first time upon arriving at the arena. Yes, there were plenty of turnovers, but few of them were of the mindless sort we’re so used to (and sick of) seeing.

The Players – Pretty much everybody that played contributed last night. (Dunleavy only made one four-minute appearance, then did not return, but I’ll not borrow that trouble right now.) Watson was aggressive early and often. Hibbert was a presence in the paint and in the high post. Dahntay, T.J., and Luther all were active and played with a purpose. Murphy hit shots, Brandon stayed active.

The Team – The Pacers have been hard to get a handle on this year. I don’t have access to the locker room, or anyone’s innermost thoughts (perhaps not even my own), so I have no clue as to the mental state of this unit. However, last night, they were a team. Roy and Troy were cheering for each other. They were talking and supportive and excited. I think they probably tend to get too high after success and too low after failures, but last night was just right. It’s good to see these guys still be able to pull for each other this late in a brutal season.

The Man – Danny has quietly begun to find his game. Post All Star break, he’s averaging 26.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a night. More importantly, his eFG% is .561, a full 8 points above his pre-break average (I had to give a little taste, but just a little one.) I missed the Houston game, so I don’t know if he’s put a full game together yet or not, but this is the Danny this team needs.

The Company – I got to watch the game with my brother last night, which is always an under-appreciated pleasure. It’s both refreshing and comforting to fall into the old patterns while watching a game. Plus, it’s great to draw on his decades and decades (and decades and decades) of experience playing and watching basketball. At halftime, I had a great chat with BillS and DukeDynamite of Pacers Digest fame. BillS thought that he saw some impact from the premiere of Winning Time. Several of the players were in attendance at Friday night’s showing, and Bill thought he saw the Pacers being more physical when the Bulls penetrated the paint. God knows it couldn’t hurt.

The Future – Ehhh…this will come uninvited soon enough. The Pacers face four winning teams this week on a tough Western swing. The core issues are still there, and there is a whole lotta work to be done before last night’s performance will be the norm. This is like a warm day in the dead of winter. You take it for what it is, and squeeze as much as you can out of it. You know it won’t last.

Feel the sunshine while you can. It is all too rare an occurrence these days.

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Game #57 Recap: Defensive Meltdown & Not Enough Points

by Jared Wade on February 25, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Apologies for the lack of recaps/previews since the break. But after games like this and the one against Dallas, what is there to say really? The Pacers were characteristically comatose from the jump last night and the defense was nonexistent. Even though ht the threes started coming and the deficit was nearly erased by the half, Indy just didn’t have enough wherewithal on the other end to stop Chicago.

Other than that, all I got is this brief game write up I did for the Daily Dime this morning.

Luol Deng and the Bulls bum-rushed the Pacers off the tip Wednesday night. Chicago outscored Indiana 37-18 in the first quarter, seemingly putting the game away before it ever started. But it wasn’t entirely over. On the strength of long-range shooting from Brandon Rush and Danny Granger, Indiana’s offense awoke from its coma to knock down six 3-pointers in the second quarter, turning what was once a 23-point deficit into a manageable four-point hole at the half.

Might we have a ballgame on our hands? No. Not really.

Indy’s offense went right back to sleep, and Chicago began scoring just as easily as it had to start the evening. Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich got hot from the outside, and with no Pacers’ defense to speak of, the Bulls cruised to another 37-point quarter. After that, the rest was academic.

Indiana coach Jim O’Brien’s calling card has always been his team’s reliance on the 3-point shot, and while that is what — momentarily — got them back in this game, such accuracy has been a rare sight this year. For the season, Indiana takes 22.4 3s per night (fourth-most in the NBA) but connects on only 33.1 percent of its long-range attempts (fourth-worst in the NBA).

So while Rush, a second-year guard, knocked down five 3s, his puzzling unreliability showed up in other areas — specifically his 2-for-8 performance inside the arc, which included a head-scratching missed layup on a follow attempt in transition.

Granger’s night was much the same. He shot 4-for-8 from long range, yet only 1-for-6 on 2-point attempts. Dahntay Jones was much more aggressive, letting the others handle the 3s and getting to the line 10 times. But his 2-for-7 shooting from the field soured what was otherwise a nice offensive night for the defensive specialist.

All told, the Pacers were able to connect on only 40.9 percent of their shots. And particularly on a night when they couldn’t guard anybody, that was the ballgame.

Oh well.

Milwaukee tonight.

On to the next one.

UPDATE: Tim had the following to add…

I’ve started to listen to Mark & Slick while I watch the game. They’re among the best in the business, and they’re usually good for a few good comments a game.

When AJ Price came into the game last night, there was this little exchange:

Mark: “AJ Price in the game for the first time, replacing Earl Watson. He’ll join TJ in the back court.”
Slick: “But they’re playing him at shooting guard.”

(The play continues for a few seconds, before Derrick Rose scores and is fouled. Mark does all of the play-by-play and Slick is silent. Then, during the pause as the line up for the free throw:)

Slick (in a very slow, deliberate voice): “AJ Price is not a shooting guard. He. Is. A. Point. Guard. He sees the floor better than anybody on the team.
Mark: “Yeah, but at this point, I’m just happy to see him out there at all.”
Slick: “He’s out there (mumble, mumble, mumble)”

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