I know what you’re thinking: everyone plays great against the Nets. While that may be true, seriously, Paul George plays great against the Nets. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no player has shot better against any other NBA team this year than George has against the Nets.

Last night, reports Elias, “Paul George shot 8-for-11 from the field, scoring a career-high 24 points for the Pacers in their 106-99 home win over the Nets. On January 2, George shot 8-for-10 against New Jersey in his only other 20-point game of the season. George’s .762 field-goal percentage (16-for-21) against the Nets is the highest by any player against any team this season (minimum: 15 field goals made). The next-best percentage belongs to Gerald Wallace, who is 17-for-23 (.739) against the Kings.”

Another guy who tends to play well against the Nets is Dahntay Jones. He was effective, if not a standout, last night on 3-for-6 shooting for 6 points, but on January 2 in New Jersey, the state where he is from, he scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Moreover, last season, he scored his season-high 18 points on 7-for-10 in Newark.

I think every NBA player has a good feeling when they wake up and see that the Nets are on their schedule that night. But these two guys seem to have that extra bounce in their step even.

No related posts.

In our last installment, we looked at the “core six” players in terms of how they played last season and how they project to fit in with this franchise long term. Now, it’s time to look at the other players — some of which may not even be on the roster the next time the Pacers pick up a ball for a league-sanctioned game. Whenever that may be.

We will look at the rest of the squad in descending order by minutes played.

(Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference, 82games, BasketballValue, HoopData and ESPN.)

Brandon Rush

Rush will be 26 years old next year and is slated to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. At best, he should be a fourth guard. Unfortunately for the Pacers he led the team in minutes in 2009-10 and was fourth in minutes last year. He shot an excellent 42% on threes, but was otherwise unspectacular with a PER around 10, which is basically replacement level. Seven of every ten shots he took were from outside 16 feet, resulting in him rarely getting to the foul line. This offsets his three point shooting and results in true shooting (54%) that is almost exactly average (surprise) at 54%.

On the strength of his long-distance accuracy, his eFG% shooting was a little better — but not much, only outpacing the league average SG by 1.5%. Worse still, he is a low-usage player who struggles to create his own shot, making only one unassisted field goal per game in 26 minutes.

He was average at rebounding and protecting the ball, but was 51^st of 55 shooting guards in assist rate and 53^rd in assists at the rim per 40 minutes (per Hoopdata). He’s not an elite defender and tends to lose focus, particularly off the ball and in rotation situations. While not completely indicative of his performance, the Pacers were 5 points per 100 possessions worse on defense last year when Rush was on the floor.

Mike Dunleavy

Since we’re going down the list in order of minutes played, it disconcerting to see Dunleavy behind Rush. Junior had struggles of his own last season, no doubt. But with Rush on the court last year, the Pacers were outscored by 5.98 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile, during Dunleavy’s 779 minutes at shooting guard, the Pacers outscored opponents by 7.94 per 100.

There certainly isn’t a 14 points-per-100 difference between the two players, but these numbers do reflect how much better the Pacers operated with a starting caliber NBA shooting guard. Dunleavy and Rush had similar usage rates. However, Dunleavy’s TS% and eFG% were 5 points higher than Rush’s, and he was also a much better distributor, recording nearly twice as many assists per 40 minutes with fewer turnovers. Dunleavy grabbed 16.2% of available defensive rebounds, ranking 17th out of the 107 NBA swingmen who played 40 games.

In sum, he plays effectively within both the team offensive and defensive systems, and doesn’t take much off the table. Dunleavy will be 31 next year and is a free agent.

Josh McRoberts

McRoberts was very effective last year as a role player. He didn’t try to do too much and played solidly when opportunities presented themselves. His TS% and eFG% were 6% and 7% higher, respectively, than the average power forward. While only shooting 60 three pointers, he made an impressive 38% while also finishing second on the Pacers in FG% at the rim (among those with at least 50 attempts).

He was a capable defender last year as a league-average rebounder, while averaging 2.71 defensive plays (blocks plus steals) per 40 minutes (compared to a league average of 2.33 for power forwards) against only 4.1 fouls per 40 (average is 4.7). The Pacers were 1 point per 100 better on defense with him on the court, and the combination of these attributes resulted in McRoberts having the lowest defensive rating of all Pacers.

McRoberts’ best skill is probably his passing — something even more valuable on a team bereft of passers. Of 57 power forwards who played 40 games; McRoberts was 4th in assists per 40 minutes, and 8th in assist-to-turnover ratio (per Hoopdata). McRoberts will turn 24 years old next season and is a free agent.

Jeff Foster

Foster will turn 35 next year and, like the last two players, is a free agent. After missing almost the entire 2009-10 season, Foster played nearly 1,000 minutes last year. As Pacers fans know, he has never been a very good scorer, peaking at 7 ppg, but he’s becoming even less effective as he ages. Last year he scored only 7 points per 36 minutes and had shooting percentages well below average for a center.

Focusing on scoring, however, obscures the thing that Foster is great at: getting the ball off the glass. Foster’s offensive rebounding rate of 19.1% was the best in the NBA last year, and the closest center only grabbed 13.9% of available offensive rebounds. Of players that played over 600 minutes, the nearest player (Dejuan Blair) was at 14.8%. No one in the NBA was in Foster’s neighborhood as an offensive rebounder. If he had played enough minutes to qualify, this would have been the third time that he led the NBA in this category. (He is 5th all time for qualified leaders since 1971.) Foster also takes care of the ball well; his assist-to-turnover ratio was 5th among 58 centers. In short, Foster was a very effective anchor for the second team.

James Posey

Posey will be 35 next year and, unfortunately, is not a free agent. (He has one year left on his contract, which, at $7.6 million for the final year, was the price Larry Bird accepted to obtain Darren Collison in that trade with New Orleans.) Last year all he wanted to do offensively was shoot threes, taking 88% of his shots outside the arc. Unfortunately again, he was not very good at making them. No need to belabor that Posey is probably not part of the team’s short- or long-term plans.

AJ Price

Price will be 25 next year and is under contract for one more season. After giving the team solid minutes in 2009-10, Price was very poor offensively last year. He shot 8%-9% below average for guards in TS% and eFG%, which is a shame considering his 23% usage. He was an average passer and below average rebounder.

The Pacers were 3.49 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court, but his adjusted +/- was negative 12.7 points per 100. That metric gives Price no credit for the Pacers successes when he was on the court. (Most of the credit appears to go to Foster, which we will discuss more in part five of this series.). Given Price’s offensive “contributions,” this seems reasonable.

TJ Ford

Ford is 28 and a free agent. He was likely the worst offensive point guard in the NBA last year. He was benched the second half of the season. There is not much to say about T. J. Ford as it relates to the future of the Indiana Pacers.

Dahntay Jones

Jones will be 31 next year and has two years remaining on his contract. It’s hard to make much of last season’s 600 minutes, but efficiency-wise, Jones had a career offensive year. His career high TS% of 56% was paired with career high usage. His turnover rate was at a career low. This may be due to playing primarily against back ups; in 2009-10 (in 1,900 minutes) his shooting was below average and he had the 7th highest turnover rate of all shooting guards. Jones is a solid defender, but is a below average rebounder that fouls too much.

Solomon Jones

Jones will be 27 next year and is a free agent. There is not a lot positive to say about his play last season. His eFG% and TS% were approximately 10% below league average for a center. Of the top 58 centers in minutes, Jones ranked 53d in defensive rebounding and fouled the 5th most times per 40 minutes.

Lance Stephenson

Stephenson will be 21 next year and is under contract for one more year. He was the 8th ranked player in the high school class of 2009, but through his one year of college and one year in Indiana, there are concerns about conditioning, shot selection and behavior. Larry Bird has said that he is the most talented player on the roster. So far, we have yet to see this reflected in his numbers.

Related posts:

1. The Pacers’ Recent Past & Near Future: Part 2, How the 2010-11 Team Stacked Up
2. The Pacers’ Recent Past & Near Future: Part 3, The Core Six and What They Bring to the Table
3. The Pacers’ Recent Past & Near Future: Part 1, What Makes an NBA Team Effective?

NBA Summer League has been cancelled. But the always-on-point Sam Amick is saying that a bunch of players may head to the desert anyway. And it might not just be the rookies and also-rans that usually head to Nevada for some exhibition runs. (via @CardboardGerald)

He’s talking about full teams, including the likes of Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant, showing up to play som ball.

While the NBA’s official summer league was canceled in July as a result of the lockout, more than 50 players will be descending on Sin City to take part in a league at Impact Academy, starting on Sept. 12. And while the labor gap between owners and players means an actual season is likely still many months away, the Vegas session that was first reported by Hoopsworld will have the feel of an unofficial training camp for a number of teams.

Call it Phase II of lockout life for the players. While ventures such as these won’t provide much-needed leverage in the nearly nonexistent negotiations with the league’s owners, they will certainly help when it comes to staying in shape during the prolonged work stoppage.

According to Impact owner and renowned trainer Joe Abunassar, the Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Mo Williams and Randy Foye came by last week and expressed a desire to enter the league with a team made up solely of their teammates. Oklahoma City center Nazr Mohammed is trying to convince Kevin Durant, James Harden and others to do the same, while Indiana’s Dahntay Jones and Denver’s Al Harrington are making similar pitches to their respective teams.

The Impact Academy’s owner is none other than power hoops stakeholder Joe Abunassar. He has already talked to the top player’s union officials and it sounds as if there has been nothing but support.

Abunassar has spoken with National Basketball Players Association president/Lakers guard Derek Fisher and vice president/Spurs guard Roger Mason about the league and been given their support. “It’s a natural deal,” Abunassar said. “Guys want to play, so this is a great service for guys. It keeps them in shape. They don’t mind coming to Vegas. The difference between what we’re doing and what other leagues are doing is that all five guys on the floor will be pros.

“It’ll keep them in shape. It’s a good thing for the NBPA.”

A few weeks ago, Danny Granger told the Indianapolis Star’s Mike Wells that he, along with Jeff Foster, were likely going to try to get the Pacers players together around September to start some informal practice sessions. So, presumably, he would be into this idea.

Hopefully, of course, there will be a season and none of this will be necessary.

But I wouldn’t count on it. Especially before September 12. Knowing that, yeah, this seems like a great idea for the team to do a little off season gelling, both on and off the court.

Related posts:

1. Why the Pacers Don’t Use the D-League and Why Lance Stephenson Likely Will Never Play There
2. Lance Stephenson Reportedly Will Play in China or Italy During Lockout
3. Danny Granger “Working Out with no End in Sight” During the Lockout

TJ’s name was permanently affixed to the trading block as he was essentially relegated to assistant coach status and routinely, at least by the actions we saw in terms of how minutes were handed out, shown that he is really nothing more than a warm body for practice. I know it’s an unfortunate reality of today’s era of professional sports and athletes with guaranteed contracts, but many, many, many men would become major distractions to their teams in such situations.

If not continually demanding a trade publicly and talking junk in the press, they would do the same things that us non-multimillionaire employees unsatisfied by our challenge-less work environment do: show up late, call in sick, do the bare minimum not to get fired, look and act unprofessional, undermine our supervisors, etc. Pacers fans may be able to recall another point guard in NBA history whose behavior fits some of those characterizations.

I’m not in the locker room very much and have only spoken with TJ a few times in my life, but to my knowledge, TJ has done none of that. At least not habitually. And when he was called on last night to play some spot minutes for the injured Darren Collison, he played admirably.

He scored 5 points and had 1 assist against only 1 turnover in his 8 minutes. Meanwhile, most importantly the Pacers outscored the Bulls by 7 points while he was on the court, due in part to him making both the shots he took  — including the 70-footer to close the third quarter shown in the video below.

There was a lot of praise thrown at Celtics reserve Nate Robinson for staying ready and playing at a high level in the playoffs for Boston last year despite not really being in the team’s rotation during the end of the regular season. On a smaller scale, TJ Ford did the same thing last night.

We also saw a similar ability to remain focused enough to step in and play big minutes out of the blue by Dahntay Jones earlier this year. He barely saw the floor under Jim O’Brien. Then O’Brien was canned, Frank Vogel took the reins and, soon after, Dahntay started getting some burn. He responded by shooting 17-for-26 and averaging 16 points in the first three games in which he played at least 15 minutes — two of which were Indiana wins and the other of which was a close loss to Miami.

Now, if Collison is indeed sitting in suit on the bench during Game 3, TJ will have to jump in an play even more minutes. Based on everything I have seen during his tenure in Indiana, I imagine he’ll be ready to do so. And if he is, like he was last night and Dahntay was earlier in the year, we should share some of the praise with Vogel.

I don’t know exactly what management quality it takes to keep players ready during times when they should naturally be disgruntled in their jobs, but Doc Rivers did it last year and rightfully received his due credit.

Vogel may deserve some accolades for this as well.

video via SLAM

Related posts:

1. Breaking Down the Pacers Buzzer-Beating Win
2. TJ Ford’s Enchilada Recipe
3. Pacers May Be Buying Out the Final Year of TJ Ford’s Contract

The last couple were interesting. I’ll give the game that. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were good basketball by any means, but true to the calendar heading under which they were played, there was a decidedly March Madness vibe: scrappy, unpredictable and full of weird things that really shouldn’t be happening when two teams are playing high-level hoops.

Case in point: Sasha Vujacic hit 3 three-pointers in the final 3 minutes. Sundiata Gaines, who dropped a career-high 18 points on 11 shots, hit another. They watched an 11-point lead dissolve and while, sure, Sasha was in a zone, it really should not be that hard to make those desperation comeback shots a little more difficult given how poorly the Nets usually create open looks.

But while the Pacers almost coughed up the game in the final minutes, they won it in the third quarter, outscoring New Jersey 29-17 and holding them to 24.1% shooting (7-for-29). Danny Granger — finally — rediscovered his shooting stroke, making 2 of this 3 shots in the quarter and adding a few points at the line. Granger added 10 more in the fourth to give the captain 17 points in the second half. This was especially nice to see for Pacers fans considering that Danny missed his first 6 shots of the game, which at the time meant he had bottomed out at 14 for his last 48 field goal attempts. That’s a 29.2% clip over nearly 14 quarters. He eventually hit one before the half, foreshadowing his strong second 24 minutes, but when the team’s primary scorer comes out so flat and the entire team follows suit by managing a mere 15 points in the first quarter, there really doesn’t seem to be a lot of urgency to make it to this whole postseason thing.

Good work pulling away in the third and then not completely shooting yourself in the foot late, but, really, more than 70 games into the season this is more troubling than anything.

Looking back to the game’s beginning, there was very little quality basketball being played by Indiana, or New Jersey honestly, in the first two quarters. Vujacic was causing problems for the Pacers for one stretch early as well. That bad. Then Sudiata Gaines got in on the act. Kris Humphries was rebounding everything, snatching 10 boards off the window, including 3 on the offensive end.

It’s not like the Nets were doing anything spectacular. Indiana was just giving no resistance and certainly not putting forth the energy you would expect from a team in the Pacers’ position.

Defensively, Darren Collison spent much of the half much like he has spent much of the season: out of position. As Zach Lowe of SI’s The Point Forward noted, Dahntay Jones at one point left Anthony Morrow, a career 45.3% three-point shooter, to double Kris Humphries, a 34.5% shooter from between 10-15 feet this season, despite the fact that (a) Humphries wasn’t even in the paint, and (b) Tyler Hansbrough was in fine position to guard Humphries. And when guys weren’t doing things like leaving Morrow open for no real reason, Morrow stayed busy getting Paul George into foul trouble.

Really, the only thing that allowed Indiana to trail only 44-40 at the half was that the Nets are the Nets. They shot an ugly 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the first two quarters and it wasn’t as if there were any great defensive rotations or hard close-outs from the Pacers that caused the errant accuracy. Again, if the Nets weren’t the Nets, it could have been worse — and it was at one point when New Jersey was up 12 — given just how anemic indiana’s offense was.

The whole team shot an depressing-but-not-particularly-unusual 39.5% through the first two quarters, not to mention committing 9 turnovers, there was little proof of life early. It was starting to look like David Stern really should just let whichever deserving Western Conference team finishes 9th have the East’s final playoff spot.

I’m sure nearly every single player on this team is looking forward to playing in the playoffs — most for the first time — but at this point, watching a game like this, it’s hard to see anything but four blowouts happening when they get there.

Related posts:

1. Game Recap #37: Pacers Beat the Best National Basketball Association Team in Canada
2. Game #74 Recap: Al Horford REALLY Likes Playing the Pacers
3. Game #1 Recap: Hawks 120 – Pacers 109
   Actual Observations and Related, Possibly Stupid Conjectures

After the Houston loss, Mike Wells asked if the ship was sinking.  He had tweeted about shouting in the locker room after the Houston game, and mentioned specifically in-game displays of frustration/anger by both Jeff Foster and Dahntay Jones.

Yesterday, on The Ride with JMV, Mike Wells took things further.  If you listen to the audio,  you’ll get a more complete picture, but I’m not sure you’ll like what you hear.

Wells described this team as “a very young team that doesn’t have any type of leadership.”  A damning statement of the veterans on this team – specifically Danny Granger.   Wells said he went so far as to slide his ear up against the door Saturday night, but “(it was) so many guys talking, you couldn’t pinpoint one voice out of it.”  Wells also reiterated his “substitute teacher syndrome” concerns about this team and interim coach Frank Vogel.

I agree with Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows, who said “with Stephenson and Dahntay Jones creating the most noise in the Pacers’ locker room, I can’t see anything worthwhile emerging from the yelling.”  That’s two fringe players — at least currently — having a petty squabble.  It’s neither uncommon nor unexpected.

The problem is that it now seemingly becomes the (or a) central conflict for the entire team.  In a room full of passive, disinterested, or perhaps even weak individuals, the dominant personalities will set the agenda.  This is less leadership, and more inertia.

But digging deeper than just who is fighting with whom, and whose playing time is being unjustly given/taken away, you find a foundational problem.  What is this team trying to accomplish when they take the floor?  What is their game plan?  If there was a leader in the locker room, where, exactly, is he supposed to lead them?

We’ve heard ad infinitum, ad nauseum, that the Pacers are now a “smash mouth, power post team.”  Well, that’s fantastic pablum for a fan base weary of losing, but it doesn’t actually mean anything.  Those are things that you are, not that you do.  And, c’mon … who. besides Jeff Foster, Tyler Hansbrough, and perhaps Dahntay Jones on this team could you picture describing as “smash mouth” without bursting out in laughter?

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve heard vague, nebulous phrases about “getting back to where we were a couple weeks ago” or “not coming out as pumped as the first couple of games” after the coaching change.  Again, what exactly does that mean?

It seems apparent that the team is lacking leadership, but to me, the bigger thing they are lacking is direction.  One of the reasons that the so-called “goon squad” has continued to have success is that it is populated with “scramblers.”  Price, Hansbrough, and Dahntay Jones are all capable of making things happen when everything falls apart.  Arguably, they operate better in those freelance situations than they do within a working system.  From this perspective, their success could be (fairly or unfairly) portrayed as much as a symptom of the dysfunction as anything else.

Meanwhile, players like Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and Josh McRoberts, who benefit from some degree from structure, begin to flounder.  (Or, as in the case of McRoberts, find that their contributions become less meaningful in a scramble situation.)   Further, a player like Paul George (who Mike Wells described as “the perfect rookie”) finds himself stuck in between — trying to do what he has been taught, while pretty much everyone else is off doing their own thing.

Both Wells and Lewis focus on Lance Stephenson in their discussions, but he is less a cause, than a flashpoint.  Again, in my opinion, a symptom of the lack of direction.  It seemed odd to me (and to Mike Wells) that the Pacers had pushed him for playing time during a playoff race.  Perhaps they feel that the spots in the bag — it would take an epic display of incompetence not to grab the 8th seed in the East — but his presence seems clearly to be at least a short-term disruption.

I don’t think that was a wise decision given this team’s history of fragility.  Further, I continue to believe that the main focus of development should be getting Danny Granger, Darren Collison, and Roy Hibbert to work together as a cohesive unit.  Right now, the three don’t play off of each other at all so much as just in the general vicinity of each other.  To a large degree, working Stephenson into the lineup is a huge distraction from that.  It creates noise where there needn’t be.

Vogel simplified a lot of things when he took over from O’Brien, but those were tactical.  The problem now seems that the loss of Dunleavy, the struggles of the starting lineup vs. the “goon squad”, and the introduction of Lance Stephenson may have complicated things all over again.

Wells (seriously, listen for yourself) believes that the Pacers are at a tipping point.  They have three “should win” games (home vs. Philly, @ Minny, and @ Toronto) that can either help restore them or help destroy them.  This is a perfectly sensible point of view given this team’s history.

The leadership issue isn’t going to be solved this season.

If there isn’t one now, there isn’t going to be one to suddenly step up in the last 20 games.  Therefore, the test falls to Vogel.  He can’t hope to give a St. Crispin’s day speech before every game to get wins.  He can’t count on the players’ individual talents to carry the day.  He needs to get the team away from thinking about being happy and pumped up, and towards understanding their jobs and responsibilities on the floor.

And therein lies my biggest concern.  Does even Vogel have a clear idea of how the pieces are supposed to fit and function?

We’re gonna find out.

No related posts.

If you had told me a few weeks ago that A.J. Price and Dahntay Jones were going to score the first 16 points of the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves, I would have thought you were crazy. I would have thought you were a complete lunatic if you had told me Jones would end up scoring 19 points in the quarter for your Indiana Pacers.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened. Jones managed to top off his great night by putting the brakes on a solid game by Timberwolves guard Wayne Ellington with some really tight defense at the end of the game.

Dahntay Jones dominated the fourth quarter (Jeff Clark - Pacers.com)

That’s a Reggie Miller-like virtuoso performance by a Pacers shooting guard. Not only was Jones the hero of the night, but he finished the game strong. For a team desperately in need of a closer, Jones played that role on Friday night.

What makes this performance more amazing is that the Pacers were trailing by seven points after three and looked really shaky. That’s when Jones donned his red cape and came to the rescue. A night like this makes you wonder if the Pacers will decide to let Brandon Rush sit on the bench for awhile. By the time the game was over the Pacers had outscored the Timberwolves 33-15 in the final 12 minutes.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect any more 19-point quarters from Jones. It was only a few days ago that he was the goat for being unable to inbound the ball against Miami in the waning seconds. You’ve got to give him all the credit in the world for bouncing back from that disappointment.

Everyone who saw Jones as the hero coming before this game, raise your hand.

Frank Vogel looks like a genius for making the move to Jones. There is almost no one who would have thought that inserting him into the lineup was a recipe for success. Vogel did. In fact, he’s made all the right moves so far.

Yes, the schedule has been favorable. Yes, the schedule will get tougher.

Could this team have gone 6-1 in this stretch with Jim O’Brien? I say no way, no how.

Vogel is 6-1, but probably should be 7-0 because his team outplayed Miami in their lone loss and still had a chance to win it at the end.

Don’t misunderstand. All was not wine and roses coming out of this game. There are some things that may be indicators of problems to come against better teams.

For the first three quarters of this game the Pacers played pathetic defense. There were easy, uncontested shots all over the place for the Timberwolves. The defensive tone only changed in the fourth quarter when Price and Jones put the clamps on the Timberwolves easy buckets.

By the way, Kevin Love is a load. Seeing him play reminds you of how far the Pacers have to go at power forward. Let’s face it, Josh McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough are both really backups. I expect this position to be a priority in free agency during the Summer.

In spite of what I just said, McRoberts should get a lot of credit for keeping the Pacers from getting blown out in the middle of the third quarter as he went on a bit of a scoring tear. He really is getting the most of his talent this year. He will always be a limited scorer, but he can contribute if used the right way.

Meanwhile, Hansbrough needs to spend as much time as possible practicing 15-20 foot jumpers. With his propensity for getting to the foul line he could be a much more consistent scorer if he can develop his jump shot. It’s easy to see that he should be a double figure scorer on a nightly basis. He may develop into a solid starter, but I don’t see that happening until his jump shot can be counted on.

Seeing Kevin Love dominate inside also reminds you of how far the Pacers have to go at center. Is it just me or does Roy Hibbert miss more bunnies than any other center in the league? Hibbert needs to toughen up. He followed a really nice 29-point performance with six points against Minnesota. That’s just not going to cut it when you are one of the team’s core players.

Mike Dunleavy scored 14 points in a little more than four minutes at the start of the game. A stretch like this makes you understand why Dunleavy was the number three pick in the 2002 draft. Unfortunately, the next 44 minutes make you remember why nobody likes his contract and he will likely call a new city home next season.

Paul George continues to impress. He had a really nice three-pointer to end the first quarter. The rookie also helped McRoberts keep the Pacers in the game in the middle of third quarter by scoring a few buckets. The Pacers are keeping their fingers crossed that George continues his progress. That means they won’t have to spend money on a starting shooting guard in the offseason.

Danny Granger was solid with a quiet 19-point night. He’s not a superstar, but he’s the best player on this team right now. Better yet, he seems to have completely bought in to Vogel and the rest of the team has followed his lead.

In the end, beating the Timberwolves helped cap a really nice stretch has given the Pacers some breathing room. They are now three games up in the loss column over Charlotte. With their upcoming March schedule the Pacers will likely need all the space they can get.

Related posts:

1. Game #74 Recap: Al Horford REALLY Likes Playing the Pacers
2. Game #1 Recap: Hawks 120 – Pacers 109
   Actual Observations and Related, Possibly Stupid Conjectures
3. The One Where the Pacers Score 54 Points in the 3rd Quarter on 20 for 21 Shooting

Aside from the second six minutes of the second quarter and all the turnovers and Danny Granger being unable to hit water from a boat, this victory over the Raptors was exactly what the Pacers needed. More than just winning, it was an attitude shift. I wasn’t at the game, but inside my television set, it appeared as though there was a near-palpable difference in the players’ attitudes. Roy Hibbert looked like a kid out there compared to the mopey, Eeyore-impersonating, rain-cloud carrier we have seen for much of the season. Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough played like confident veterans. Darren Collison seemed unshackled.

It was at times ugly, but the offense was free-flowing, which is rarely an adjective that I have used to describe this team over the past few seasons. 25 turnovers suggest that it was too free-flowing. And DC’s 6 turnovers suggest he could maybe use some shackles. But the team looked like they were having fun out there for the first time in a while, and they really looked to be making a concerted effort to share the ball, particularly by getting it to Roy in the deep post, a location from which he destroyed Toronto’s interior. There were a lot of cutters and a lot of interior passing. Again, there was too much and Danny, Darren and Roy all forced things, but like that paperweight your son made you for your birthday, it’s the thought that counts.

The transition defense was also notable. That’s one of those things that is all attitude and effort and the Pacers got back multiple times, breaking up at least three opportunities when they were outnumbered and back-pedaling. That’s saving 6 points. Pretty big deal.

Getting back to Roy’s low post work, look at his shot chart. You don’t get open directly under the hoop as often as he did tonight unless your are really busting your ass. He planted and backed down the Raptors’ “bigs.”

OK. Let’s not pretend this was a perfect game from Roy. He turned the ball over too much, was sloppy and awkward looking at time, and a couple of his early shots were very much of his now-patented “no-look hook” variety. But that’s just picking nits when we’re talking about a guy who had only had one double-double so far in 2011 before this evening. 24 points on 19 shots to go along with 11 boards and 2 blocks? Plus some tremendous interior defense on the same night that the opposition shot 41.3%? That will work, sir. Welcome back. I was starting to forgot why I ever thought you were good.

Speaking of someone who is good … Paul George.

This kid is just can just flat-out play basketball. I have been enjoying his play more and more of late, but the way he attacked the rim tonight and got to the line was just a joy to watch. I regularly criticize Granger when he doesn’t get into the lane, but ultimately, Danny is always going to be more of a shooter than anything else. He and I both know this. George, on the other hand, looks natural going north/south and trying to dunk on any fool silly enough to try to jump with him. His dribble moves don’t seem blinding in a Dwyane Wade sense or even spellbinding in a Paul Pierce sense, but particularly when he grabs a rebound or a loose ball and takes off up the court, it just looks right … if that makes any sense. He’s just smooth.

Between that, his rapidly improving defense and his ability to shoot from the mid-range (and hopefully further out), it is starting to seem inevitable that he will become the team’s starting two guard this. I suppose Vogel could stick with Mike Dunleavy, Jr. all year (provided he doesn’t get traded, which he very well might) and use George to buoy the second unit (something he has said he might do with Hansbrough), but considering that one of the stated reasons for getting rid of O’Brien was his unwillingness to play the young kids, I imagine Bird will put a little pressure on Vogel to make sure Paul keeps getting 25 mpg. Whether he starts or not is, I guess, academic, but I think it will happen eventually.

Speaking of guys who should start … Tyler Hansbrough, ladies and gentlemen. He played an excellent game on his first night back from pneumonia , hitting 6 of his 13 shots for 14 points in 16 minutes. He also added 6 boards. And his energy should be even more useful on a team that is no trying to re-assert itself as a squad that can beat any team in this league on any given night.

Another wrinkle added by Vogel was playing Dahntay Jones. I almost forgot he was on the team. I mean, he looked as mediocre as ever during his 10 minutes of court time, but it was interesting to see him, and not James Posey, head out there. Vogel has said that we will see less small ball going forward, so that makes you wonder whether or not we will see much Posey at all. With George deserving a lot of minutes on the wing and Lance Stephenson presumably getting a shot at the rotation at some point, there wouldn’t seem to be much time left for Posey. Similarly, AJ Price will likely remain the second point guard with TJ Ford only seeing the court due to injuries or foul trouble. I don’t think we will be seeing the TJ/AJ back court again anytime soon.

In the end, it was a very good win that the team now gets to bond over as they race to get away from the storm to get to Cleveland. And if you thought the Raptors was bad, wait until you see the Cavs. These guys are hilarious.

UPDATE: Here are two comments from John Rabjohns of the Indy Star reflecting what I expected: Vogel will probably keep a similar rotation to what we saw tonight. That’s fine by me. At one point seven minutes into the first quarter, I realized that the starters were still in. And then Vogel made a few substitutions and let those guys plays together for an extended stretch. It was so simple and so effective that I was wondering whether or not it was even allowed. It was like he was going out of his way to set a rotation and allow his players to become comfortable playing next to one another within established roles.

Odd, I know — but perhaps crazy enough that it might just work.

Related posts:

1. Meet Frank Vogel
2. Tyler Hansbrough to Start? Jim O’Brien Insinuates As Much in His Now-Typical, Antagonistic Tone
3. Start-ling

Perhaps we’ll get to see some in-game stuff one day.

UPDATE: The team also had a three-point shootout since this long break without a game is essentially the equivalent of an early All-Star break and players like to compete and be silly.

With a six-day break between games, several Pacers conducted a 3-point shootout and dunk competition after practice Tuesday. They used two racks of balls and had former director of player development Billy Kellerwork the clock.

Danny Granger won the shootout against rookie Paul George, Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert.

I would hope Danny would win that match-up. Even his 42.1% shooting from the field this season should be good enough to beat two guys without three-point range and a rookie wearing biker shorts. (The shorts were apparently an 80s retro throwback to honor Larry Bird. I’m sure he was … honored.)

Related posts:

1. Roy Hibbert and Paul George Train MMA
2. Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George Are Struggling … And That’s OK
3. A Photo of Paul George

————–

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:

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.

Related posts:

1. Game #1 Recap: Hawks 120 – Pacers 109
   Actual Observations and Related, Possibly Stupid Conjectures
2. Game #1 Preview: Sekou Smith Talks Hawks
3. Game #30 Recap: Pacers Play the Heel