Eight Points, Nine Seconds » Game #41

On Dwyane Killing Indy Last Night

Jared Wade — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:46:03 +0000

I wrote a short thing for the Daily Dime about Flash torching the Pacers last night and scoring his 11,000th career point in the process. Figured I’d share in case you missed it.

The Pacers might have actually been glad to see Dwyane Wade make his first 3-pointer of the game Tuesday night. Much like with LeBron James prior to this season or Allen Iverson always, the best defense against an elite penetrator who too often settles for jump shots often can be to just let him shoot. The last thing you want a guy called Flash to do is try to dribble by you, so if he becomes enamored with the long stuff early, you might have him right where you want him — away from the paint.

And Wade, who was shooting 27.4 percent from behind the arc on 3.2 3-point attempts per game going into Tuesday night, is definitely someone Pacers coach Jim O’Brien likes to see standing 25 feet from the hoop.

But this wasn’t O’Brien’s night. It was Wade’s night.

After hitting his first 3 less than two minutes after the tip, Wade would hit two more triples in the quarter and tallied 18 of his game-high 32 points before the first period ended. In the second quarter — by which point the game already seemed over, and Miami was adding to a lead that would eventually reach 31 points — Wade added a layup that put him over the 11,000-point mark for his career. The way things were going, it felt like he might eclipse the 12,000-point plateau before the half.

Indiana had come back to win after being down 23 against Toronto just last week and followed that up by erasing a 24-point deficit to beat Phoenix two days later, so there was still hope. But similar fortune would not return. Not on a night when the Pacers were playing in Miami instead of Indianapolis. Not on a night when Danny Granger shot 2-for-16. And not when Michael Beasley was playing Robin to Flash’s … well … Flash.

Let’s hope they have better luck against the other Florida team tonight.

(Full preview to come shortly)

Game #41 Recap: Recap is “paceR” Spelled Backwards

Tim Donahue — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:35:18 +0000

Let us never speak of this game again.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala … I can’t hear you … lalalalalaalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

Game #41 Preview: Half-Way Done

Jared Wade — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:45:59 +0000

Indiana Pacers @ Miami Heat
Tuesday, January 19
7:30 PM EST
American Airlines Arena
Miami, Florida

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Well, kiddos, looks like this season of ongoing disappointment will officially be half-way over after tonight’s game — presuming, ya know, the Pacers don’t make the Playoffs. And while that seemed like a very, very, very, safe assumption two weeks ago, a three-game win streak did offer a little hope that Indy might be able to turn this thing around.

Of course, they trailed by 23 or more points in two of those games before mounting amazing comebacks and also beat the Nets, so it’s not like the team is on the cusp of turning into the 1983 Sixers here or anything. But they offense has looked like it may be able to turn a corner. For stretches, Danny looked like the Granger of last year and the rest of the guys have filled in well enough to help fuel some extended stretches of potent scoring. That alone is reason to celebrate when you have otherwise been watching a team that threatens to shoot below 40% from the field every other game.

Still, it’s the East, so anything is possible.

So after a bump in the road against the Hornets on Saturday, Indy will look to get back on track against Miami and get back to their not losing ways. And, fortunately, Miami has not been playing well of late. They’ve lost 7 of their last 11, and despite playing at one of the slowest paces in the whole NBA, have only held their opponents below 98 points once in their past 7 games.

The Heat can still play good defense when they want to, so this doesn’t necessarily mean we will see a great shooting night out of the Pacers in Miami. But they have certainly found a good night to try.

Pacers v. Heat: Tale of the Tape