An Indiana Pacers Blog
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Happy Anniversary. *sigh*
UPDATE: I forgot to add what I had tweeted earlier, which is the only thing I really have to say about the whole incident at this point:
“I saw the Malice at the Palace live in an NYC bar that was later destroyed when a 24-story-tall construction crane fell on it. Apropos, I thought.”
(video from FanDome)
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The Pacers offense was anemic. Their second-best player — and I’m just giving Danny the benefit of the doubt here — was Solomon Jones. They looked significantly worse than they did in a game during which they committed 25 turnovers.
Ok. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s game two. Enhance your calm.
Still, it is not unfair to say that, through two games, the Pacers look like they have the potential to be in the worst team in the NBA discussion. Yes, the same NBA that features the Sacramento Kings. Right now, the Pacers only have two players who you can actually expect anything from offensively: Granger and Murphy. The Kings similarly only have two reliable guys: Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans. Granger is better than K-Mart and Murphy should be more consistent than a rookie, so, for now, they are safe, but the fact that you can even legitimately compare the talent level of your team to that of the Sacramento Kings means there are some real issues.
Whoops. I said in the headline that I was gonna avoid hyperbole and here I am talking about how the Pacers resemble the Kings.
Deep breaths.
But if not for hyperbole and overreaction, really, what can I say about last night? It was just very ugly. Granger’s shot was really, really off for a reason I really, really hope has nothing to do with injury. And since he was unwilling to penetrate until the game was, for practical purposes, over, there was nowhere else to look for offense. Like, literally, no option two. Hibbert showed some flashes in the post early, Luther Head started off the fourth aggressively with six straight points, and Troy looked like he was about to emerge from the nap he apparently took during half time when he made that hard drive to the hoop, got hammered and made the layup. But other than those moments, this whole game was an exercise in “I don’t want the ball.”
36 second half points is just not acceptable — particularly when, defensively, you’re letting Jermaine O’Neal score like it’s 2003 again and making Michael Beasley and Dwyane Wade look like Hakeem and Ralph Sampson in the post by trying to check them with Dahntay Jones and Luther Head. And 16 points in the third quarter? Where have we seen that before? I mean, Miami didn’t even play particularly well and the game never even felt remotely close after the half. Wade dropped 32 and didn’t even look like he was trying. And not in his normal “he makes the sport of basketball look so easy that it’s like he isn’t even trying” way, but in a “he’s fine with just standing around the perimeter and letting JO and Beas win this one” way. Sure, they cut the deficit to 8 at one point, but was anyone really predicting a comeback victory at that point?
And if all that wasn’t enough, Jeff Foster left the game with a sprained ankle and couldn’t return. Fantastic.
Whatever. Let’s not dwell.
But because the next game isn’t until Tueday (which is, oh by the way, against Denver and the on-another-planet-right-now Carmelo Anthony), I may as well add some more thoughts on this game. Plus, I may as well alert you now that Twitter is the best place to hang out while you’re watching NBA nowadays.
There are dozens upon dozens of smart and entertaining people out there who spend several nights a week providing insightful commentary and witty jokes about any number of games going on at the time, and you’re really missing out if you don’t follow some of them to learn and laugh along. It’s essentially a live blog or a game thread, but rather than being restricted to the number of people who are a part of that forum, it features commentary from anyone in the world who happens to be watching.
Here’s a starter list of who to follow for great NBA updates.
As far as Pacer-related tweets, there isn’t a ton of activity — at least not a ton that I’m aware of anyway. Hopefully that will change as I find more Pacer fans out there. Still, me, Tom Lewis of IndyCornrows (@IndyCornrows) and Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star have all been hanging out during the last two games and chirping in some thoughts. So in case you missed it — and to avoid saying anything further that I might later regret about Brandon Rush, TJ Ford or Dahntay Jones — below is a full replay of what went down in my world on Twitter last night (with an attempt at showing the conversations in a threaded-like manner).
If you are into the whole Twitter thing, you can follow me @8pts9secs. I look forward to chatting with some more of yall during the games to come.
@8pts9secs — SupercoolCornrows RT @IndyCornrows Michael Beasley, my new hero. Looking spectacular!!!
@8pts9secs — RT @IndyCornrows JO gets far more applause than boos when announced at Fieldhouse. Nice.
@8pts9secs — High scorer in tonight’s game: Dwyane Wade or Danny Granger? Or do you have a wildcard pick?
@IndyCornrows — @8pts9secs Please be DG 33. Wild card, Daequan or Quentin Richardson.
@8pts9secs — I think the Pacers are gonna need Murphy to win the match up with Beasley. And not just statistically.
@8pts9secs — If you’re into the whole brevity thing. RT @IndyCornrows DG 33 on the mic with a welcome. He’s in no mood for pleasantries, though.
@8pts9secs — 1 possession. 1 Hibbert foul.
@Jubanator14 — I see he went to the Andrew Bynum school of post defense RT @8pts9secs 1 possession. 1 Hibbert foul.
@8pts9secs — Is Beasley wearing a wet suit?
@8pts9secs — Brandon Rush makes his first jumper. That’s a good sign for his confidence
@8pts9secs — 2 fouls on Hibbert. He’s still in the game? Looks like O’Brien is tryna teach him to play without being stupid. We’ll see…
@8pts9secs — Brandon Rush has now fouled two guys who have also made the basket. 2nd-year guys got no discipline right now.
@8pts9secs — TJ gambling for a reach in steal on two straight possessions. He has: One foul, two buckets, two turnovers. Net: neutral performance so far.
@8pts9secs — Solomon Jones makes a short jumper on one end, gets roasted by JO on the other. Jermaine headed to the line. Again.
@8pts9secs — Dwyane only led the Heat in scoring 71 times last year? Slacker.
@jerees — @8pts9secs Jeff Foster limping…great. Think McBob will get a sniff?
@8pts9secs — @jerees Hope not.
@8pts9secs — Danny fouled taking a trey. May as well pencil em all in.
@8pts9secs — Unforced turnover by the Pacers. Dahntay Jones couldn’t catch a routine pass to get the ball across half court. Sloppy, sloppy.
@8pts9secs — Chris Denari: “Indiana really out of sync.” Pretty much sums it up. Careless fouls and turnovers. Jumpers way off. Can’t guard the paint.
@8pts9secs — Nice offensive board by Solomon Jones. Dude went and got that one. Man rebound.
@8pts9secs — Shot-clock violation for the Pacers, who just keep finding new ways to turn the ball over.
@8pts9secs — RT @Wells222 Foster sprained right ankle, doubtful to return
@8pts9secs — As a guy who’s watched several Doug Collins and Reggie Miller broadcasts this week, praise the Lord for Quinn Buckner.
@8pts9secs — RT @Wells222 I don’t know what O’Brien is thinking by putting D. Jones on Beasley.
@8pts9secs — RT @IndyCornrows Beasley too much for Dahtay to handle. Gotta be the cornrows.
@8pts9secs — Watson w/ a needle-threading cross-court pass to Troy for the J. How he do that? Sick. TJ might be on the bench for a while.
@8pts9secs — 1/10 for three. RT @Wells222 Pacers shooting 23% from the field. It would be hard to be a local YMCA team shooting that bad.
@8pts9secs — Hibbert doing some work on the block. Nice deliberate jump hook.
@8pts9secs — Dude from Third Eye Blind is chatting live on the Pacers broadcast. First time all week I would rather hear Doug Collins.
@8pts9secs — RT @Wells222 3 straight buckets from Roy. About time they started looking for the big fella. They act like he’s not on the court at times.
@8pts9secs — Luther Head for three. Pacers only down three. I’m expecting a lot more threes like that from Luther this year.
@8pts9secs — Of course he is. RT @Wells222 Foster officially out for the rest of the game.
@8pts9secs — Solomon Jones is hitting jumpers this eve. Anomaly?
@8pts9secs — Ummm…Yeah. Just like Dahntay can’t guard Beasley in the post, Head can’t check Flash down there.
@8pts9secs — Flash has 14 points on 9 shots in 15 mins. 2 steals too. And he hasn’t even looked like he’s trying yet.
@8pts9secs — Great penetration by TJ.
@8pts9secs — Danny about to pick up a T. Or at least he better on that. This aint tiddlywinks, zebra-jerk-face.
@8pts9secs — Dahntay Jones beasts Q in the post to end the half and cut the Heat lead to 2. They should be down more shooting 35%. I’ll take it.
@8pts9secs — Dear Troy Murphy, Never take another fadeaway jumper ever again. – Mgmt
@8pts9secs — Roy Hibbert has 3 offensive boards. I like that. Keep doing that, please and thank you.
@8pts9secs — RT @IndyCornrows JO just tweaked an ankle.
@8pts9secs — Hibbert just went head-first Jeter-style into the fifth row.
@jose3030 — Celtics playing like someone stole their puppy and the only way to get him back is to drill 3s
@8pts9secs — Why not just call Hansbrough? RT @jose3030 Celtics playing like someone stole their puppy and the only way to get him back is to drill 3s
@8pts9secs — Heat have 4 FGs in the 2nd half. JO has 4 FGs in the 2nd half. I see a pattern.
@8pts9secs — Yet another “Wait? Are these guys shaving points” turnover from a Pacer player this season. They should get assists for these.
@8pts9secs — Solomon Jones has recorded assists on the past four Heat points.
@8pts9secs — I love that Quinn Buckner says exactly what I’m thinking only better. Great of Danny to punish Q on the block.
@8pts9secs — Brandon Rush has been, um, let’s just say “uneffective” tonight.
@8pts9secs — Solomon Jones is the Pacers second best player tonight. They’re down 13. These facts are possibly related.
@8pts9secs — Danny Granger is shooting like Marquis Daniels tonight. They might hafta re-paint this rim tomorrow.
@8pts9secs — Great steal by Ford. I’ll stop there.
@8pts9secs — TJ was playing great D right there til he tried just a little too hard. Puts a guy on the line 25 feet from the hoop. #GetOutOfMyHeadQuinn
@8pts9secs — RT @Wells222 Jermaine ran by the scorer’s table and grinned and winked after after getting his 17th point on an overmatched S. Jones.
@8pts9secs — Nice coat, Diener. Slick.
@8pts9secs — Solomon Jones sorta moves like a giraffe learning to walk, but I think I like him. He’ll be easy to root for.
@bgjoecool27 — @8pts9secs Solo is a goofy giraffe
@8pts9secs — Nice move anyway, Dahntay. Good to see someone take it hard to the rack.
@8pts9secs — JO with 19 points on 9 shots. This is, how you say? Unexpected. Similarly, Danny Granger is 4/16. Indy down 17.
@8pts9secs — Looks like Tyler Hansbrough got a haircut. To barber: “Hook me up with that Llyod Christmas, son.”
@russbengtson Brandon Bass should be made an honorary Davis Brother.
@8pts9secs — @russbengtson Agreed. Over at BTPH we call him “Brolic.”
@russbengtson @8pts9secs That works, ha.
@IndyCornrows — So I guess the BMX guy leaving on a stretcher was a bad sign for the Pacers. Down 79-63 end 3Q. Seems worse than score though.
@8pts9secs — @IndyCornrows Sorta like weather with the wind chill. “Pacers down 16. Feels like 28.”
@IndyCornrows — @8pts9secs Exactly!
@IndyCornrows RT @cliffbruntap #Heat 79, #Pacers 63 end of third. FG shooting: Heat 49%, Pacers 33%. #NBA
@8pts9secs — @IndyCornrows Tryna honor Bird?
@8pts9secs — Luther Head bringing the Pacers back from the dead. Has all 6 of Indy’s pts in the 4th. Back-to-back buckets in the paint.
@8pts9secs — Pacers down 10 and play some good scramble D to strip Wade and get the ball back. Can’t score though.
@8pts9secs — I mean, I’m not tryna be a dick BUT JESUS CHRIST. Swing passes are NOT this difficult, people.
@8pts9secs — Troy Murphy turns into Altered Beast and gets some. Three-point play at the cup while getting hammered. Down 10. Momentum-changer?
@8pts9secs — Best play of the game for the Pacers. But Danny can’t hit a WIDE OPEN three. He musta eaten something weird. So off tonight.
@IndyCornrows DG 33 now 2-11 from 3-land.
@8pts9secs — …and 3/22 as a team. RT @IndyCornrows DG 33 now 2-11 from 3-land.
@8pts9secs — Danny for three. Let’s turn that tide, son. Down only 8 somehow.
@8pts9secs — Offensive fouls are the new “pass it directly to the other team.”
@hoopedup — @8pts9secs @IndyCornrows The Pacers need a three point intervention with loved ones.
@8pts9secs — @Wells222 Any news on MDJ? Please?
@Wells222 — @8pts9secs It’s gotten to point already? He’s still not practicing yet. They need him BAD. Did you hear me? They need him BAD
@8pts9secs — @Wells222 I think just having that one other ball handler/creator in the offense could make all the difference.
@Wells222 — @8pts9secs People think I’m crazy when I tell them the Pacers need Dunleavy out there. I’m glad there’s one other person that’s with me.
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Heat at Pacers. Conseco Fieldhouse. Home Opener.
As has been noted, the season opener in Atlanta was tough to watch at times. Still, there was a lot of good offense early when the team wasn’t turning the ball over. The Pacers will try to put the lesser moments from the last game behind them as they go up against Dwyane Wade and the Heat, who should be feeling good about themselves after thumping the Knicks in Miami the other night.
I’m not going to lie to you, guys: Flash is damn scary. He could go off for 40 against the ’85 Bears so, against a mediocre-at-best defensive team like Indiana that is still struggling to incorporate a few new offseason pieces, there is always the possibility that he just walks on the court and takes this thing over. He’s that good.
Jermaine O’Neal is not that good. Not anymore. And, indeed, never even was. Still, he produced like the JO Pacer fans once adored the other night, dropping a very efficient 22 points on 12 shots while also finding the time to nab 12 boards.
If that’s not enough to worry about, Michael Beasley, fresh off some offseason personal issues that landed him in a Houston-area rehab facility, looked a little bit like the guy Pat Riley thought he was taking second overall in the draft two summers ago. All told, Michael finished with 21 points on 9 of 14 from the floor. I’m sure Eric Spoelstra would have expected more than 3 boards out of SuperCoolBeas on a night where the Knicks shot an embarrassing 37.9%, but he had to be happy with the 20-year-old’s scoring in the opener.
Given that the Pacers coughed up 25 turnovers on Wednesday, 16 of which were credited as Atlanta steals, they will also have to worry about Mario Chalmers jumping the passing lanes. Chalmers finished fourth last year in the entire NBA in steals per game with 2.0 per game. Combine that with that Dwyane Wade guy again, who finished second in the league in steals last year with 2.2 thieveries per, and the Pacers best be cautious with the ball or we could see the team hand the game away yet again.
One last note: Daequan Cook might not play. He’s not a huge piece of Miami’s gameplan, but he is a potent three-point weapon, so Jim O’Brien is likely happy to see him in a suit in case this turns into a shootout.
Enjoy the game. Here’s the rest of the particulars.
Pacers
TJ Ford
Brandon Rush
Danny Granger
Troy Murphy
Roy Hibert
Heat
Mario Chalmers
Dwyane Wade
Quentin Richardson
Michael Beasley
Jermaine O’Neal
And just for old time’s sake, here’s some Jermaine highlights over one of my favorite songs of all time, “Paparazzi” by Xzibit. Both conjure a lot of positive nostalgia. It was nice to see JO play well the other evening and here’s to hoping he stay healthy and put together a solid year.
Except for tonight. How about a nice little 4/16 performance again, my man?
Is that something you’d be interested in?
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The plan we’ve conjured up in the 8.9 Lab is to provide yall with a preview of every game this season. Generally, we’ll put them up the day of. On occasion, they may go up earlier. And at other times, life will get in the way and they will not appear at all. Thems the breaks, but we’ll do our very best to bring it for all 82.
We’ll probably mix up the format from game to game to keep things interesting, sometimes interviewing people more familiar with the opponent and other times just writing a straight preview ourselves. Maybe we’ll even dig up some wildcard methods here and there to keep you on your toes. For the opener, however, we obviously don’t have a ton of interesting things to say other than “Welcome back, oh sweet, sweet NBA basketball goodness.”
Thus, I reached out to a man who always has a ton of interesting things to say: Sekou Smith
Many of you are already very familiar with Sekou from his work covering the Pacers, among other things, at the Indianapolis Star from 2002 to December 2004. To the dismay of many a Hoosier, he took his reporter hat and engaging prose with him to Atlanta thereafter and has since been holding down the Hawks beat for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, blogging regularly on the paper’s Hawks Blog and relaying all the NBA news fit to tweet through his @sekousmith01 feed.
Honestly, who could be better to provide some perspective on tonight’s season opener for both the Pacers and the Hawks from the ATL? And fortunately, he was gracious enough to share some of his vast Hawks knowledge with you 8p9s readers.
Here’s a Q&A we did yesterday, with me asking the Qs and Sekou bringing the As.
Between Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford, the Hawks have a ton of offensive firepower in the back court — and three guys who all took a ton of threes last year (each had more than 5 three-point attempts per game last season). Do you see them all continuing to put up a lot of shots or do you see either Bibby or Joe making a concerted effort to make sure guys like Horford and Josh Smith get more shots near the hoop?
I don’t know that Bibby or Joe will sacrifice shots for the other guys, but I think their minutes (should be) curbed to the point that they’ll be forced to give up some shots in the process. If anything, I think Crawford’s assist game will stun some people, mostly because he’s such a willing passer, and he’ll be on the floor with guys that can finish (Smith, Horford, Joe and Marvin Williams).
There are two things I think most NBA players are loathe to surrender (consciously) and that’s shots and minutes. So don’t expect any humanitarian moves from anyone for the sake of the greater good.
Speaking of Josh Smith and threes, he said this summer that he needs to stay away from the allure of the perimeter and instead focus on getting to the rim off the dribble and scoring in the paint. Will he abide by that pledge or will he fall back into settling for too many jumpers?
He’s going to take some jumpers. There’s no doubt about that. But in seven preseason games he didn’t take a single 3-pointer. That’s a stunning stretch for a guy that treats threes like those old Lay’s potato chip ads (“Bet you just can’t eat one”). Well, some of Josh’s teammates have wondered aloud if he’ll be able to keep from taking just one. Time will tell. It’s obvious that his game is far more effective when he’s doing other things. Plus, there are so many other guys capable that he needs to steer clear of the three-point line anyway.
People forget that Marvin Williams is only 23 years old. And last year, he started to look like he was really about to begin making good on some of his enormous potential. How has he looked in camp and will we see his game progress even further this year?
I’ve been getting roasted on my own blog for floating the idea that Marvin was having a breakout season last year before being sacked by that back injury late in the season. He’s looked good in camp and Marvin’s always been better than he gets credit for. He’s always going to get venom around here because he’s not Chris Paul or Deron Williams. I thought that theme would have vanished a bit by now, but it remains strong.
He’s still a youngster, as are Josh Smith and Al Horford. So they’ve all still got room to improve. One of them has to move up to the next level this year if the Hawks want to challenge for anything more than the fourth spot and another 12-15 game playoff run.
No one ever talks about Zaza. But he’s got a cool name and a solid game to match. Discuss.
No one ever talks about Zaza? Where? He’s a fan favorite down here. Maybe not to Austin Croshere proportions, but folks down here love him. Some love to hate him because of his antics on the offensive end and his complaining to the officials. But he earns his money, which can’t be said for a lot of 7-footers in the NBA. (You know who you are).
Zaza is a renaissance man of sorts. He’s a restaurateur, a fashion icon (mostly in his own mind, ha) and one of the all-around best cats you’ll ever meet. His game isn’t sexy and he’s not going to tote the load for you as a starter, but he’s a valuable player here. There’s no shame in that.
Few Pacer fans — or any NBA fans, honestly — know much about Solomon Jones. Were you ever impressed by anything other than his athleticism and do you think he will emerge as a decent rotation guy for the Pacers this year?
Solo was always intriguing here. Remember, he was the Hawks’ second-round pick the year they whiffed with Shelden Williams as the fifth pick in the draft. It took me all of two weeks of rookie camp to realize that Solo had more physical potential than Shelden. He was just so raw. He worked at it, though, which is a credit to the kid. He worked on his offensive game and did what he could to improve his physical deficiencies. That’s what I want to see out of a developmental player in his first couple of years.
The thing I’ve always liked best about Solo, though, is that he’ll dish out a hard foul. He slapped the DNA off of Andre Iguodala a couple years ago and got tangled up with Dwyane Wade in the playoffs last year without hesitation. That impresses me, when a dude like that isn’t afraid to knock a superstar on his tail. I was sad to see Solo leave. At the same time, I realized he was going to a situation (and particularly an offense) that suited his talents a little better.
Jeff Teague is a guy I thought would have been a great fit for the Pacers back court. How’s he looking so far and what do you expect from his as a pro?
Teague has been fantastic, sans his 0-for-everything shooting performance from the floor in the preseason finale Friday in Orlando. I lived in Pike Township when I was in Indy, so I knew he came from good prep basketball stock. I watched very little of him at Wake Forest, so I had to do some research on him this summer with people I know back in Indy and around the league. Everyone raved about his game and his personality, and they were right. He seems like a great kid.
The key to his season will be consistent minutes. If he starts in the 12-18 range and moves into the 20-25 range as the season goes on, I can see him being a major factor for this team. The only missing piece to his game right now is a consistent outside stroke. That’ll come with work before and after practice, which he’s been putting in alongside Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford on a daily basis. That’s good company for a young guy.
You left the Indianapolis Star very soon after the brawl. How has it been to watch all the turmoil of the past few years and how do you view the overall state of the franchise now? More specifically, how do you think the team will do this season?
I did leave right after the brawl. The Christmas day rematch game between the Pacers and Pistons was my last day. I’ve been floored by all the fallout since then. Mark Montieth and I have had many long conversations about it since then. I’m not sure I’ve witnessed a more complete gutting of a once-proud franchise in such a short period of time. And I certainly have no idea if you can point to just one culprit. (I know Ron Artest is the easy target.)
Still to this day, I’ve thought that the turning point was the summer they had to decide what to do with Brad Miller and Jermaine O’Neal. Plenty of people have disagreed with me on that, including Mark (who remains a great friend to this day). I just felt like free agency forced them to dismantle a team on the cusp of something big. Once the core of that team was scattered it was pretty much a matter of time. More than anything, it reminded me what a hell of a job Donnie Walsh did building that thing the way he did. To last that long in this era of professional sports is an accomplishment in itself. Donnie held it together for so long, so to see some people taking shots at him once he left was more than a bit disingenuous to me. The brawl and the aftermath just sped up the process.
As for this season, I won’t count them out before actually seeing them with my own eyes. But I don’t have them in the pool of playoff hopefuls I’m expecting big things from.
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