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New York Knicks

Game #55 Preview: Kevin Martin’s Debut

by Jared Wade on February 20, 2010 at 5:08 pm

Indiana Pacers @ Houston Rockets
Saturday, February 20
8:30 pm EST
Toyota Center
Houston, Texas

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For those of you living under a rock, the trade deadline featured two major deals.

The first was Antawn Jamison to the Cavs, which pretty much makes this season’s chase for an NBA championship a two-horse race between Cleveland and Los Angeles.

The second was a three-team trade that sent Kevin Martin to the Rockets, Carl Landry to the Kings and Tracy McGrady to the Knicks.

For our old friend Donnie Walsh in New York, this was an “all-in” move hoping to win the spoils of the free agent class of 2010. It’s officially “LeBron or Bust” for those in MSG, who desperately are hoping — nay — praying that The Chosen One for some silly reason decides that he wants to play in New York with one of his very talented friends (either Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, Amar’e or Boozer), Danilo Galinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, Eddy Curry and a bunch of minimum-ish-level salaried guys. (Obviously any of Wade/Bosh or Joe Johnson/Bosh or Wade/Boozer or Wade/Amare or perhaps a few other combinations would not be a total failure for the Knicks either.)

For the Kings, they got a very good (and very cheap) low-post scorer in Landry as well as enough cap room this summer to perhaps offer some free agent the max. (Kevin Arnovitz breaks down all the 2010 free agency player very well here.) Or, since Tyreke Evans is a budding superstar himself, they might be wiser to bring in one $10 million guy and one $7 million guy who can play well alongside Evans, Landry, Thompson, Casspi and Spencer Hawes. Either way, Sacramento now has a lot of flexibility and a lot of young talent to build something.

For the Rockets, they got not just Martin, but two first-round picks from the Knicks, perhaps-promising rookie Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries, who while seen as a salaray-cap albatross in New York will just be a good defensive specialist for Houston since they weren’t trying to get under the cap this summer anyway. Aside from Danny Ferry getting Antawn, this was the coup of the deadline. Daryl Morey, aka the guy Bill Simmons calls Dork Elvis, made a very shrewd play and has set his team up very well for the next few seasons. (He didn’t do quite as well in negotiations as some people expected, but it was still a stellar move.)

More important to the Pacers, of course, is not how the Rockets play in the coming years — but how they play tonight.

Hopefully for Indiana, Houston isn’t able to seamlessly integrate Martin and Jeffries (and perhaps even Hill) into the game plan and the result is a sloppy, lackluster, disjointed effort by Rick Adelman’s boys.

If so, the Pacers will probably only lose by six or seven.

Pacers vs. Rockets: By the Numbers

Pacers @ Rockets
18-36 (14th) Overall Record (Conf Rank) 28-25 (9th)
6-21 (Road) Home / Road Records 15-11 (Home)
3-7 Record Last 10 Games 4-6
Lost 4 Current Streak Won 1
2-3 Last 5 Head-to-Head 3-2
-4.93 (28th) Avg Scoring Margin +0.36 (15th)
101.4 (28th) Offensive Rating 106.7 (15th)
43.7% (27th) FG% 44.2% (26th)
48.1% (24th) eFG% 48.8% (22nd)
106.5 (15th) Defensive Rating 106.3 (13th)
45.2% (10th) Opponent's FG% 46.7% (22nd)
48.8% (9th) Opponent's eFG% 50.1% (19th)
97.5 (2nd) Pace 93.2 (12th)

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“Winning Time” Arrives Just in Time

by Tim Donahue on February 4, 2010 at 1:01 pm

In Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, director Dan Klores recounts one of the NBA’s most underrated rivalries in a beautifully crafted tale that centers around three Pacers/Knicks playoff series from 1993 to 1995. I saw it yesterday and it certainly lives up to its heralded billing as one of the best films in ESPN’s ongoing 30 for 30 film series.

Pacer fans will see it as the story of their adopted son leading their team to national prominence by slaying the hated Knicks.  Knicks fans are likely to see it as somewhat less epic. (And those of us who are more enlightened — and much better looking — will, of course, view it as inspiration for the name of a great blog.)

The documentary will also be entertaining for all sports fans regardless of how familiar they are with the rivalry, as Klores brings plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in a work he calls “fun” and a “comedy.”  He provides a nice framework to allow the principle characters — the players, coaches and members of the media — to tell the story in their own words, so the uninitiated will quickly be brought up to speed with first-hand anecdotes of playoff heroics.  By the time the documentary reaches the moment for which this site is named, even those who dislike the NBA will be pretty engaged in the drama of the rivalry.

And for those of us who feel as though we lived through those battles as soldiers in the fight rather than just passive onlookers, it provides so much more. It is both a reminder of the days when “Pacer Pride” actually meant something and a look behind the curtain.  Even though the Pacers/Knicks battles of the 90s are almost part of my DNA (and I still have the scar from the headbutt Starks gave Reggie to prove it), Klores still was able to provide vignettes that were new to me.

For me, however, Winning Time was even more than that.  It was a reaffirmation of who I am as a Pacer fan.  The movie, and the anticipation of it, triggered strong memories.  These aren’t limited to Reggie’s heroics. I found my entire life as a Pacer fan flashing before my eyes.

These are just some of the random fragments:

  • When the Pacers won their last championship in 1973, I was 7 years old.  I have  distant memories of going to the Fairgrounds Coliseum, but very little of the game play.  My favorite player was Billy Keller.  What I remember of the games is walking to and from the car with my dad and my godfather, his best friend Dick Perry.
  • I’m the youngest of nine children, and 10-and-a-half years younger than the second youngest.  My only brother is 16 years older than me, and I spent most of my childhood being vaguely afraid of him.  At one point, he convinced me that he kept a pet coyote (“ky-do-te” to my young mind) and water buffalo downstairs next door, which somehow frightened the bejeezus out of me.  However, my most vivid memory of the ABA Pacers comes from listening to them playing the Dallas Chaparrals on a radio with Terry in his room one night.  I don’t even remember the score, but I remember the sounds and the light of the room and the dark outside.
  • The only reason I ever got to see John Havlicek play in person is because my brother-in-law, Vince, thought it was something a 12-year-old should see.  The Pacers lost that night, but I distinctly recall the conversation Vince and I had getting out of the car.  A childlike discussion of the preceding summer’s telethon and strange, innocent feeling of pride surrounding the city banding together to save the team. Those of you outside Indiana — or just anyone under 30 — might not know, but the Pacers, once known as “the Boston Celtics of the ABA,” faced fiscal straights that would have forced the team to relocate had the community not literally ponied up their own hard-earned money to bail out the franchise and keep them in Indianapolis.
  • Until late in Reggie’s career, my favorite NBA Pacer was Billy Knight.  That attachment was formed by listening to the Pacers on the radio every game during the 1980-81 season.  This was my freshman year of high school, and it’s when I formed my connection to basketball.  I spent that year listening to the Pacers on their way to their first NBA Playoff appearance, and the Indiana Hoosiers on their way to their fourth NCAA title.  I can still hear “Hockey” Bob Lamey’s calls of running-one-handers, and cheering for BK and Johnny Davis and James Edwards and Boo-Boo and the return of Big Mac.
  • I remember a fleeting moment of glory in an otherwise disastrous 1985 season.  My brother’s best friend had a single season ticket (face value $4), and he couldn’t go to a January game vs. the Chicago Bulls.  The temperatures were frigid that night, but I was able to coax my ‘72 Cutlass down to Market Square anyway.  I was joined by several hundred other fools, as we witnessed a rare Pacer victory.  The big moment came with the Pacers up one and the clock ticking down.  Michael Jordan isolated Jim Thomas, but Jimmy picked his pocket, securing the game.  I think I lived off that game for like two years.
  • I was in Market Square Arena, with my brother Terry and my brother-in-law Vince as we cheered the selection of Wayman Tisdale, were stunned by the selection of Chuck Person, and did not boo the selection of Reggie Miller (though, in all honestly, we were hoping that Horace Grant would fall to the Pacers).  We also sat through all 7 rounds of that 1985 draft, with Terry and Vince begging the Pacers to take Tyrone Corbin from DePaul.  They did not.  The Pacers took Billy Martin and Dwayne McClain with their two second-round picks.  Tyrone Corbin went on to play over 1,000 games in the NBA.  Neither Martin nor McClain were quite that successful.
  • Over the years, NBA Draft Night has risen to an equivalent stature in my house with the Super Bowl.  Though we missed last year, I have usually had my brother Terry and my friend Alex (who has written here at 8p9s) over to watch the draft.  The year we drafted David Harrison, I was in Kansas City on business.  I spent the entire evening on my cell phone “watching” the draft with Alex.
  • I distinctly remember the look on Terry’s face on the night the Boomer was “born.”  If I recall correctly, the Pacers were playing in Milwaukee, when, with much drama, Eddie Doucette breathlessly told of breaking news back in Indy.  They cut to a grainy, Zapruder-quality video of some large stuffed animal breaking out of a box underneath MSA.  If you would like a re-enactment of my reaction, just look at John Starks’ face when he missed those free throws in Game One of the 1995 series.
  • Prior to Game 4 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, the crowd at Market Square had reached a fever pitch.  If you never had the pleasure, it is impossible to describe how loud that place could get.  However, the other thing about that building was that it was a dome and the floor was actually well above street level.  Market Street actually passed under it.  Therefore, the entire building actually felt unstable when the crowd went off.  As the teams huddled prior to tip, and the crowd rocked the building — both literally and figuratively — I spied second-year Knick Hubert Davis staring up at the crowd, slack-jawed, with an expression of awe that was teetering on the edge of outright fear.

These are just the old-school memories.  This doesn’t include the many other flashbacks that dot the years of my life as a Pacer fan like signposts.  These others cover the entire range of emotion from the elation of beating the Knicks or making the finals to the Larry Johnson four-point play and the gut-wrenching dread that slowly descended on me in the hours after the brawl.  I could go on for thousands of words without running dry.

As much as anything, the Pacers have been a part of my life.  While that may sound like a life of misplaced priority, I would invite you to look at those memories again.  Almost all of them mention family or friends.  Those that don’t were experienced in the company of family or friends.  At the end of the day, the Indiana Pacers have been a vehicle through which I’ve been able to enhance connections with my family and friends, and forge new ones with those who share my passion.

There’s no denying the dark cloud that has hovered over Pacerland for last few years.  Many fans have fallen away, regrettably with good reason.  The Blue and Gold haven’t faced this much futility on the court in over two decades.

So this documentary could not have come at a more opportune time to help remind me of the basis of my connection with the Pacers.  In fact, in the midst of an ugly basketball game earlier this season, the Pacers played a huge role in enhancing the most important relationship I will ever have.

If you’re a Pacer fan, do yourself a favor, and catch Winning Time.  Remind yourself of why you fell in love with the Pacers, and what it will feel like when they finally get back on track.  Watch it for the laughs and the new information contained as the insiders share their perspectives. And if for no other reason, watch it for the opportunity it will give you to relive moments and memories with those near and dear to you.

Feel good about being a Pacer fan again.

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ESPN audiences will first see Winning Time on Sunday, March 14 at 9:00 pm.  However, those in the Indianapolis area can attend Special Premiere Movie Event at Conseco Fieldhouse at 8:00 pm on Friday, February 26.  Reggie Miller, among others, will attend and proceeds from the event will benefit The People’s Burn Foundation, Riley Children’s Hospital and the Pacers Foundation. Also, below you can check out a preview of what is obviously the favorite scene of someone who would create a blog called Eight Points, Nine Seconds.

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Pacers Weekend Recap: Breaking the Losing Streak and Getting Embarrassed

by Jared Wade on January 4, 2010 at 1:19 pm

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

But mostly, yeah, it just sort of sucked.

I actually dozed off on the couch pretty early in the second half of the Timberwolves game on Saturday (perhaps subconsciously forcing unconsciousness so I didn’t have to watch the inevitable Minnesota comeback?), so the first game of the weekend seemed to be, to me, a giant success.

Those first 24 minutes were by far the best I’ve seen the Pacers play so far this year.

But no matter how well you play in the first two quarters of a game, if you let a 28-point half-time lead turn into a 4-point lead with a minute to play, your performance doesn’t deserve too much praise. Sure, any win that breaks an 8-game losing streak is an overwhelming success, but it would have been nice to see the team be able to step on the collective throat of such a bad team when they had them lying on the ground so battered and ready to die.

(On average, Minnesota scores 10.3 fewer points per game than their opponents, a number only worsted by New Jersey’s 10.7 points fewer. By comparison, the Pacers are also atrocious at 28th in the league in margin of victory, but still “only” score 6.3 ppg less than their opponents. In short, the T-Wolves are really, really, really bad.)

I can’t add any perspective to the dismal second half, but the team played about as well as it possibly could in the first half. Everyone scored a ton and the ball movement was blissful. The jumpers were flowing like wine and everyone from Roy Hibbert to Dahntay Jones was scoring around the hoop.

So even if the game turned back into normal stand-around slog ball on offense and the defense started to allow all kinds of easy buckets, the first half at least gives the team some good film to watch and build off. They at least have some tangible evidence to look at and say “Hey, maybe we can actually score points if we pass well, move around and take good shots.”

Because that first half was great. It was a joyous occasion.

Something that was decidedly not a joyous occasion, however? Last night’s game with the Knicks.

I actually went to Madison Square Garden for that giant waste of time and had there not been a special $9 Beer Night going, I probably would have left even earlier than I did. The line of the night came in the late third quarter (right around the time Pacers were falling down by 40) when I overheard a fan who was clearly upset he paid money to attend this game say “I know Reggie Miller left, but still.”

That pretty much sums it up.

And, unfortunately, much like the first half of the Minnesota game, there really isn’t a lot else to analyze, so I’m not going to waste your time pretending there is. The Knicks drove into the paint with such ease that, five minutes into the game, the whole New York lineup was so comfortable and empowered on offense that every jumper started to go down. The Pacers defense rotated so poorly that almost none of these shots were contested, which was particularly negligent since the team also closed out so poorly that they were beat off the dribble countless times by a simple pump fake or hesitation. Neither one is acceptable, but if you’re giving up wide-open jumpers you should at least not get beat off the dribble, too.

Good teams protect the perimeter and the paint. Bad teams should be able to at least protect one or the other. If you can’t protect either, you’re just not trying.

One thing I do need to note, however, is that Roy Hibbert in particular was an embarrassment. Al Harrington penetrated from the perimeter several times only to be met by Hibbert. And it appeared that all it took to make Roy completely lose all sense of balance or proper defensive positioning was an eyebrow fake from Al. David Lee also walked right by Roy on several occasions, which were eerily similar to the many times he was smoked by Brad Miller the other day.

Of course, the most egregious embarrassment came when Danilo Gallinari drove the lane and victimized Hibbert with an insane facial. That play pretty much summed up Hibbert’s night defensively.

To be fair, of course, that play wasn’t something we can put on Roy individually since Mike Dunleavy and Josh McRoberts should both be just as embarrassed about the “defense” they played on Danilo out on the perimeter. Obviously that play was simply a collective failure to defend in the half court.

And ultimately, that’s all this game was: a collective failure to compete.

So I’ll spare you any more reading on a game that didn’t even deserve watching let along reading (or writing) about, and just leave you with this highlight of The Rooster going cock-a-doodle-doo all over Hibbert’s dome.

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Game #9 Recap: The One Where The Pacers Forget There Are Two Halves to an NBA Game

by Jared Wade on November 19, 2009 at 9:17 am

New York Knicks 110, Indiana Pacers 103


Helluva first half, guys.

But you do realize they play two of those per game at this level, right? That’s actually why they call them halves, it turns out. I mean, I’m not a mathematician, but that’s what Wikipedia says anyway.

Wow. That was just a stunning display of great offense followed by “Wait? Are you seriously telling me this is an NBA team?” offense. 8 FGs in 24 minutes? 8!?!? Seriously? How does that even happen?

24% shooting for 24 straight minutes? Oh. That makes sense then.

I’m trying to not overreact to how bad this second half was, but I’m pretty sure I could gather up 10 former D-1 college baseketball players who have gone on to be accountants or HVAC installers or whatever after realizing they had no chance at playing professional basketball and get them to suit up — pro bono — and watch them make 9 shots in a half against the Knicks. I’m not even kidding. I think they could.

Unfortunately, that experiment probably isn’t possible.

So to illustrate just how bad the fourth quarter was, let’s just review the final five minutes (or, 5:09, to be exact) to recap just how ineffective the offense was during that time. And, as we review, let’s also remember that this final stretch was actually probably no worse than the entire second half — it just seems that way since it was at the end and represents the most dramatic, clutch-time failure. In fact, 25% of the team’s second-half field goals came in this final five minutes. Yes, that’s only 2 made shots out of the 8 total shots they made in the second half (SERIOUSLY, 8), but still.

Enjoy.

Final Five Minutes

97 – 90

TJ dribbles on the right perimeter. TJ Dribbles on the right perimeter. With 7 secs on the shot clock, Danny gets the ball on the top of the key. He throws an abysmal bounce, entry pass to Roy at the thigh post. Turnover. Terrible play.

(Al Harrington three.)

97 – 93

Danny dribbles at the top of the key. Danny dribbles at the top of the key. Swings to Watson on the right perimeter. 10 on the shot clock. He throws an entry pass to Roy on the right block. Roy turns baseline and misses a tough, tough half jump hook. Decent play.

(Al Harrington three.)

Pacers call timeout.

97 – 96

TJ Drives hard right. Ball is stripped out of bounds. Pacers retain. Watson eventually gets ball on left perimeter. Drives into the paint, where he’s met by three Knicks. Puts up shot. David Lee blocks it. Roy grabs the loose ball and misses a short jumper. Bad play.

(Larry Hughes gets to the line, makes em both.)

Knicks take lead.

97 – 98

Granger passes to Jones who passes to Ford who passes back to Jones. Jones dribbles forward half-heartedly from the top of the key area and takes a pull-up jumper from 20 feet. No good. Bad play.

(Knicks miss.)

97 – 98

Harrington misses a three and TJ grabs the board, making a great outlet pass up court before even dribbling to a streaking Dahntay Jones. Jones gets hammered. Makes 1 of 2 FTs. Good transition work. Excellent pass.

Tie game.

(Al Harrington gets to the line, makes 1 of 2.)

98 – 99

Ford goes right on the perimeter, dribble hand-offs to Danny, who nearly travels before dribbling hard left and pulling up around the elbow to drill a jumper. Not a particularly great play, but Danny turned it into one.

Pacers regain the lead.

(Larry Hughes hits a lay-up.)

Knicks regain the lead.

100 – 101

TJ gets into the paint driving right and, when stopped by David Lee’s help-side defense, tries a cute little interior pass to HIbbert that doesn’t even come close to getting through. Turnover. Terrible, terrible play.

(Jared Jeffries gets to the line and makes both after being fouled by Granger, who fouls out.)

100 – 103

Watson gets the ball on the left perimeter. Swings to Jones in the corner. Jones drives hard to the middle and tries to find a cutting Tyler. Harrington easily pokes it away and is off to the races. Pacers have to put him on the line to prevent an easy lay-up. Terrible play.

(Al Harrington gets to the line, makes em both)

100 – 105

TJ and Roy run a pick-and-roll on the right perimeter. No advantage is created. TJ gives to Roy on the right elbow. Roy gives it right back. TJ dribbles left around the perimeter and makes a really weak pass to Rush on the left baseline. Rush should have at least caught it, but it bounces off his hand and goes out of bounds. Wretched play.

(David Lee hits a lay-up)

100 – 107

Watson takes a loooong three from the left perimeter early in the clock. Misses. Bad play.

(Chris Duhon is fouled, makes em both)

100 – 109

Ford penetrates right and kicks out to Dahntay, who makes a three. Good play. (Too bad the game is over)

(Larry Hughes is fouled, makes 1 of 2)

103 – 110

Ford drives right then kicks to Watson. He misses a jumper. Shocker. Bad play.

BALL GAME

Not really much else to say.

There’s one great possession in there, which came outside of the half-court offense in transition, one good possession, which came after the Pacers were essentially mathematically eliminated from the game, and one possession that featured a great shot from Danny.

Other than that, they would have been better off dribbling around for 23 seconds and then throwing the ball out of bounds on purpose. Literally. That way, at least they wouldn’t have given the Knicks a numbers advantage on the break after a turnover or a missed rebound.

A few other notes before I unsuccessfully attempt to pretend this second half never happened:

Great first half, Danny. I can’t really kill you too much for just standing around the entire second half because of that — even though I should. You played poorly and never really got aggressive aside from that one time you did and got called for a charge. Again, you get somewhat of a pass, but please don’t ever, ever stand around and do nothing for that long again when the rest of the team — which is essentially the personnel equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys, if we’re being honest — is getting nothing accomplished and the entire house is burning down. You’re only firefighter this team has to stop the flames. Grab a hose next time, please, so I don’t have to break out all these dumb metaphors again to describe how much you let down your teammates in the second half. I’m not creative enough to come up with many more ways to express how lethargic you looked in the second half.

Brandon Rush’s offensive acumen is so low right now that he looks like he barely belongs in the NBA. Once again last night, he appeared indecisive, hesitant, uncomfortable and, obviously, stunningly inaccurate with his jumper. If he was just missing jumpers in the flow of the offense, then fine. Slumps happen. But he is shooting when he should be passing. He is pump-faking, dribbling left and shooting when he should just be shooting. And he is just standing there holding the ball when he should be doing anything other than just standing there holding the ball. Every time he gets the ball it either stalls any ball movement there is or results in a missed jumper. He is all sorts of out of sorts, and he really needs to figure this out if he wants to continue to get playing time, let alone remain in the starting lineup.

I’m a big fan of Earl Watson’s through-the-legs drop-passes. That’s the second straight game where he has left the ball for a guy behind him like that. More importantly, please make a shot.

Tyler Hansbrough is the only guy who looked like the only big man out there who was a worthwhile option to give the ball to at the high post. He had many quick ball reversals from there and I expect he will also eventually be able to turn and face from there to add another component to the offense once the game slows down for him a little bit and he stops looking so coked-up on the court. The Roy Hibbert High Post experiment is a failure. Just stop it. No one can properly feed him the ball there (or anywhere really, but that’s a different story for a different time) and it’s not like he does anything with the ball aside from swivel around frantically if he does catch the ball anyway. He doesn’t turn and find a guy on the perimter. He doesn’t know when to hand off to a guard. And the whole thing just looks very JV whenever the team tries it. Put him in the pick-and-roll if you have to bring him that far away from the hoop. That didn’t look very great last night either, but it at least adds in the possibility of the penetrator getting a good shot for himself.

In a larger sense, Tyler is already the teams fourth-best non-injured player after Danny, Roy and Dahntay.

Luther Head is ineffective, and I’m being polite here.

This offense needs Mike Dunleavy very, very badly, despite what that 5-game win streak may have distracted us from thinking.

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Game #9 Preview: Honey, Get Me My Business-Taking-Care-Of Shoes — We’re Going Home

by Jared Wade on November 18, 2009 at 6:02 pm

Washington Wizards @ Indiana Pacers
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana
7:00 PM EST

Pacers vs. Wizards
1-3 Record 2-3
98.7 (26th) Offensive Rating 108.8 (10th)
106.4 (14th) Defensive Rating 108.1 (19th)
0.471 (19th) eFG% 0.494 (15th)
0.483 (13th) Opponent's eFG% 0.476 (11th)
97.8 (3rd) Pace 90.6 (24th)

Glossary: Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | eFG% | Pace

The Knicks stink. The Pacers are on a five-game win streak. The game will be held in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers should win and give themselves a six-game win streak.

Thus: It’s business. It’s business time.

Also, check out 8p9s (Deleted Scenes) for an amazing Larry Bird illustration and a great take on Josh McRoberts from Russ Bengston.

/previewdone

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Pacers Crate: Episode 2

by Jared Wade on November 6, 2009 at 3:45 am

Pacers Crate is back and, on Episode #2, Bruno, Mark and Chris chat about the big win over the Knicks, reminisce about more successful times in preparation Conseco Fieldhouse’s upcoming 10th Anniversary and give some insights into the team’s upcoming games against the Wizards (tonight) and the Warriors (next Wednesday).

I’m a fan of the show so far and hope they keep it up all throughout the year.

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Game #4 Recap: More Brick, But in a Good Way

by Jared Wade on November 5, 2009 at 11:30 am

In a lot of ways, last night in MSG was just more of the same for Indiana: wretched shooting from the outside, turnovers for days and a lot of guys standing around the perimeter waiting for someone else to do something to make the pain go away.

But in one very important way last night was completely different: the Pacers won.

With a half-stingy-defense/half-the-Knicks-were-just-missing-shots effort throughout the second half that held New York to just 33 points over the final 24 minutes combined with a concerted effort by Danny Granger to become the focal point of the offense, the Pacers were able to overcome the same problems that marked their three losses this season to pick up their first win.

Danny has been shooting threes like Dale Davis for the past three outings (going 2/8, 2/10 and 3/12, respectively), but he finally seemed to accept the fact that weird things — Twilight Zone things — were afoot and left the confines of the arc. He used shot fakes and hesitation moves increasingly throughout the second half to get into the paint, where he was either able to find a good shot for himself or create one for a teammate. He recorded just 4 assists in the process, but the numbers don’t account for what he did more often — make a pass that forced the defense to start scrambling so that, after another pass or two, the Pacers got a good look.

(Notably, this is what Mike Dunleavy used to do constantly in 2007-08, and why his absence from the offense can’t be overstated. Honestly, the Pacers lose something when you don’t have Danny on the wing doing what he does best, but Danny taking over that MDJ role and becoming more of a creator than a finisher could inject some new life into an offense that has been extremely unproductive for four games. Keep a look-out for this. It will be significant. Danny might have to start doing things he didn’t have to last year, which might in turn make him even better than last year. His scoring numbers might drop a little and people will start saying “WHHHAAT’S GOING ON” about that, but if he becomes more dynamic with the ball and learns new ways to create offense for the whole team, he will be a better player. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.)

When Danny fouled out with 3:38 to play, it was obviously troublesome. But no matter. TJ Ford was there. Yes, the same TJ Ford who after the first two games had a negative PER and was statistically the worst PG in the NBA.

TJ took the offensive reins and the team didn’t miss a beat, as Ford dropped in 8 of his 16 total points after Danny went to the bench.

And it could be argued that all this was kick-started by Dahntay Jones.

For the fourth straight game, the Pacers offense has generally followed this same series of events: Everyone stands around the perimeter missing shots. No one tries anything else. Players miss more shots. Dahntay Jones goes one-on-one and tries to make something happen, scoring a bucket or two and making everyone who watched him last year in Denver say “WTF? How that happen?” No one else on the team does much of anything else. Dahntay Jones aggressively tries to get to the hoop again and this time fails miserably.

Rinse and repeat.

And this is what was happening in the first half last night as well, with Dahntay maintaining a higher level of success in forays with the ball in this game than he did in the previous three. He seems to be adopting the role that Jarrett Jack carved out for himself last season. While I really hope Dahntay’s aggression doesn’t become as critical to this offense as Jack’s did last season, his willingness to attack the hoop should be praised, particularly when considering just how unwilling everyone else on the roster has been to do anything with the ball so far this year. (The second half of last night notwithstanding, anyway.)

And this has shown, albeit it only over a short time frame, a pretty significant difference between Dahntay’s approach to the game a guy like Brandon Rush’s approach. Buried in Bob Kravitz’s ramblings about people not talking to him were some thoughts from Jim O’Brien that helps illustrate the point I will attempt to make.

“We’re not getting (ball reversal), we’re not running the passing game enough through the elbow area and we find ourselves sometimes standing and watching one another,” coach Jim O’Brien said. “When we do move, we’re getting the shots we want, but 3-for-22 (from behind the 3-point arc) is not who we are as a shooting team.”

He continued.

“I think the first unit has moved fairly decently, frankly,” he said. “The newer guys, even though they’re talented offensively, don’t yet have an understanding of what we’re trying to get done with our passing game.”

When that stagnation happens, there are two general approaches a wing player can take. Brandon Rush has seemed to become frustrated, sullen, confused and start giving off a woe-is-me vibe. Surrounded by a floundering, inoperative offense showing no signs of productivity, he turns into Eeyore.

It’s raining. Oh, bother.*

Whereas Dahntay sees the same situation and, despite knowing full well that his personal offensive arsenal is very limited, starts thinking “I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON NOR DO I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING NOR EVEN WHERE I AM REALLY — BUT I’M STANDING HERE HOLDING THIS ORANGE ROUND SPHERE SO I SHALL RUN TOWARDS THE IRON AND GLASS TARGET IN FRONT OF ME. WHY IS MY INNER MONOLOGUE YELLING? I DON’T KNOW. LOUD NOISES.”

He doesn’t dwell. He doesn’t think. He just turns into Brick Tamland from Anchorman and follows his instincts. He kills a guy with a trident.

Then he puts the ball on the deck and tries not to get called for an offensive foul as he runs for the hoop with the grace Earl Campbell. In Mike Wells’ piece talking about Dahntay’s aggression, Dahntay himself added some more insight on his willingness to attack the basket through three games.

“That’s definitely the reason behind some of my turnovers,” Jones said. “I’m still trying to make the best decision with the ball. The most challenging part is seeing how I can compliment [sic] the guys around me. I haven’t played that much with them.”

As someone just watching, it looks like his decision on how to *complement* the guys around him, more times than not, is to just realize that those guys aren’t going to take any initiative. So he takes it himself. Like I said before, hopefully this doesn’t become a permanent fixture of the offense. Cause I think even he knows that he is not the most qualified to do so. Don’t get me wrong. I like Dahntay. He brings a lot to the team. But despite his 19 points on 15 shots last night, the team is not going to be sniffing the playoffs if he has to be a primary offensive weapon — with “has to be” being the key part of that concept.

To me, however, it looked like he inspired Danny to pick up the slack. Danny honestly looked nothing but shocked and perplexed for the previous 10 straight quarters as he missed wide open three after wide open three after wide open three. Hell, I was shocked, too.

But it seemed that after seeing Dahntay continually force things and try to create seams in the defense where no real seams existed, it all clicked for Danny. “Hey, I’m way more talented with the ball than him and he keeps getting into the paint while I stand out here chipping orange paint off the rim. Wait? Maybe I should try that. It might just work”

Try he did. And succeed he did as well.

Then when Danny fouled out, in came TJ to do the same thing. It was great to watch and hopefully it will be a lesson that translates to games against teams that aren’t the Knicks.

Two final, unconnected thoughts:

Hibbert’s touches on the block were all great to watch. His effectiveness with a jump hook that increasingly looks like a legitimate weapon in this league can bring a new component to this offense that really didn’t exist last season. Even when he doesn’t score, the defense is forced to rotate while he is making his move, which helps to open up shooters on the perimeter. Thus far, no one on the roster aside from Earl Watson can make even open shots, so that part of this hasn’t exactly led to points, but these guys are good shooters so that will turn around. Has to.

And lastly, I should have talked about the defense more. It was very good last night and, actually, has been since the Atlanta game. The Knicks were held to an eFG% of .436 last night, which is phenomenal. And if you take the Atlanta game out, the Pacers opponent’s eFG% for the season is a paltry .451, which is excellent.

* In fairness to Brandon, he was better last night for some stretches than he had been in the prior three. And he wasn’t the only one playing the Eeyore role for the first 14 quarters of the season. Danny, Luther Head, TJ and even Troy all were guilty quite often as well.

brick

More Brick Tamland, less Eeyore.

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