Game #67 Recap – A Win and a Loss

Indiana Pacers 99 – Charlotte Bobcats 94

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The Win

Larry Brown is an odd duck.  He is a continually miserable genius, often capable of coaxing amazing performances out of pedestrian rosters.  Given a strong roster, as he was in Detroit, he can win it all for you.  His resume since Detroit has been a bit spotty, but this year’s Bobcats have been showing signs of being one of those ugly, but dangerous teams nobody wants in the playoffs.  The Bobcats came into Conseco Fieldhouse owners of a six-game winning streak and the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

However, there are nights with Larry Brown-teams where all of the warts of the roster are on full and glorious display.  On these nights, his teams are, quite simply, bad.  Last night was one of those nights.

On Sunday, Charlotte went into Orlando and led almost the entire second half on their way to defeating the Magic, 96-89.  Last night, they fell behind in the second quarter and really didn’t mount anything resembling a challenge until a 9-point run late in the fourth.  This run gave them the ball and a chance to tie the game with less than 30 seconds left, but that chance was snuffed when Troy Murphy read Boris Diaw’s telegram and picked off a pass in the lane.  A.J. Price hit two freebies to ice the victory.

Some Notes:

• Danny Granger played relatively well last night, despite shooting only 9-for-25 and committing 5 turnovers.  He nailed back-to-back threes in the fourth that provided enough cushion for the Pacers to cling to the victory.  He also grabbed 8 boards.  Unfortunately, as you all know, Danny wasn’t there at the end of the game – at least figuratively.  More on this in a bit.

• A.J. Price got 20 minutes last night, back in the rotation due to T.J. Ford’s groin injury.  He certainly played pretty well, but God only knows whether he’ll be able to hold on to his spot when Ford returns.  He’ll have at least one more shot (tonight), and maybe as many as three before T.J. is projected to return.  On the things-looking-up front, O’Brien used him at point guard the entire time he was on the floor, even when Watson came in for the last few minutes.

• Some of last night was about what might have been, had a rumored trade with Charlotte not fallen through at the deadline.   The deal (reportedly) would have sent T. J. Ford and Brandon Rush to Charlotte and brought back D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson, and Nazr Mohammed.  Both Ford and Mohammed missed last night’s game with injuries, but the other three principles played.
  • Gerald Henderson looked athletic, aggressive, and a little lost in his 10 minutes.  He scored 3 points (all at the line) while turning the ball over twice.  In his first stint, he blew past Dunleavy (no big deal) and got fouled at the rim, but other than that, he was a non-factor.
  • Yesterday on Pacer’s Digest, D.J. Augustin was described by one poster as “hot garbage.”  It is my understanding that hot garbage has filed a formal complaint for defamation of character.  D.J. Augustin was absolutely horrible last night.  He was mostly matched up with Price, and seemed completely unable to get around him.  I’d love to say that it was devastating defense by A.J., but mostly it just looked like Augustin was indecisive and timid.  He got in the lane a couple times, but was completely swallowed up.  It was some of the worst point guard play I’ve seen this year – and I’ve been watching the Pacers for 67 games.
  • Brandon Rush decided to treat us to his rendition of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”  He had five fouls in 21 minutes of play and was generally non-existent at both ends.

The Loss

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

You know the story by now, but the good news is that the Indianapolis Star is reporting that he was released from the hospital, and all the test were  clear. Danny won’t be available for tonight’s game at Cleveland, and it remains to be seen when he’ll return.  Head injuries are not trifling issues, so I’m hopeful Danny, the Pacers, and the medical staff exercise every precaution. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)