Indiana Looks Good While Winning in Cleveland

Last year, if the Pacers got themselves atop a cloud nine like they must have been on after the historic blowout of Denver and then lost a barn-burner at home like they did against the Rockets last night, I don’t think they would respond well.

Tonight, however, the Pacers made the trek to Cleveland and played together with composure, sharing the ball well and even overcoming a spell of offensive stagnation in the third quarter. Danny Granger was the anchor, dropping 22 in the first half on 9-for-12 shooting. It was great that he made three treys in the opening half but even better were the five shots he made in the paint. Danny is an incredible shooter — among the top few in the league — but his game becomes so much more dynamic, and the outside shots open up so much more, when he can get into the lane as well. Perhaps more importantly, his lead is often followed out there. When he settles for jumpers that he can probably make but really shouldn’t take, so do others. And the others, unless it’s the third quarter against Denver, just don’t possess his innate ability to hit even bad jumpers.

It was also nice to see Roy Hibbert battle through a rough start. He began the game (I believe) 2-for-7. That happens. But there were two possessions in the early going where he should have scored over the likes of guys like Ryan Hollins but just couldn’t gather the ball properly to put the points on the board. He looked like the Roy of last year, fumbling the rock around awkwardly and rushing a look that he should have been able to make in his sleep.

But it didn’t seem to phase him. By the second half, he was again looking like Hibbert the Dominant, something best illustrated by a sweeping, running lefty hook shot he hit in the fourth. I don’t know anything about physics or engineering but it would be hard to envision a more mathematically fluid attempt than that. He finished with 16 points, 13 boards and 2 blocks. He did it on 7-for-16 shooting, which while not desirable is not a bad finish after being a little out of sorts early on.

Dunleavy looked good. His jumper, which looked broken through the first few games, has officially gotten it’s groove back Stella-style (sorry for that) ever since that third quarter barrage against Denver. He was 4-for-9 from behind the arc. More importantly, when he squares up and catches the ball in rhythm, he now exudes an air of confidence that is borderline tangible. It really makes a tremendous difference when a player curls off a high screen not just alert, but hopping off the shoulder of the man setting the pick ready to catch-and-shoot with his feet already pointed at the rim. Doing it properly is a mixture of technique and muscle memory mainly. But you can tell when a guy really wants to shoot it by that extra little pep. Dunleavy is cutting hard to the ball and squaring up in a way that clearly shows the passer that there very well might be an assist in it if they push a nice chest pass into Mike’s shooting pocket. Nice to see.

Darren Collison didn’t look very good. His defense, particularly on the pick-and-roll needs some work. If he and Danny can commit to not being so lackadaisical every third or fourth play down the floor and fight around picks rather than gawk at the ball-handler, it would do the whole defense a great service. Both of them have the athleticism, fundamentals and savvy to do it. They just don’t all the time.

TJ Ford continues to play well. His line won’t blow you away (4 points, 5 dimes, 4 boards, 3 blocks and 1 steal in 24 minutes … OK, maybe it is pretty good), but he did a lot of good things out there. He’s an over-dribbler — we know that. But he got the ball where it needed to be often to the point that Coach O’Brien kept him (along with Josh McRoberts and Posey rather than Hibbert for a while) on the floor in lieu of Collison to weather what would turn out to be a timid final push by the Cavs to get back into the game. He even made coach look smart by playing some pesky D and forcing a turnover at one point.

Tyler Hansbrough turned his ankle driving to the hoop. He stayed in to take some free throws and even ran up the court a few more times, but when he left the floor he headed to the locker room. He didn’t return. More tomorrow on this I’m sure. Too bad. Kid can’t catch a break.

James Posey had 0 points on 0-for-4 shooting to go along with 0 blocks and 0 steals. That said, it wouldn’t be absurd to give him the game ball tonight. He took three charges and caused another turnover by diving after a ball in the back-court. He didn’t get the ball, but he mucked up the play enough to force an eight-second violation. It’s nice to see him doing things out there that the other players will see in film and respect. This type of stuff, along with his three-point show last night, is really big early on. The coach and upper management were hoping that, along with his terrible contract that they had to swallow to get Collison, they would get a savvy veteran with a championship pedigree. He obviously has that. Had it before Game 1. But those intangibles become a lot more tangible when the guy can actually go out there and show and prove. The way James Posey has played the last two games is showing the rest of the team how you get things done. No “I’m old” excuses. Just do your damn job. Jimmy Posey does.

Brandon Rush had a nice put-back dunk off of a missed shot. Not sure what else he did.

Paul George got his second career DNP-CD.

No matter. Fun game.

And, again, I’m not sure they win it last year.