Post-Game Grades: Pacers Embarrass Themselves, Indiana, the Film Hoosiers, Pete Carril, Basketball, the Founding Fathers

It seemed as though this was going to be a quick little recap with across-the-board praise for everyone involved. Then the 4th quarter happened. And the Kings were in the zone. No … they weren’t unconsciously shooting the lights out on their way to an MJ shrug. I mean, they started playing a defense that most high school JV teams can bust with proper spacing, ball movement and two above-average shooters. Rather than employ that method to exploit a simple zone that wouldn’t impress Jim Boeheim, the Pacers tried something else: curling up into a ball and crawling into a hole to die.

This proved less effective as Indiana was outscored 26-8 in the fourth quarter during this 92-88 loss to Sacramento. They shot 3-for-16 and had 9 turnovers against the zone. The best part? They were up by 14 going into the final period and led by as much as 16 during a third quarter that was essentially the exact opposite what was to come. If there is any silver lining (there isn’t) I guess it might be this: every team will have a worst loss of the season and the Pacers may have just gotten theirs out of the way.

Not that it much matters in a devastating, embarrassing, amateur loss like this, but here is how each guy played individually tonight.

Agree? Disagree?

Express your thoughts below in the comments or yell at me (@8pts9secs) or Tim (@TimDonahue8p9s) on Twitter.

	David West – 30 MIN \| 5-10 FG \| 5 REB \| 3 TO \| 13 PTS Played well in the 1st half but was a non-factor in the 2nd. As in, I can’t remember one thing he did. Didn’t stand out during the 3rd quarter domination nor the 4th quarter humiliation. That’s probably a positive.
	Danny Granger – 37 MIN \| 6-17 FG \| 4-7 FT \| 7 REB \| 16 PTS Started off 2-for-7 but was missing in the paint. Couldn’t hit an outside shot when the team needed him to.
	Roy Hibbert – 26 MIN \| 5-9 FG \| 8 REB \| 4 AST \| 4 BLK \| 13 PTS Looked absolutely marvelous … until the 4th. He turned from being the Pacers biggest weapon into a place the ball went to die. He was swarmed on the catch and couldn’t do anything useful. Played good D.
	Darren Collison – 37 MIN \| 6-12 FG \| 6 REB \| 3 AST \| 1 TO \| 16 PTS Played the whole 3rd, scoring 13 pts (on 5-for-6 FG), taking a charge and throwing a bunch of offense-producing passes while keeping the offense flowing. He was on the bench when things went south but couldn’t revive a patient on life support.
	Paul George – 34 MIN \| 5-12 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 3 TO \| 10 PTS Nobody was more at fault for the collapse than this kid, who had three unforgivable, careless turnovers in the 4th. This could be a confidence-rattler. Hopefully he’ll shake it off.

	Dahntay Jones – 11 MIN \| 1-2 FG \| 2 REB \| 2 PTS Dahntay being Dahntay. (Probably the only comment you’ll see again this season about this guy.)
	Lou Amundson – 13 MIN \| 1-2 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 4 REB \| 3 PTS Played pretty well and added energy in limited minutes.
	George Hill – 24 MIN \| 3-6 FG \| 5 REB \| 0 AST \| 2 TO \| 8 PTS Have to put a lot of this on Hill, who is the leader of the second unit that sparked the collapse. A Hill/George/Dahntay/Tyler/Lou lineup is tough to lead, but they let a 14-point lead dwindle to 6.
	Tyler Hansbrough – 22 MIN \| 2-4 FG \| 3-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 TO \| 7 PTS Brought some physicality with a hard foul when Indy needed in the 2nd quarter but didn’t produce and didn’t look good during the collapse when he should have been scoring.
	Lance Stephenson – 6 MIN \| 0-4 FG \| 2 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 PTS Too few minutes for a real grade but made a Wade-to-LeBron-level full-court outlet pass. Missed all his shots though.

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	David West – 30 MIN \| 5-10 FG \| 5 REB \| 3 TO \| 13 PTS Played well in the 1st half but was a non-factor in the 2nd. As in, I can’t remember one thing he did. Didn’t stand out during the 3rd quarter domination nor the 4th quarter humiliation. That’s probably a positive.
	Danny Granger – 37 MIN \| 6-17 FG \| 4-7 FT \| 7 REB \| 16 PTS Started off 2-for-7 but was missing in the paint. Couldn’t hit an outside shot when the team needed him to.
	Roy Hibbert – 26 MIN \| 5-9 FG \| 8 REB \| 4 AST \| 4 BLK \| 13 PTS Looked absolutely marvelous … until the 4th. He turned from being the Pacers biggest weapon into a place the ball went to die. He was swarmed on the catch and couldn’t do anything useful. Played good D.
	Darren Collison – 37 MIN \| 6-12 FG \| 6 REB \| 3 AST \| 1 TO \| 16 PTS Played the whole 3rd, scoring 13 pts (on 5-for-6 FG), taking a charge and throwing a bunch of offense-producing passes while keeping the offense flowing. He was on the bench when things went south but couldn’t revive a patient on life support.
	Paul George – 34 MIN \| 5-12 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 3 TO \| 10 PTS Nobody was more at fault for the collapse than this kid, who had three unforgivable, careless turnovers in the 4th. This could be a confidence-rattler. Hopefully he’ll shake it off.

	Dahntay Jones – 11 MIN \| 1-2 FG \| 2 REB \| 2 PTS Dahntay being Dahntay. (Probably the only comment you’ll see again this season about this guy.)
	Lou Amundson – 13 MIN \| 1-2 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 4 REB \| 3 PTS Played pretty well and added energy in limited minutes.
	George Hill – 24 MIN \| 3-6 FG \| 5 REB \| 0 AST \| 2 TO \| 8 PTS Have to put a lot of this on Hill, who is the leader of the second unit that sparked the collapse. A Hill/George/Dahntay/Tyler/Lou lineup is tough to lead, but they let a 14-point lead dwindle to 6.
	Tyler Hansbrough – 22 MIN \| 2-4 FG \| 3-4 FT \| 5 REB \| 3 TO \| 7 PTS Brought some physicality with a hard foul when Indy needed in the 2nd quarter but didn’t produce and didn’t look good during the collapse when he should have been scoring.
	Lance Stephenson – 6 MIN \| 0-4 FG \| 2 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 PTS Too few minutes for a real grade but made a Wade-to-LeBron-level full-court outlet pass. Missed all his shots though.