Post-Game Grades: Pacers Waste Oxygen, Everybody's Time in San Antonio

The Pacers probably knew they had to play better than they did in their first three games to beat the Spurs in San Antonio. That didn’t prevent them from coming out and playing even worse, however.

The first half was miserable, as nobody could hit a shot. Hard to blame them though really. Because they were almost all really bad shots. The whole offense was disjointed and jerky, with guys taking turns trying to make bad isolation plays more often than being part of a system that worked to get players open in positions where they could thrive. Here is all you really need to know if you were fortunate enough to spend your Monday night doing something other than watching this “game”: Indiana shot 6-for-22 in the first quarter (27.3%) and were barely better at the half (13-for-43 or 30.2%).

Meanwhile, the Spurs, who had the most effective offense in the NBA last season and returned all of their principal rotation staples, put on a clinic, whipping the ball around the half court and never settling for anything but a good look. It certainly helps that Tony Parker can get into the lane whenever he wants, and he and Tim Duncan exploited this, often moving the Wake Forest legend out to the top of the key to make room for Parker to either attack the lane or get the ball to Duncan in space, where he was free to swing the ball and force the defense to react or take it inside himself. Later, Manu got in on the action, blowing by a defender here, carving up the defense in a two-man game there, and shot-faking Pacers out of their socks everywhere. Then there were the supporting shooters. Always, in San Antonio, are the supporting shooters. They shared the load of knocking down 8-of-18 three-point attempts, with Danny Green, Indy’s ol’ friend Stephen Jackson and Matt Bonner each sticking two a piece.

This was basically a tiger playing with its food.

Looking at this shot chart from just before half time should tell you everything else you need to know about which team was getting whatever shot it wanted, whenever it wanted, and which team was just wandering around like Walking Dead geeks, reacting to the slightest stimuli and following its basest, mindless instincts until they were overcome by foes bright enough to severe their brain stems with rudimentary tools.

In case you weren’t sure, the Spurs side (right) is the one with almost every shot coming at the rim or behind the three-point line. These are the two most effective spots on the floor to shoot. Meanwhile, see all those Xs on the top side of the Pacers chart inside the arc? In this case, X marks the spot where bad offenses generate a ton of shots that tend not to go through the hoop.

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.