Post-Game Grades: Pacers Cough Up Ball, Miss Free Throws, Lose Game 5

You cannot close out a team that won 54 regular season games on its own floor when you miss 14 free throws and give up 19 turnovers in a slow-paced game.

You just can’t.

There isn’t much more to say.

Several guys played bad and the bench was an hydrogen blimp explosion.

The late-arriving news that George Hill couldn’t play certainly threw a wrench into the rotation, but nobody stepped up, and the team was just way too sloppy to win this game.

It’s amazing to me that they were even within 4 in the fourth quarter. I kept looking up and expecting it to be 15. That’s a credit to their defense, which I understand isn’t a separate entity from the team as a whole.

Still, it was error-prone hoops at its worst, and the 19 turnovers felt more like 30 just considering how prominent each was. They all, particularly in the second half, stood out as glaring reminders of just how poorly this team handles the ball and pressure at times.

That is the case even when they have Hill as the primary ball handler.

Without him?

Yikes.

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.

Can’t shoot anymore apparently. He has struggled to hit shots all series, but this was especially egregious. His line doesn’t look as bad as it could, since he had two early put backs and found himself in position to benefit from a Paul George pass after a back court steal for a dunk. Good on him for mixing it up down low and earning those buckets, but he was 4-for-14 otherwise, with most of the misses coming on shots that he makes regularly.Paul George, SF 43 MIN | 7-18 FG | 7-10 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 23 PTS | -8

Did nice work on ‘Melo and J.R., and you don’t want to stop appreciating that. And he hit two big shots in the fourth to keep hope alive, one plus the foul in the paint and another on a deep three that cut the deficit to 4 with under seven minutes to play. Still, the turnovers (4 in the second half) and the misses (1-for-6 in the first half) continue to mar his game.Roy Hibbert, C 31 MIN | 3-7 FG | 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 9 PTS | 0

Rim protection, unwarranted foul trouble, some shaky post moves, a really, really bad turnover when faced with a simple double team in the fourth.D.J. Augustin, PG 39 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-5 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -6

Made some shots. Hurt the team in many other ways. Let’s talk about this more tomorrow.Lance Stephenson, SG 34 MIN | 1-7 FG | 2-4 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -12

Throughout the regular season, Lance would sometimes get overly eager about trying to break down a defender off the dribble when he had a mismatch. Maybe he has been told to cut that out. Maybe he was shaken up from two rough falls while driving. But, man, it would be nice to see him make the Knicks pay for guarding him with Jason Kidd and Chris Copeland.

Added nothing I remember.Gerald Green, SF 13 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 5 PTS | +5

We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.Sam Young, SF 15 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -9

We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.Ian Mahinmi, C 17 MIN | 2-2 FG | 1-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 5 PTS | -10

Played good defense. Didn’t miss a shot.Orlando Johnson, SG DNP COACH’S DECISION 

Didn’t play.