Post-Game Grades: Pacers Play Like Garbage in Loss to Suns
By Ben Gibson
The Pacers played like garage… or they are the garbage and the Suns are… wait, I forget what I was doing with this metaphor but it was pretty clear Wednesday night that Gerald Green and the Suns were out for a little revenge and completely outplayed Indiana. If Phoenix wasn’t dropping bombs from beyond the arc against the Pacers, a team that normally defends the three with a league best .321 opponent shooting percentage, they found other ways to score. Paul George played well, but Indiana was completely out of sync defensively and it showed in a season high 62 points allowed in the first half.
It was only one game, but the Indiana performance left little to be positive about until they get back on track, most likely in their next game, and look like the championship contender they are.
The Good – Non-Current Pacers players. Gerald Green looked nothing like he did a year ago in Indiana as he scored 23 points while shooting 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Miles Plumlee was in double-digits with 11 points, even Leandro Barbosa showed up to add a few points and contribute on defense.
The Bad – Current Pacers. Pretty much all of them with the exception of Paul George. Hibbert fouled out while Lance Stephenson may or may not have been at the game, we can’t confirm despite a few stats.
MVP – Gerald Green with an brilliant revenge game.
LVP – Stephenson was a non-factor, Hibbert got into foul trouble, neither scored in double-digits.
X-Factor – The Suns 3-point shooting. Phoenix shot 10 of 15 from distance to lead early and eventually put the Pacers away in the second half. Indiana shot only 4 of 13 from there.
Defining Moment – In the fourth quarter Indiana had cut the lead down to 14, but a 13-2 run highlighted by a pair of Markieff Morris 3-pointers erased any chance of the Pacers coming back to win.
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| David West, PF 27 MIN | 6-11 FG | 1-3 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | -9 Started off well with 8 points against Channing Frye in the first quarter but left the game to have his hand treated. He returned to the game but didn’t look the same as he had early on. |
Paul George, SF
34 MIN | 10-19 FG | 5-7 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 26 PTS | -14
The lone bright spot in the game for Indiana. George knocked down a number of baskets when the Pacers needed a little spark, but a 1-6 performance from 3-point land and lackluster defense at times weren’t helping the Pacers
Roy Hibbert, C
28 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 6 PTS | -17
You can’t be a 7’2 monster, get into foul trouble, and then only score six points and snag four rebounds. Not a good night for Roy.
George Hill, PG
30 MIN | 4-4 FG | 7-8 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 16 PTS | -13
Not a bad night for Mr. Hill, made all the shots he took from the field, 7-8 shooting from the free throw line, but can’t grade anyone too highly on the night Indiana has its worse defensive outing of the year.
Lance Stephenson, SG
29 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-1 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -20
Good thing All-Star voting has closed. And that you can’t unvote.
Luis Scola, PF
15 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 5 PTS | -17
The Argentine had minimal stats and made too many mistakes in crunch time.
Chris Copeland, SF
6 MIN | 2-3 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +2
Matched Hibbert’s and Stephenson’s point production in his six minutes of play. Can’t knock him for that even if they were garbage time stats.
Solomon Hill, SF
6 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +2
Garbage Day!
Danny Granger, SF
21 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 7 PTS | -18
Danny hit one three, teases us with a trip to the Granger Zone, but it broke down it the desert and was picked apart by buzzards.
Ian Mahinmi, C
19 MIN | 0-1 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -7
Only slightly worse than Hibbert. Not sure if that’s more of a knock on him or Roy.
Donald Sloan, PG
6 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +2
Garbage Day!
C.J. Watson, PG
12 MIN | 1-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | -13
Meh.
Rasual Butler, SG
6 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +2Frank Vogel
Don’t think this one’s on Vogel. The Pacers looked like they made the necessary changes coming out of intermission and cut the lead down, but there wasn’t enough left in the tank to comeback.