After Executing Late in Boston, Pacers Still Holding Off Miami

Before the All-Star break, the Indiana Pacers were slowly becoming victims of the mid-season fatigue that seems to wallop teams every season.  Entering the weekend festivities after the horrendous 32.1% shooting night — a home loss to the Dallas Mavericks — gave the team time to relax, reminisce, and take their minds off the taxing journey that we call the 82-game regular season.

In early February, after Indiana sent the Brooklyn Nets home with a loss for the fourth time this season, David West put a spice of reality on the NBA experience.  The Pacers were as exhausted as anyone in the league, and he acknowledged that practices were indeed “dragging,” which is a common fact that fans — and even writers — of the game must quit overlooking. “Games are getting tougher, obviously,” said West after downing Brooklyn on February 1. “We start playing these teams over and over again, and they’re more prepared for you the next time. We just got to keep adjusting and keep working.”

West’s point hit the nail on the head, as it’s maintain the same level of formidable basketball for eight months (opening week thru NBA Finals) than popular opinion likes to admit. The league’s scheduling — placing teams against conference foes three or four times annually — combined with the multiple back-to-back instances are reasons that NBA athletes deserve more leeway than the media willingly offers.

Professional sports often have teams that believe “flipping the switch” is an option when responding to negative criticism or grinding through an obstacle.  In 2012-13, the Miami Heat authenticated the argument by stringing together 27 consecutive victories that, by no coincidence, began after they were dismantled on the Pacers’ home floor. For Indiana, their “switch” capsized for two reasons following the All-Star break.

Superstar Paul George and company have played this entire season in a manner comparable to the leader in a stock-car race. From November, which ended with the Pacers accumulating a 15-1 record, they have been out in front of the Eastern Conference pack and glancing at the opposition through the rearview mirror.  Offensive mishaps, mid-season shooting slumps, and road woes allowed Miami to inch closer to Indiana’s bumper, as we entered Saturday evening with the Pacers clinging to a 1.5-game lead for the East’s one seed.

Coach Frank Vogel has practically screamed to the public that Indiana’s goal since training camp has been to obtain home-court advantage throughout the first three playoff series.  The team doesn’t want to diminish its improvement, but not only do they want the coveted one seed — it’s essentially a need. 

Reconvening from the All-Star merrymaking, Miami has convinced everyone that the only worthy storyline in the East is far from being decided.  With LeBron James scoring 30-plus points in five of his last six games and Miami cruising to a seven game winning streak, the Pacers have begun feeling the pressure.  The exciting part?  They’re keeping the foot on the throttle.

As for the other reason, a favorable schedule in the last two weeks has certainly helped the acceleration.

Since suffering their third home loss on February 12, Indiana has recorded a 5-1 record.  The only loss came at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who rode Kevin Love’s 42 point and 16 rebound night for a home win.  Those five victories were against a drooping Atlanta unit and three of the league’s bottom-feeders (Bucks, Lakers, Celtics), all of whom combine for a record of 77-157 (.329).  Vogel has his team doing what’s expected of them in the tight race with Miami, but the wins go slightly discredited with the recent competition.

However, the Boston Celtics forced Indiana to work in fifth gear all Saturday night, giving the conference leaders a contest that, before tip-off, many deemed as another potential blowout.  In the two previous meetings with Brad Steven’s lottery-locked Celtics, the Pacers forced their will and came up with victories by an average margin of 21 points.  The last time the two played in TD Garden, Indiana also achieved their best defensive third quarter of the season, out-scoring Boston 25-8 to make most of the fourth quarter garbage time.

Heating up directly after tip-off was Paul George, which wasn’t as much of a surprise.  Although, what did shake the head of many Pacers’ fans was the effectiveness of Boston’s Brandon Bass, who scored 10 of his 16 points on 5-of-7 field goals in the first quarter to keep the Celtics neck and neck with Indiana.  Bass made Roy Hibbert pay for not staying true to his mid-range shooting ability, as the 9-year veteran just continued to rise and fire from all areas beyond the free throw line.  Indiana doesn’t have too much to worry about in terms of a dominant frontcourt star overcoming their No. 1 defense in the playoffs, Bass’ play did highlight some thoughts of how Heat’s Chris Bosh (if his game shows up in this year’s Conference Finals) can pull Hibbert away from the basket for enough possessions.

Of the two periods in the game which the Pacers truly shined on both ends, the second quarter effort allowed Vogel to take his team into halftime with a 55-48 lead.  George Hill, who did not play due to a bruised left shoulder he suffered in Thursday’s win over Milwaukee, has been a strong proponent of the fact that any member of the team can step in for meaningful stretches and cause damage.  That surely was the mindset of Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner in Saturday’s second quarter, as the two combined for 17 of the Pacers’ 27 points and together shot 6-of-9.  Each quarter this season has been an opportunity for a different guy to explode, instead of living and dying by George’s career-high numbers.  When Luis Scola is running the open court and lifting for a slam, you’re well aware that a collaborative effort is in the building.

Defensively, Indiana showed flashes of their genuine beauty in the second quarter.

Recognizing and exploiting the opposition’s weaknesses is an aspect of the game the Pacers execute better than anyone.  Their principle of defense taking precedence over all other areas is the reason they have the top ranked defense credential, still holding first in points allowed per game (91.1) and defensive rating (96.6), which measures points allowed per 100 possessions.

In the clip below, Indiana’s unit of Stephenson, Scola, Turner, Hibbert, and C.J. Watson lock down in one particular play that illustrates their defensive intelligence and discipline in less than a 24-second possession:

To begin the play, Celtics’ Jeff Green begins a traditional post-up on Stephenson from the right wing.  Noticing that Green is working Indiana’s “energy guy” down into the painted area, the Pacers make a swift move to make him think twice about an attempt.  Hibbert and Scola slide over for help defense on Green, forcing him to feel the pressure of a triple team — for no longer than a split second.  The reason they were able to put the quick help on Green was due to Hibbert’s assignment, Joel Anthony, not being the slightest threat from mid-range (or anywhere outside the paint, for that matter).  Hibbert made note of that, and it was used to break the whole play.  Scola’s gamble then left Kris Humphries with room to operate, but as a defense, there are times you must trust your ability to quickly rotate.

Upon receiving the pass, Humphries gains pressure from Watson and Scola, and puts the ball on the floor to split the coming double team.  The ball is kicked to the first open player Humphries finds on the perimeter, which happens to be Rajon Rondo.  Defenses know that despite shooting 36.4 percent from 3-point territory this season, Rondo doesn’t like to attempt many outside shots unless they’re completely open looks, or at the tail end of the shot clock.  That gives Watson enough time to switch back over, and force Rondo to make a play with 10 seconds left on the clock.

Humphries, trying to free Rondo or create a pick-and-roll sequence, tries to set a ball screen on Watson.  Rondo decides to head the opposite direction, but is still unable to get free due to Scola’s next move.   Scola’s underrated game once again kicks in, as he effectively “hedges” the screen attempt and sticks with Rondo.  The fundamental hedge allowed for three important things:  buying time for Watson to recover (in case he was screened), prevent any dish to Humphries off the roll, and more notably in this play …. burn the shot clock.

After finding nothing with that set, Rondo decides to hit Chris Johnson, a 40 percent 3-point shooter, who cut over from the corner.  With the clock down to under five seconds, the best look Boston was going to have was that deep attempt.  Turner, who has been average defensively since joining Indiana, successfully recovers and contests the shot.  Rimming out, the ball was secured by Indiana, and another near-flawless defensive possession was showcased.

Casual fans will argue that it’s “just one play.”  Pundits will argue that Boston’s bottom five offense has been stumped many times before.  Nevertheless, the one play signified everything that’s been instrumental to Indiana’s success this season;  awareness, communication, and defensive execution.  All three team skills come with maturity, which has become the reason they can now look down at Miami in the standings.

Those accustomed to third quarter firepower from the Pacers would have been disappointed by Saturday’s performance out of the locker room.

The only 30-point quarter of the evening belonged to Boston in the third, by out-scoring Indiana by nine to eventually take a two-point lead, 78-76.  George struggled the whole quarter offensively, shooting just 1-of-7 from the field and scoring two points.  Over half of George’s attempts in the third appeared well short, as if he was somewhat fatigued on offense.  Hibbert became the only Pacer that could match Humphries’ contributions, as the two big men battled with their respective games for majority of the third.  Humphries excelled in the pick-and-pop game to net five field goals in the quarter for 11 points, while Hibbert was effective with 4-of-5 shots for eight of the Pacers’ 21 total quarter points.

Fourth quarter business was the mentality for Saturday, however.

Indiana ramped up their defense to a level stronger than we witnessed in the second, holding Boston to just 19 points in the midst of receiving a substantial boost from Turner on the other end.  Turner picked the perfect quarter to operate, scoring 10 points and feeling some of that floor general swagger he liked to have through his years in Philadelphia next to Michael Carter-Williams and Jrue Holiday.  Scoring on 5-of-8 shots in the fourth, including a difficult reverse layup in the opening minutes, Turner set the stage for George to finish off the leprechauns.

Boston’s Fourth-Quarter Shot Chart

In the final five minutes, Rondo and the Celtics were haunted by a removal of three points from their score.  With 4:40 remaining in the game, Indiana’s strict defense left Rondo having to launch a deep 3-pointer from just inside the right hash mark.  As the shot clock expired, Rondo banked in the shot, which would have given Boston a three point lead at 93-90.  After review, the points were removed as replay showed the ball still in Rondo’s hands after the clock had hit all zeroes.

George buried the Celtics and improved Indiana to 45-13 by coming through on an after timeout play (ATO, as Steve Kerr would call it) and drilling a 3-pointer from the right wing.  Silencing the crowd with 1:16 remaining and giving the Pacers a 99-94 lead, George and his heroics topped off a 25-point night that included three 3-pointers.

George’s game-icing 3-pointer:

The numerous moments of perfect execution are what propelled Indiana to the 102-97 victory over Boston, a team they’ve now defeated three times this season — as expected.  It’s safe to say that keeping the turnovers at a minimum (9) would be the Pacers’ best friend in guiding them toward locking the one seed.

Looking Ahead

Indiana travels back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host the Utah Jazz on Sunday, marking the second and final meeting between the two teams.  On December 4, the Pacers notched a 95-86 victory in Utah, which became their first win over the Jazz in Salt Lake City since 2005.  That night was also another chapter in the Pacers’ book of second-half shutdowns, as they allowed just 38 points by Utah in the third and fourth quarters.

Following Sunday’s game, Indiana has to travel on a 3-game trip to Charlotte, Houston, and Dallas.  Knocking off two Southwest squads well over .500 would keep the Pacers in the driver’s seat of the East, seeing as how they’ll need a cushion with only nine games left at home.

Then again …. that trade deadline acquisition may be all they needed to win anywhere on any given night.