Post-Game Grades: Pacers Punked by Raptors in the Fourth Quarter
By Jared Wade
The Good: I’m not even sure anymore, guys. The Indiana Pacers looked OK throughout this one, by and large. The starting lineup change didn’t do anything to keep Indiana from falling into an early hole, but that aside they played well and got good contributions in the first half from almost everyone not named Roy Hibbert. The third quarter was even better. Then …
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- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
The Bad: The fourth quarter. Indiana was within striking distance (down 8 after three quarters) then just decided to give up. They got smacked in the face for all 12 minutes and by the time the Raptors had gone on a 17-6 run to start the period it was all over but the crying. Depressing stuff.
MVP: Lou Williams. He hit a hat trick of 3s early that ensured the Raptors would stay a length ahead even when Indiana was playing well. Overall, he scored 26 points on 18 shots to go along with 4 boards and 3 assists.
LVP: Roy Hibbert. He’s not giving them anything, and as fun as it is to complain about the rotation or blah blah blah about whatever, if Hibbert stays being crap then this team won’t win games. He now has now scored 18 points in this last three games. Coincidentally, Indiana has gotten routed in all three.
X-Factor: Greivis Vasquez. He got back-to-back buckets early in the fourth to put Toronto up 12 and force an upset Frank Vogel to call a timeout. On the next possession after play re-started, Vasquez buried a triple to put the game out of reach.
 | David West, PF 29 MIN | 6-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | -6 |
Liked what I saw and he appears to be back in shape and able to find a groove. Moved the ball well early, and 2 of his team-high 5 assists led to 3-pointers, making their worth even better. Later on, he got going from the midrange and looked comfortable shooting from his office for the first time in a few games.
Roy Hibbert, C 28 MIN | 2-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -9Horrible shooting, not much defense, 2 rebounds, and maybe worst of all zero offensive rebounds. The whole team rebounded poorly on both ends and grabbed just 6 of their own 47 missed FGs, so everyone can share the blame there. But the tallest guy on the court needs to come up with at least one of those 47 misses.
Rodney Stuckey, PG 30 MIN | 5-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 13 PTS | -8Some good and some bad, but seemed like a positive contributor and can’t fault the efficiency.
C.J. Watson, PG 30 MIN | 5-14 FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | -2Missed a layup plus an open 3-point look or two, and made some other mistakes. But proved he should have been the starter since the day he returned by showing his better-than-anyone-else-available understanding of how to run things, when to attack, and when to pull it out and reverse the action.
C.J. Miles, SG 13 MIN | 1-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | -7Left in the first half with a knee injury and didn’t return. Didn’t play as bad as his FG% would suggest while he was out there.
Luis Scola, PF 17 MIN | 2-7 FG | 4-4 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -11Meh.
Lavoy Allen, PF 20 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -3Did Lavoy stuff.
Chris Copeland, SF 12 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +1Meh.
Damjan Rudez, SF 7 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -4Didn’t do much.
Solomon Hill, SF 30 MIN | 5-8 FG | 5-6 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 16 PTS | -6Nice game though with some inexperience flareups. Two sweet dunks. Attacked hard. Looked like a guy who doesn’t want to be on the bench again for the opening tip.
Donald Sloan, PG 22 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -10Showed why he never deserved his benching.