The Good: Everything except for a minor stretch in the second quarter. The defense shut down everyone not named Dwayne Wade. The offense made it rain from deep. The five bigs all did work on the glass and on D. Oh, and some guy named Paul George returned to the court and made a few shots.
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
The Bad: Another injury. Rodney Stuckey went down hard after skying for a rebound and getting his legs taken out (inadvertently, I believe) by Udonis Haslem. Stuckey appeared to land on his right wrist with all of his weight, and left the game gingerly after staying on the ground for a bit. It’s reported to only be a “sore” wrist and nothing worse as of now. If so, that would be a break for a Pacers team that just can’t get healthy, but at this point fans wouldn’t be faulted to expect bad news.
MVP: Luiiiiiiiiiiiiiis Scolaaaaaaa! Scola put up 23 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting in just under 19 minutes. The Heat were forced to guard him with players like Dwayne Wade and Mario Chalmers due to their own injury issues, and Scola made them pay time and time again.
LVP: Mario Chalmers. Chalmers played 27 minutes, shot the ball 1-of-8 from the field, and finished with 2 points, 5 fouls (including one particularly hard foul on Scola), 2 turnovers, and was a -19 on the night.
X-Factor: PG13. YG Trece. Paul George. PG finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep, in just under 15 minutes of action. Paul definitely showed some signs of rust: He missed one fast break opportunity when his body and brain couldn’t agree on whether to dunk or shoot a layup, and he just plain stopped on another when Goran Dragic slid into position to take a charge. But those are expected things for someone who’s missed 76 games. His return gave the Pacers new life and energy, and the game tilted in the Pacers favor during each of his two stints on the floor.
 | David West, PF 26 MIN | 1-5 FG | 10-12 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | +15 +/-Ate at the line (10-of-12), took a shot below the belt and got back up to make his free throws after. Didn’t shoot well, but grabbed some rebounds. |  |
Solomon Hill, SF 26 MIN | 6-10 FG | 4-4 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 19 PTS | +13 +/-Solo showed a rare competence and aggressiveness on offense, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and attacking the basket regularly. Hit his treys (3-of-5), hit his freebies (4-of-4) and was a real positive influence on the floor.
Roy Hibbert, C 20 MIN | 2-11 FG | 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 1 TO | 7 PTS | +15 +/-Couldn’t do anything on offense, but everyone gets an A+ tonight. Rebounded aggressively, had several backtaps that led to extra offensive possessions, and protected the rim.
George Hill, PG 26 MIN | 0-5 FG | 3-4 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +11 +/-This was George Hill’s second straight off game shooting, after previously being hot for nearly all the time he has played. But Hill rebounded and distributed well, and harassed people on D.
C.J. Miles, SG 26 MIN | 6-13 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | +5 +/-Miles kept the Pacers afloat early by shredding the Miami 2-3 zone from deep, and finished 5-of-10 from behind the arc, and 6-of-13 overall, for 17 points.
Luis Scola, PF 19 MIN | 10-15 FG | 3-3 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 23 PTS | +7 +/-One of his best games as a Pacer, rivaled only possibly by his season-saving performance in the playoffs against the Hawks last year. Bullied smaller players, shot over/under/around everyone in sight, had a two-handed fast break dunk — can’t ask for anything more out of him.
Lavoy Allen, PF 7 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -2 +/-Didn’t play a ton despite Ian’s continued struggles from the foul line, but was a pesky rebounder.
Paul George, SF 15 MIN | 5-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 13 PTS | +12 +/-PG gave the Pacers way more than expected after missing 76 games, with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in just under 15 minutes. Definitely showed signs of rust, but seemed to lift the Pacers just by being on the court.
Chris Copeland, SF 3 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +1 +/-Cope still floats. Shot the ball the first time he touched it, made the 3.
Damjan Rudez, SF 5 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +5 +/-It looks like Damo is the one in line to lose minutes to PG’s return, but you can’t keep the #1 three-point shooter in the NBA since January 25 down; hit his only 3, wasn’t harmful on defense.
Ian Mahinmi, C 21 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-8 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | +10 +/-Had a dunk, rebounded the ball, shot 12.5% from the charity stripe.
Donald Sloan, PG 23 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +14 +/-Played over 22 minutes as C.J. Watson was out tonight. Sloan didn’t do a whole lot on the stat sheet (5 points, 2 assists, 50% shooting), but finished +14 on the night — higher than everyone but the big fella and David West.
Rodney Stuckey, PG 25 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-1 FT | 1 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | +9 +/-Only scored a bit (4 points), but had 7 assists, and looked fine, if a bit less aggressive, playing with PG. You hope the wrist is O.K.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?