Post-Game Grades: Pacers Cough Up Game to the Terrible Horrible No-Good Very-Bad Nets
By Jared Wade
100. Final. 103. 147. 94
In an unacceptable loss, the Indiana Pacers got out-scored 31-15 in the fourth quarter to cough one up to the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
The Good: Thaddeus Young was as super-efficient demon, particularly early on, and Myles Turner now has two double-doubles in two games. C.J. Miles was spicy off the bench. That … is all.
The Bad: Mostly everyone else — including a horror-show night from Jeff Teague — and worse still Rodney Stuckey left the game in the first quarter with an apparent hamstring problem. Those don’t heal quickly and Stuckey often stays hobbled, so a bench that has so far been lacking this season (and is still missing Aaron Brooks) might have just gotten thinner. And, oh yeah, a team with dreams of being a two- or three-seed just lost to the Brooklyn Nets. The defense was an embarrassment and even if Sean Kilpatrick was hitting a few tough shots, there is still no excuse for letting him remain so comfortable and snowball his confidence with bucket after bucket.
MVP: Mr. Kilpatrick. He took over late — scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Nets outscored Indiana 31-15 over the final 12 minutes. The largely unknown reserve finished with 18 points on 11 shots.
LVP: The Pacers newcomers other than Thad Young. Combined, Teague and Al Jefferson scored 3 points on 3-of-18 shots in the game. They put in 0 points on 0-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter. (Teague did have 7 assists in 29 minutes.)
X-Factor: Justin Hamilton. He was feisty while recording 8 points and 7 boards — plus a parent-disappointing fourth-quarter block on Myles Turner.
Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE. C. Good but inefficient and didn’t really look like General Patton leading his troops into battle during the fourth quarter.. Small Forward
Liked his approach but he missed a few close-range attempts and fumbled the ball around a bit.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS. B
F. Just terrible shooting. Didn’t do enough elsewhere to make up for it.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE
MYLES TURNER. B+. 13 and 11 with 3 blocks will do. Some miscues.. Center. Indiana Pacers
Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG. A. Gets the Pacers game ball. Those who haven’t seen him play much (which is most people given the bad, far-flung teams he’s played for) should have been very impressed. And will continue to love his slashing, blue-collar, workman-like approach to getting buckets. He finished well and was the key cog in the first half.
C. Nate McMillan inserted him early as the backup point guard to run with the starters as Teague rested. That was notable in that Joe Young doesn’t seem to have much trust after a woeful showing in the opener. But Stuckey got hurt during that stint and didn’t return (which along with Aaron Brooks still being unavailable got Young some, bad, minutes anyway).. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY
Looking good. Looking healthy.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES. B
F. Nowhere to go but up from this outing.. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON
Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN. C-. As limited as ever.
Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JOE YOUNG. C+. He’s so small and didn’t show much feel for the game. Hit a 3, but looked out-matched otherwise. Scoring 6 points in 13 minutes seems necessary if he’s going to not have a big net-negative on the team given his inability to contribute elsewhere.
Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III. D. Didn’t look like an NBA rotation player.
C. Got into a game for the first time. But only for a very short time. Wasn’t on the court long enough to actually assess his performance.. Center. Indiana Pacers. KEVIN SERAPHIN