Post-Game Grades: Dallas Mavericks Embarrass Indiana Pacers
By Josh Padmore
79. 103. 100. Final. 111
The Indiana Pacers finished their Western Conference road trip with a tough loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas.
The Good: The Indiana Pacers looked pretty decent for most of the first half. Obviously, they weren’t able to keep up that play.
On a positive note, C.J. Miles looked great and bounced back from his dud in Phoenix on Wednesday with 6 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Bad: Mostly everything. The Pacers were horrendous in the second-half. They let the Mavericks go nuts from three. Some of it was just bad defense, and some of it was confident shooting. Monta Ellis had a really rough night. It’s looking like some sort of change will be made soon.
Dallas, one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA (32.4%), shot 15 of 30 from deep. https://t.co/kRLrL7favx!?sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1
— 8 Points, 9 Seconds (@8pts9secs) December 10, 2016
MVP: Harrison Barnes. Barnes played like a star tonight and was easily the best player on the court tonight. He scored 25 points on an efficient 10-17 shooting and made 3-3 from deep.
LVP: Monta Ellis. Monta had a really rough night and didn’t score in 22 minutes. It’s been a struggle on both sides of the ball for him as of late. A change in his role may have to be made.
X-Factor: Wesley Matthews. Matthews is the definition of a three-and-D player. He played great defense all night long and also scored 26 points with 5 made three-point shots.
Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE. C+. He was hot in the first quarter, but wasn’t active at all throughout the rest of the game. Paul also was invisible in the fourth quarter until the last few minutes, when he made his first field goal of the quarter. He finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS. F. In his second game back to Dallas since departing via Free Agency in 2015, Monta Ellis laid a goose egg. He went scoreless in 22 minutes, going 0-5 from the field. He had a tough match-up defensively, too, guarding the bulky Wesley Matthews.
C-. Teague was very quiet tonight and only finished with 10 points on 3-7 shooting from the field. He added 5 assists and turned it over twice.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE
B. Myles had a great night from the foul line, shooting 10-10. He only shot 4-9 from the field, but he still had a good game. Myles also made some impressive catches throughout the game for a seven-footer to make. He finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block.. Center. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
D. Thad didn’t play down the stretch and only played 19 minutes on the night. He knocked down one three-pointer, but had a pretty rough night overall. He also had a couple of bad turnovers. Thad finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
C+. Stuckey easily had his best game of the season passing the basketball. He had some great assists and finished with 8 of them. He also pushed the pace, per usual, but his solid effort was nowhere near enough for the Indiana Pacers.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY
C-. Al couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, but had it going offensively in the second half. He was pretty bad on the defensive side of the ball, though. He finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds.. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON
B+. Miles was feeling it and bounced back big time from his dud in Phoenix. C.J. shot 6-9 from the field (all attempts three-pointers) and scored 18 points on the night. We may see him starting again pretty soon.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES
C+. Glenn has struggled in a reserve role, but he had a solid night. He hit a couple of threes and finished with 6 points in 8 minutes. He also looked good on the defensive end in his limited minutes.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
C-. Brooks picked up a technical foul in this game and only finished with 5 points in 15 minutes. He added 3 assists and 2 turnovers.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. AARON BROOKS