Post-Game Grades: Former Pacer George Hill Scores 30 As Jazz Eject Pacers
By Ryan Barth
Final. 109. 118. 100. 100
The Indiana Pacers closed out their 3-game western conference road trip with another frustrating loss as Butler’s own Gordan Hayward and the hometown hero George Hill combined for 57 points.
The Good: The Pacers shot over 50% from both the field and from the 3-point line which will earn you a victory on most nights.
The Bad: The defense allowed 60+ points in the 1st half for the 8th time this season and don’t appear to have the collective will to stop anybody right now. Got beat on the boards once again (42-36) and practically every fast break ended in a turnover or missed shot at the rim.
MVP: George Hill scored his season high against his former team and definitely took this game personally from the tip. You’re happy for him to be a part of an up-and-coming team like the Jazz, but you also miss all of the great things he brought to the table as a Pacer.
LVP: Glenn Robinson III was a ghost (0 points on 0-3 shooting, 0 rebounds and 0 assists in 14 minutes). Quinn Buckner suggested he was very tired tonight, but he’s one of the youngest players on this team and should be able to handle the rigors of the NBA schedule better than this.
X-Factor: Thaddeus Young played with heart and hustle tonight. He was extremely efficient offensively and was able to frustrate Derrick Favors all game long.
Foul trouble early and was ejected in the 4th quarter after he personally called out all 3 officials before hitting the tunnel. His frustration with the officiating has been dormant for a little while now, but it returned tonight along with his postgame comments. You can certainly make a case for him and Coach Nate (who was also ejected) to be upset with the way the game was called. The free throw disparity was wide (32 for the Jazz and 17 for the Pacers), but once again the Pacers didn’t lose this one as a result of the officials.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE. C
C-. He put up great numbers once again (19 points, 7 assists and 3 steals), but wasn’t able to slow down George Hill at all.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE
Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. C-. Allowed Rudy Gobert to dominate in the post and wasn’t featured enough offensively to counter his attack (13 points on 9 shots).. Center
THADDEUS YOUNG. B. Stuffed the stat sheet (19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists), but also lead the team in turnovers with 5. He’ll need to rise up and be a vocal leader for this team in games like these down the road.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers
F. Apparently he logged some minutes tonight, but offered no production outside of his one steal.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
B. The most minutes Monta has played (33) since December 4th against the Clippers. He responded with 15 points and 4 rebounds off the bench. Good to see him look for his offense and find it occasionally.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS
On a night when the team shoots this well, you would hope C.J. would contribute to the cause. Missed 4 of his 5 three-point attempts and scored just 6 points.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES. D+
B-. Al was cooking again in the 1st half, but didn’t log one minute in the 3rd quarter for some reason. He did what he could in limited minutes (7 points, 4 rebounds).. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON
C. Played just 6 minutes, but hit another one of his now famous jump hooks in the lane.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. AARON BROOKS
Inc.. Took over for Kevin Seraphin tonight. Give us Boomer next time.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN