Winning the Games You Should Win

Sometimes, the most important things to say are the most obvious. “Yes, I want bacon” and “I love you, Mom” are good examples.

Another is this post by Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows that reminds us to pay special attention to how the Pacers play in games that they have a good chance at winning. Obviously, there will be some games during which Indiana just gets flat beaten, he tells us. Conversely, the team will at times just straight steal the opponent’s lunch money. (Looking at you, Denver.)

Those games are interesting, but are most likely outliers that don’t give us a ton of insight on the make-up of this Pacers squad.

But other games — the bulk of games, in fact — will hang in the balance in the fourth quarter. And it is how the players buckle down and play during these critical moments that will tell us the most about their collective character.

This principle is a key one in defining how I think about basketball.

A lot of people harp on bad calls made during the course of the game and how, had the refs been kinder during the second quarter, the team would have likely won the game. That is certainly true a degree. And so are concepts like “leaving points on the table” by missing free throws puts the team in a hole unnecessarily.

But, to me, basketball is often about “feel” just as much as it is about the actual score.

All competent players are aware of the time and score at all moments. But more so, from my experience, the game at any given time comes down to a few feelings. It you’re winning big, it’s “this is AWESOME … we can’t be stopped.” If you’re winning by a little, it’s “we’re up and need to keep maintaining this.” But when you’re losing, it is usually either “we can’t do anything … this sucks” or “DAMN … we need to start playing ball for real FOR REAL.”

When the feel of the game is the latter, that’s when great teams and great players are at their greatest. There is no “woe is me” vibe; there’s only a “pick it up” mentality that is — and this is the important part — followed by action.

It’s not just “we’re down 6 and need a few buckets to catch up” and a renewed focus. It’s “LET’S DO THIS” and forcing your brain into that blank, reptilian state where muscle memory and competitive drive take over. Tempered, calm execution should be the result and the game should slow down so that you can see it at its simplest. It is a very simple sport after all.

Obviously, it’s easier for an individual to do such things than it is for a whole team. But when a leader can do such things by example — or better yet, a few leaders — it helps the whole team find that place.

We certainly did not see anything resembling what I’m rambling on about here the other night against Houston. We saw a hesitant, over-thinking Mike Dunleavy fail to call a timout before dribbling and a panicky-looking Danny Granger flounder on the wing when he caught the ball and couldn’t get off a shot to try to tie the game. Then again, we pretty much saw the team play exactly as I’m suggesting good teams do last night in the mid-fourth quarter when it came time to step on the Cavs throats and ensure the win.

Tom summed it up nicely:

"Consider the two brutal losses to Milwaukee and Houston, when the game was up for grabs in the fourth quarter and the Pacers couldn’t make the plays to win. Those are the types of losses that will stand out at the end of the year if the Pacers don’t make the playoffs, so minimizing those losses is obviously critical. Of course, you can’t just consider the negative because the Pacers swooped in and stole a nice win at Charlotte earlier in the year and then last night took care of business down the stretch at Cleveland."

So, sure, it sounds obvious, but we will be able to learn a lot about how this year’s Pacers may or may not differ from the hapless squads of the past few years by how well they can show us calm execution down the stretch.

It’s what good teams do.