Indiana Pacers Weekly Recap
Two wins on the week for our Blue and Gold. Two wins against the Brooklyn Nets, which brings the total to four straight wins. Four straight wins of 10 or more points. Did I throw enough numbers at you in this first seconds of reading? With such the easy week for the Indiana Pacers, there’s not much to recap, especially when you look at the ease in which the Pacers won.
Last night’s victory over the Nets was a bit more competitive than Monday night, but the Pacers still pull off the win by 14 points. A strong third quarter is the key to the victory in this one. The Pacers put up 28 points and get in control of the game.
Plenty of individual numbers to throw out there. Paul George leads the way with his 24 points. Lance Stephenson fills the stat sheet. Again. This time around, he gets 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. 3 assists and a rebound away from yet another triple double. He’s slowly becoming that type of player who could get a triple double once he sets his mind to it. That’s just showing what kind of potential Stephenson has.
The big men of the Pacers get double figures in scoring as well, but I am saving one guy for last. That guy is George Hill, who had mentioned in “trade rumors” and seems to be more and more scrutinized about his play. I’ll continue to defend him as the point guard of this team. It feels like this discussion keeps coming up, but it’s one that doesn’t need to happen.
What did Hill do last night? He went out and played strong to the tune of 21 points. Even getting more than the opposing point guard Deron Williams, who is one of the best point guards in the league. Hill is obviously frustrated with things as evident by a tweet that’s has since been deleted.
Maybe it had nothing to do with all the talk about his play, but from the “tone” of it, I got that feeling from it. Of course, tweets are hard to read without knowing context. It was still enough that he must have felt it didn’t need to be out there for the web to see. For me, Hill is the right guy for the job at the point position. The team just looks so much more controlled when he’s playing out there. I’ve even said, he could stand to be a bit more selfish about his play at times. He’s really worked on that floater in the lane when he can beat his man. He doesn’t seem to employ that as much, but it’s still there.
The team is in a much better place since he’s taken over the job, and they’ll continue to be a strong team with him at the helm. This was a great week for the Pacers as they could pick up a couple of wins and get some rest in between. I’m sure it was nice for everyone to step away from basketball for a day or so and enjoy the family time or whatever they might have been doing. This team you know just loves to be around each other, but at the same time, need that time away from each other. It’s time to get back on the horse and ride to a win come Tuesday to make my prediction of ten wins on the month come true.