Post-Game Grades: Heat Turn Pacers Over Like Hotcakes
By Tim Donahue
The Good – The First Quarter and the Bench
This game was all about the 16-0 Miami run over the first 4:33 of the second half. Miami upped the pressure, and The Five responded poorly, and the game was over just. like. that.
The Pacers started well, looking relatively sharp at both ends. Key reserves Luis Scola, C.J. Watson, and Ian Mahinmi provided the kind of play and production the Pacers need. This wasn’t the Atlanta game. This wasn’t the San Antonio game. This was a half of LeBron being awesome, and 5 minutes of the Miami defense exploding the Pacer offense.
The Bad – The first 4:33 of the Third Quarter
Won’t someone please think of the children?
MVP – LeBron James
…but, since I’m childish and never liked it when Stacy Paetz interviewed players from the opposing team after losses, I’m not going to say anything nice about the best player on the planet.
LVP – Roy Hibbert
Ordinarily, George Hill’s performance would win this in a walk, but it paled in comparison to Roy Hibbert’s towering pillar of nothing.
X Factor – Lack of Warm Maple Syrup to make things sticky
And taking care of the basketball is the next little thing they did a little better in the Miami game. “We won the turnover battle, which is key,” West said. “The games that we’ve lost to these guys in the past, they’ve been able to turn us over like hotcakes and get run outs.” – from Thinking Small, Playing Big written after Indiana’s March 26th win over the Heat.
 | David West, PF 26 MIN | 7-13 FG | 4-4 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | -16 |
Efficient and effective in stretches, but rushed things during the pivotal third quarter collapse and silly fouls cost him playing time.
Paul George, SF 40 MIN | 7-17 FG | 5-7 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 22 PTS | -14PG was the focal point of the Miami defensive attack tonight, and struggled to deal with it. Didn’t play poorly, but didn’t step up either.
Roy Hibbert, C 34 MIN | 2-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -16The embodiment of Thomas Paine’s “summer soldier and sunshine patriot.”
George Hill, PG 33 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | -16No shots. Unacceptable. Best shooter in the rotation. He cannot do this.
Lance Stephenson, SG 35 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 11 PTS | -20Feels like the ball has been taken out of his hands over last two months. In some ways, I think that’s positive, but overall, he’s just not been as effective.
Lavoy Allen, PF 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3Garbage time.
Luis Scola, PF 19 MIN | 5-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +2Don’t know that you can ask him to do much more than he did – with points and rebounds off the bench.
Evan Turner, SF 16 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | +4Brainless technical. At one point while watching Evan, I turned to my two dogs and said, “I miss Sam Young.”
Chris Copeland, SF 3 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +2Garbage time
Ian Mahinmi, C 14 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +1For two months, while all around him has collapsed, he has been the backup center the Pacers had hoped he’d become. Shame it’s been wasted.
Donald Sloan, PG 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3Garbage Time
C.J. Watson, PG 19 MIN | 3-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +4Like Scola and Mahinmi, CJ did his job.
Rasual Butler, SG 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3Garbage Time