Pacers Showing Resolve But Not Enough to Win

No one ever describes a team as a bunch of white-collar, do-enough-to-not-get-fired, average guys. But I think it is fair to say the Indiana Pacers have played with a certain resolve to start the season despite all the injuries the roster has dealt with and the knowledge that this team won’t compete for a title this year.

But while there are reasons for optimism through the first three games (and it could be worse), the reality is the team will struggle to win at all until the roster is somewhere near normal health wise. David West and C.J. Watson aren’t back yet, Rodney Stuckey has been playing limited minutes so far, and George Hill is still at least two weeks away from a return. And let’s not count on Paul George returning this year despite the videos of him shooting 3-pointers and beating his dog 1-on-1.

That isn’t to say the reasons for optimism when they do come back aren’t unfounded. The offense has done well to find ways to score despite not having a dedicated scorer in the starting line up. Donald Sloan has played well for the third-string point guard, and Chris Copeland has emerged as an offensive weapon off the bench.

Excitement abounds as to what Copeland and a healthy Stuckey can do with the rest of the line-up. Roy Hibbert has played well on both ends of the floor to start the season, hopefully shaking off the majority of the issues from The Struggle and putting them behind him. Just like last year he started off as a blocking machine, particularly against the Philadelphia 76ers.

It isn’t time to book Indiana Pacers playoff tickets or get too excited, but there is hope that some of the less optimistic predictions we’ve made aren’t going to come to fruition.

The Games

Indiana started the season off with a 103-91 victory over the 76ers and a Hibbert block party (7 of them), as well as showing glimpses of what could be from a number of players. Stuckey and Copeland powered the second unit while Sloan had a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Things were more difficult in the 97-89 loss to the Memphis Grizzles. The defense struggled and the turnovers that the Pacers lived with in the first game killed them against Memphis. Hibbert’s scoring struggle was more acceptable than it had been in the past due to the lack of depth, but the big fella will need some help from his teammates if he wants to do anything offensively. It should be noted he played defense well, and the Pacers still have a 11th-ranked defense so far this year. Not too bad, but not enough against a team like the Grizzles.

Indiana lost to the Atlanta Hawks 102-91, but it was one of the Indiana Pacers better performances in Atlanta in the regular season in quite some time. They cut the lead to three points late in the fourth quarter, but the Hawks held on to beat the Pacers as the Atlanta defense kept Copeland from chucking another 3-pointer. He was part of the reason for that late run to challenge Atlanta, and his 6 triples were the highlight of the game. He also showed aggressiveness in trying to get to the rim for easy buckets in an effort to get the offense rolling.

Overall Grade: B-
Considering the circumstances, the Pacers have played well, but you don’t want to give them too much credit for quality losses.

B.S. Trade Rumor of the Week

Jared Wade scoffs at this J.R. Smith for Chris Copeland rumor.