Post-Game Grades: Better Than Expected, But Not Enough
By Ben Gibson
For an undermanned squad, this was an excellent performance, but it wasn’t enough to get the win in overtime. Despite better performances by Luis Scola and Donald Sloan, the overall product of the Pacers wasn’t enough for Indiana to overcome the Wizards. You want consistency but not in the turnovers department. Indiana had 18 turnovers, right around the average so far this season. This is expected when you are missing so many players with injuries, there is going to be issues. The turnovers like Chris Copeland’s behind-the-back pass failure at the end of regulation aren’t acceptable, but you have to expect that will get better as the season rolls along and the expected starters return.
The Pacers are missing a lot of shots and expecting Copeland to do too much offensively; you could blame him for being in full-on chuck mode. He shot 21 times but made only eight shots for 19 points. Sloan had 31 points on as many shots thanks to his ability to get to the foul line. At least they are confident, because Indiana needs someone to score.
I want to have some great analysis, but it was more of a case of Indiana not having enough depth. I think if you have David West or George Hill, or even Rodney Stuckey, this game might go the other way. But only more frustration looks to be in the Pacers future until they return.
The Pacers have a day off before they face the Boston Celtics on Friday. Expect the frustration to continue.
 | Luis Scola, PF 23 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -3No turnovers tonight, so I’d give him a B grade just for that. Scola wasn’t perfect but only a -3 +/- is a vast improvement on what we’ve seen this season. |  |
Solomon Hill, SF 37 MIN | 5-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 14 PTS | 0The second-year player showed he could be aggressive and efficient.
Roy Hibbert, C 31 MIN | 0-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 5 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -4Wasn’t a great night, but it looked like the Wizards were working to take him out of the game.
Donald Sloan, PG 43 MIN | 10-21 FG | 7-10 FT | 6 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 31 PTS | -5Considering the matchup, this could have been a terrible night. But Sloan led the Pacers in scoring and was aggressive getting to the rim.
C.J. Miles, SG 27 MIN | 2-13 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -12I can’t believe I wrote nice things about him before the season started.
Lavoy Allen, PF 30 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | +1Typical LaVoy Allen performance.
Chris Copeland, SF 37 MIN | 8-21 FG | 0-0 FT | 12 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 19 PTS | +8Just too many shots and not enough points. The 12 rebounds are great and the 3-point shooting was fine, but you can’t take more shots than points.
Damjan Rudez, SF 16 MIN | 2-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +2He exists.
Ian Mahinmi, C 21 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +3I liked the effort I saw defensively, just wish he could score more.
Frank VogelI don’t think that final play was suppose to end with a Roy Hibbert 3-point attempt, but Vogel did what he could to put Indiana in position to win.