Week 8 was at least a competitive week for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers absolutely drubbed the Los Angeles Lakers at home 110-91; the Blue and Gold led by as much as 39, held Kobe Bean Bryant to 21 points on 26 shots, and held the Lakers to 16% shooting in the first half.
They followed that up with close losses at the Los Angeles Clippers (102-100) and the Denver Nuggets (76-73).
Let’s take a look at some of the things we saw this week from the Blue and Gold.L
Roy Hibbert Is Not Improving
Roy Hibbert averaged 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game during week 8, only seeing about 21 minutes per game due to foul trouble and overall ineffectiveness. He actually played relatively well against the Lakers, putting up 10 points and 7 rebounds on 50% shooting.
On the road against the Clippers and Nuggets, he had 7 points and 8 rebounds — total — and shot only 21.4% (3-of-14).
While his offense struggled at times during the second half of last season, he remained a strong defender and rim protector (against all teams not from Atlanta). However, over the past week, Hibbert had 0 (that’s ZERO) total blocks. This isn’t the end all, be all of rim protection by any means, but he often looked like a non-factor on the defensive end. Teams have continued to attack Hibbert openly, both with smaller guards and supposedly less talented big men.
For the Pacers to have any chance this year, they will need to have a better version of Roy Hibbert than we’ve seen this far.
C.J. Miles Is Alive and Looks Like an NBA Player Again
C.J. Miles averaged 17.7 points per game last week, leading the Indiana Pacers in scoring. It wasn’t always pretty; he only shot 40.8% for the week, including 29.2% from behind the arc, but his scoring is sorely needed by the Blue and Gold.
Miles actually shot the ball relatively well in the first two games (8-of-16 and 6-of-14), but went 6-of-19 in a slopfest against the Denver Nuggets, where the Pacers as a team only shot 30.7%.
What Miles has done recently, however, is give the Pacers a threat on the wings; he’s a shooter who has to be respected and guarded closely, and he’s shown an ability to get hot and reel off points when the rest of the team is struggling to get looks.
He may not be shooting great yet, but he’s putting up points for a team desperately short on guys who can get their own buckets. Miles also posted a positive +/- in all three games last week, including the two losses.
Shoot on, Chuck Em 2.0 (I’m open to better nickname suggestions, put em in the comments section!).
The Indiana Pacers are Playing Right About as Expected
The reaction of Indiana Pacers fans right now is ranging wildly from “this team is awful” to “I wish this team would lose more games and get a high draft pick” to “wait, the Pacers just beat WHO starting WHO???” And that’s to be expected for a fan base that isnow accustomed to playoff success.
All that being said, the Pacers are playing about as expected. They are beating the truly bad teams, competing (and typically falling short) against the good teams, and suffering some ugly losses here and there. The Blue and Gold just suffered through a rough stretch of games, but have an imminently easier slate coming up, and may be able to improve their record soon.
C.J. Watson Is Getting Beaten by Pressure Defense
C.J. Watson has been facing full-court pressure more often, and he is showing an inability to take care of the ball when teams roll out a defensive minded point guard to pressure him. Watson only played in two of the three games last week, but totaled 9 turnovers between the games.
Donald Sloan has actually been more effective taking care of the ball, with only 5 total turnovers in the three games. This is not a cry for Sloan starting over Watson; Watson has a steady hand running the Pacers offense, and is a much better shooter, providing breathing room for an offense desperately in need, but the Pacers may need to provide some relief via scheming, having Stuckey/Solomon Hill bring the ball up the court at times, or having big men stay back to screen the pesky defenders.
All Your Rebounds Belong to Lavoy Allen
No in-depth analysis here; Lavoy Allen wants your rebounds, and he’s going to take them. Allen averaged 11 rebounds per game last week in Ian Mahinmi’s absence, and continues to show a mastery of the “how did he manage that?!” tip in.
The Indiana Pacers Week Ahead
Games: at Minnesota Timberwolves (Sunday), vs New Orleans Pelicans (Tuesday), at Detroit Pistons (Friday), at Brooklyn Nets (Saturday)
Prediction: Pacers go 2-2, beating Minnesota and Detroit while losing to New Orleans and Brooklyn
Last Week’s Prediction Results: 3-0
Season Long Prediction Results: 14-10
What to Watch For: David West beginning to score more (16 PPG last week) and getting to the free throw line a little bit (5-9 last week)… C.J. Miles looking much better coming off screens turning to his right (and dribbling with his strong hand)… David West and Luis Scola shooting corner threes… George Hill working on his conditioning and actually, you know, playing basketball… Vogel playing West/Scola together against smaller lineups while playing Allen and Hibbert together occasionally… Rodney Stuckey either wildly helping or hurting in the +/- column (+31 {team high}, -19 {team low}, -7 {second lowest on the team}… Solomon Hill making threes as soon as we point out he’s not making them any more (40% last week)… Frank Vogel continuing to experiment with lineups as the team nears full strength