8p9s Roundtable: Beating the Wizards, Looking to the Grizzlies

On a watchability index of 1 to 10, what would you give last night’s Indiana Pacers win?

Jon Washburn: About a 2. The ugliness of the game, combined with the stakes (the Pacers had to win) and anxiety they caused made it a totally unenjoyable experience for me. Even my wife noticed, and told me I should just stop watching because I wasn’t having a good time. When they won, I suppose you could describe my emotion as “relief.” So yeah, not a great viewing experience in the Washburn household.

Ben Gibson: 7. It was a very ugly game at times, but there were enough moments to make it fun. The stakes elevated it to a much more heart pounding and exciting than it should have been, but all the big plays late made it memorable.

Jared Wade: 3. Both offenses were disgraceful to start and Indiana only put up 33 points in the first half. Then there were loooong stretches of futility for both teams late. Getting to the overtimes seemed more an inability of either team to be good at basketball than a battle of two even teams, and the only 4 points the Pacers managed in the first OT were two free throws and a random Roy Hibbert jumper late in the shot clock that was in no way planned. The drama of the Pacers having a season on the line is the only thing that made this clusterchuck of a game get higher than a 1.

Scott Stewart: I’d say a 7. Last night was extremely rough to start, and really the entire first half was disappointing. I mean, 16-16 after one quarter is bad, but 33 points in a half is just depressing. All in all though, I gave the Pacers two extra points for the two overtimes they forced last night. This team can fight.

Next: Did You Lose Hope?