The Indiana Pacers might want to use the All-Star Break as a time to hit the reset button after a miserable performance against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Good: Well let’s see…
No. No. Not that… Nope, nothing good.
The Bad: The Pacers are 2-2 in their final game before the All-Star Break over the past four seasons, and this one looked more like their 81-73 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in 2013. In that game, Monta Ellis scored 23 for the Mavericks, but on Wednesday, he only had 10 points for the Pacers. It looked like Indiana had mentally checked out of the game before it started, but certainly after the Hornets took a 17 point lead into halftime. It may only be one game, but this wasn’t how I pictured the Pacers going into the All-Star Break.
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MVP: It wouldn’t go to any of the Indiana Pacers, so your options for the Charlotte Hornets are Kemba Walker’s 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals or Tyler Hansbrough’s garbage time bucket.
LVP: The starters certainly didn’t look inspired either, but the Indiana’s bench was outscored 54-33. I hate to say it looked like they didn’t care, but they played like they were resigned to their fate as the Hornets built up their lead. It is a sour note that will linger in the air until the All-Star Break is over. They face the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 19th and if this version of the Pacers show up, it will be ugly.
X-Factor: Indiana was out shot from the 3-point line as the Hornets were 12 of 28 from range compared to the Pacers 4 of 18 performance. The 11 turnovers may have been below the Pacers season average of 15.4, but Indiana allowed 20 points off of them.