8p9s AMA Mailbag: Remembering When the Pacers Won Close Games

Welcome back to the 8 Points 9 Seconds mailbag, where we take your Indiana Pacers questions and make you feel internet famous because we answered them!

We’ll be using a consistent email for this process: 8p9sAMA@gmail.com. You can feel free to shoot questions over to that email or reply on Twitter to @8pts9secs or @will_furr using hashtag #8p9sAMA or visit our Facebook page to leave comments.

You’ve got questions? We’ve got answers.

More from Pacers News

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

@BigM181: What’s your favorite Reggie Miller buzzer beater or end of game bucket? 

If you’re asking specifically my favorite Reggie Miller finisher, it always comes down to the same two: the 8 points in 9 seconds/crush John Starks game, and the push off on Jordan to hit the fading 3 game.

However, my favorite buzzer beater from that time period is probably one that Reggie Miller didn’t take …

L Cohen: Why are the Pacers terrible? Coaching? Lack of cohesiveness? 

Well, certainly “terrible” is a relative term. This team is right around — if not slightly ahead of — where most people predicted they would be this season. And those predictions were made assuming the team would be healthy. Myles Turner, Rodney Stuckey, and C.J. Miles have all missed stretches already this year.

This team is more or less as expected, and they certainly still have room to improve. If you’re asking why they’re not a top 5 team, I’d say the lack of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant really hurts there. The Pacers are only one guy away from being a real contender. As long as it’s one of those guys.

Eric Y: Why are the Pacers so bad at setting/using screens?

I would pay a large amount of money to know the answer to this question. Not my money. But someone else’s money, that was easily accessible … I can speak to half of that personally.

Big men, if they’re developed as big men at a young age, are taught to seek contact on the screen. There are a hundred nuances just to setting the screen itself: how far you can slide, how you can mask your intent and direction, on and on. Some players are taught this at a young age and some aren’t. Ian Mahinmi is actually very good at setting screens, and Lavoy Allen is probably above average. Just like big men have to be taught to set screens, guards and wings have to learn how to use them, and have to be imminently coachable. Because it comes down to so many little things.

In all honestly, it may be that the Pacers just need to work on that in the summer, really sit down and focus on it. It’s exceedingly hard to break minute habits around things like that though.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

Big M: Why has George Hill been playing so bad? 

We just analyzed this one last week, actually. My guess is a combination of personal tragedy and being a new father, which both happened shortly before the break.

Jeff L: Given the current state of affairs, where do you see the Pacers postseason heading?

Assuming the Indiana Pacers make it (and they should, but the way the East is jumbled, so it’s certainly possible they miss), the Pacers could realistically land anywhere from 4 to 8. I don’t think they’re going to get a home-court spot, with Myles Turner acclimating/Stuckey getting back in shape/C.J. Miles missing time/etc.

The real aim should be somewhere in the 4-6 range though. Despite them playing the Cavs tough every time, they’re not beating them, and Toronto would be a very bad matchup for the Pacers. Anyone else, I think they have a shot at winning a series (though Boston’s stretch 4s will pose a problem if the Pacers haven’t figured something out for that issue). They’re not world beaters this year, nor are they title contenders as constructed, but making the jump from retooling borderline playoff contenders to winning a series would be big for this team.