Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Throw Up All Over Themselves, Lose to Lowly Miami Heat
By Jay Neal
95. 110. 89. 100. Final
Indiana Pacers start 3-game road trip with a loss to lottery-bound Miami Heat, fall back to .500.
The Good: The Indiana Pacers took a nice trip to sunny Miami to escape a cold, snowy Indianapolis in December.
The Bad: Unfortunately, the Pacers took a crap all over the trip by going over seven minutes without scoring and turning the ball over five times spanning the third and fourth quarters. They scored only ten points in the final quarter.
Indiana was bullied on the boards by a 58-38 margin. The defense was solid enough to win, but Indiana was unable to clear the glass to finish the defense. Miami grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
Also, each member of the starting frontcourt played over 37 minutes on the first night of a road back-to-back, which only makes this loss sting more.
MVP: Hassan Whiteside was a monster in the paint all night long, finishing with 26 points and 22 rebounds. He only had two blocks, but his presence was felt defensively as the Pacers missed multiple shots in the paint.
LVP: Nate McMillan. Yeah, he’s not a player, but he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory the last minute of the game. His decision to try to trap and not foul immediately — while down three points with 20 seconds left — is defensible.
However, not calling a timeout after giving up a dunk to go down five points when he had two timeouts to use is indefensible. I’m not sure what the explanation for that could be, but it will surely fall on deaf ears.
X-Factor: The Brothers Johnson. Tyler Johnson and James Johnson scored a combined 29 points off the bench for the Heat. Miami’s bench outscored the Indiana bench 43-34.
Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE. B-. Scored 11 points in the 3rd quarter, but wasn’t aggressive enough in the 4th quarter going multiple possessions without touching the ball. A rare night when the superstar didn’t try to take over.
MYLES TURNER. C. He did all he could with Whiteside, but he was pretty good with containing the ball handler pick & roll defense. He finished with five blocks, but had an off-night offensively.. Center. Indiana Pacers
Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE. C+. Battled foul trouble, but finished 10 points & 5 assists. He did a decent job defensively on Goran Dragic, but couldn’t get his offensive game going.
C. 6 points, 7 rebounds in 38 minutes… A pretty uneventful night for that much playing time.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
C+. A solid night for GR3 for what the coaches ask him to do with the starters (6 points, 5 rebounds). Took an accidental knee to the head from Whiteside, which limited his playing time.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES. B-. Seemed to find his shooting stroke, scoring 15 points including 3-for-6 from three-point range. However, finished a -13 in plus/minus.. Shooting Guard
C-. Scored 10 points, but shot only 3-for-12 and looked to be hobbled, again, at the end of the game. Also, the next time he passes on a 3-on-2 break will be the first time.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY
C. Played short minutes due to Miami going small. Schooled Whiteside on a spinning post move, but didn’t do much else.. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON
AARON BROOKS. C-. Played most of the 4th quarter due to Teague’s foul trouble and injuries to Stuckey & Robinson. Scored 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers