Post-Game Grades: PG and the Indiana Pacers Run Out of Gas Against The Washington Wizards
By William Furr
100. Final. 111. 142. 98
The Pacers rally comes up short against John Wall and the Wizards as Paul George struggles yet again.
The Good: The Pacers made several runs at Washington throughout, rallying from 19 down at one point.
The Bad: Markieff Morris torched Kevin Seraphin again, and the Pacers – despite rallying repeatedly – never seemed like a threat to win this game from the tip.
MVP: The All Star Break
LVP: Jeff Teague. Couldn’t do much right, ceded his 4th quarter minutes to Rodney Stuckey. Did throw a few nice assists, but was bad overall.
X-Factor: Otto Porter Jr. He was just the latest in a long line of players to catch fire against the Pacers lackluster backcourt defense. 25 points, 8 rebounds, 6-10 from deep – with 5 makes coming in the first half.
PG tallied 17 points and 7 rebounds on 1-7 shooting from deep, and finished the night -17. The All-Star break couldn’t come at a better time for him, as he’s looked relatively bad for several games now.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE. D
JEFF TEAGUE. D. 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. Pretty bad night for Teague, who wasn’t on the floor for most of the end game.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers
MYLES TURNER. C+. Myles finished with 17 and 9 on reasonable enough shooting (6-13), and looked fine offensively. He was also -15, and looked outmatched again by Marcin Gortat’s strength.. Center. Indiana Pacers
B. GRIII snared 10 points on 4-6 shooting, including 1-2 from deep. Didn’t do a lot else, but the Pacers needed those points.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
Indiana Pacers. KEVIN SERAPHIN. C+. Seraphin finished with 9 points and 5 boards, shot 50% from the field, and got killed by Markieff Morris again. He just can’t handle stretch 4’s. It’s not that he should be able to either, he’s a center, but he can’t deliver what the Pacers need while Thad Young’s out.. Center
C.J. MILES. B-. CJ finished the night with 6 points on 3-7 shooting. He added in 2 steals and 1 very symbolic missed dunk with less than a minute to play. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers
Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS. B. Monta played 31 minutes on the night, more than anyone but PG and Myles Turner. He went 4-7 from the field for 9 points, and finished with 7 assists, but was -10 on the night. He’s definitely been more effective since removing the mask, though, and continued that tonight.
AL JEFFERSON. B+. Big Al 12 points and 3 rebounds in just 11 minutes. He went 6-8 from the field, though he looked a bit shaky against Ian Mahinmi on a few possessions. Was in foul trouble almost immediately, or else he could’ve done more damage down low.. Center. Indiana Pacers
Stuck worked his way to 12 points on 4-6 shooting, including 2-3 from deep. He looked great for a large part of the night, but John Wall’s chase down block on him late in the 4th hurt the Pacers chances of a comeback.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY. B+
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Final Notes: Both John Wall and Brad Beal both abused Paul George on different occasions early in the game. The Pacers finished 4-18 from 3 point range; the Wizards went 15-29.