Post-Game Grades: The Pistons were tough
By Tony East
The Detroit Pistons came into town and beat the Indiana Pacers 104-98. Let’s give grades to all the Pacers players.
Final. 104. 64. 98. 100
The Pistons were without Avery Bradley in this one, so there was hope that the Indiana Pacers could pull out an easy win at home. The fourth quarter grades as the best for Nate McMillan and co, but the rest of the game the team was unable to hang with Detroit, and they went on to lose 104-98.
The fear for the Pacers was that they would get killed on the glass. Andre Drummond had 36 rebounds over the teams first two matchups, so it was clear that the team needed to make a concerted effort to hit the glass. Indiana did well in this department and won the rebounding battle 51-44 in this game, but it was to no avail.
Detroit only finished with nine turnovers and shot over 40 percent from three. The combination of their low turnover total and 11 offensive rebounds gave them plentiful possessions to knock down the deep ball.
The Good: The Pacers, as stated, won the rebounding battle. Against the Detroit Pistons, this is no easy task. They had more offensive and defensive rebounds than the motor city squad, showing that they put a note in the gameplan to box out, and they did it effectively. Lance Stephenson, Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young, and Myles Turner all lead the team with eight rebounds.
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The Bad: Three-point shooting. As a team, the Pacers shot 9/30 from deep, only 30 percent. Only Oladipo (5/12) and Darren Collison (2/4) shot over 25 percent from beyond the arc. Everyone besides those two guys was a combined 2/14. Yuck.
MVP: Nobody truly dominated, but Andre Drummond was the best player on the court in this game. He finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and added 3 blocks. He also shot 64 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line. There is a case to be made for Myles Turner as the games MVP, as he finished with 24 points and was the best Pacer, but Drummond was just a bit better in this one.
LVP: Bojan Bogdanovic. This may have been his worst game of the season. He could not get anything going from anywhere on the court, finishing with only four points on 2/11 shooting. He added (subtracted?) three turnovers and missed all of his three points attempts. Worst of all, he was a -24, showing that he had no impact on either end of the floor. Not his best performance.
X-Factor: Luke Kennard was knocking down shots from all over the place on his way to a +18. He looked great in a rare opportunity for him to start. Thaddeus Young was a Pacers high +9 and was filling up all areas of the stat sheet, as usual. He was solid in this one.
Let’s get to grades.
C+. Collison was solid shooting the ball, but had four turnovers and wasn’t great on defense.. PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON
Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO. C-. Oladipo’s shot selection in this game was suspect. He scored effectively in the fourth quarter. 36 percent shooting is bad, but Victor still has a high impact when he is on the court.. SG
SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. F. This may have been Bogdanovic’s worst game in a Pacers uniform. He had more turnovers than made shots.
Thad was Thad. 12 points eight rebounds and three assists with no turnovers should be written on his gravestone someday. Young is so consistent, and he was again tonight.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG. B
Myles was the best Pacer in this game. His 24 points and eight rebounds were both near the top of the team and he extended his block streak to 26 games as well. This is what we hoped Myles would be when the season started.. C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. B+
C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. C-. Sabonis was efficient with 11 points on only six shot attempts, but his two turnovers and 50 percent free-throw shooting prevented him from having a great game.
Indiana Pacers. LANCE STEPHENSON. B. 30 percent shooting is the only thing holding Lance back from a higher grade. Great defense, a team-high eight rebounds, and a solid five assists show that Lance was effective in this one.. SG
PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. C-. Joseph played 24 minutes and finished with zero points. He played solid defense, but one rebound and two assists aren’t enough to make up for his worse than average offensive night.
C. T.J. had a nice putback layup near the end of the first quarter. He needs to play more for his grade to fluctuate away from a C.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF
Next: Domantas Sabonis puts Eric Moreland on a poster
The Pacers travel to Brooklyn for a game on Sunday. Bojan Bogdanovic will be looking to have a great game against his former team, and the whole Indiana Pacers roster will be looking to bounce back from a two-game losing skid.