The Indiana Pacers came out slow yet again, but handled their business against the moribund Atlanta Hawks as Myles Turner and Bojan Bogdanovic attempted to atone for their loss to the Celtics.
The Pacers came out slow in Atlanta, starting the game down 18-9. They cruised their way to a deceptively comfortable looking win from there, despite never really looking *good* until the 4th quarter.
All the hallmarks of Pacers wins this season were there: 20+ points from Oladipo, a slow start followed by a gradual takeover, and 6 guys in double figures. That said, aside from a late takeover, the Pacers mostly seemed disinterested or sluggish throughout.
Oladipo did his thing as the high man for the Pacers, but the much more important element of this game was seeing Myles Turner and Bojan Bogdanovic come out aggressively. After the Celtics loss which saw Myles struggle brutally (2 points) and Bojan throw the game away, both came out aggressively, looked for their shot early, and showed no lack of confidence. It didn’t hurt that both of them got buckets, either.
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?
The Good: 94.7% from the line. Any time you can get almost 20 attempts is a positive, but especially when you shoot em that well.
The Bad: That start. Yet again, the Pacers dug themselves an early hole, allowing a parade of dunks by one of the Plumlees.
MVP: Victor Oladipo. Nothing insane like we’ve seen so often this year, but 23 points on 15 shots will do that for you.
LVP: Thad Young. Didn’t play a bad game; he did some things that don’t show up in the box score. However, 4 points – 8 rebounds is not a great night from a guy the Pacers are accustomed to getting more out of.
X-Factor: Ball movement. There were multiple possessions where the Pacers had beautiful ball movement, and a few passes that made you just say “WOW” (that Myles Turner skip pass to Bojan Bogdanovic in the corner was one I didn’t know he had in his arsenal).
Next: Victor Oladipo to All Stars or we riot
The Pacers face the Brooklyn Nets next at 7:00 PM on Saturday, 12/23.