Indiana Pacers say no to John Wall and shutdown Washington Wizards
By Ben Gibson
A well-rested Indiana Pacers squad had little trouble shutting down the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
The Washington Wizards wanted the Indiana Pacers to go ahead with John Wall, but Myles Turner had no problem taking responsibility for the shutdown on Sunday.
Turner set a career-high in rebounds with 17 while still finding time to score 18 points. But more important than those stats is the fact we’re over a month into what we believe is a new and improved Myles
Since Victor Oladipo‘s injury (and now in his return), Turner is averaging close to a double-double with 14.3 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. He is still blocking shots at a stupidly high rate of 3.2 per a game. All of this while Indiana’s defense remains one of, if not the best in the NBA.
105. 100. Final. 89. 142
Just over a month ago we were asking if there truly was a problem with Turner. If the potential he showed earlier in his career was fool’s gold. The defense was there, but the lack of offense and his inability to consistently grab rebounds were holes in his resume.
But on Sunday and for the past month now, that’s not been a question at all.
Domantas Sabonis remains a double-double machine
It only took 25 minutes for Domantas Sabonis to score 15 points and grab 10 rebounds on Sunday. As good as he was getting double-doubles, the stats only showed 15 for him last season. However, he tied that mark with his most recent one. This kid is amazing, and still very much a kid at 22 years old.
Bojan Bogdanovic continues as a primary scorer for the Indiana Pacers
14 points aren’t overly impressive, but the Pacers leaned on him early for their first 8 points of the game. They looked to Bojan for buckets and he got them. He probably could have scored more but the game’s even-handed offensive approach meant they didn’t need him to keep getting buckets.
However, it is good to know the Pacers can rely on him.
The Pacers had 7 players score double-digits
Despite the early nod to Bogdanovic, Indiana spread the scoring load around on the night. In the end, seven players — Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Aaron Holiday, Victor Oladipo, Sabonis, Turner, and Thaddeus Young — put up 10 points or more. If Cory Joseph scored two more points, they could have had eight.
B. 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds for Darren Collison. After some of his early-season struggles with accuracy, a 5 of 11 night from the floor and 2 of 5 from deep is a nice reminder of how few shots Collison needs on a given night to leave his mark.. PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON
B-. It wasn’t his best shooting night — 4 of 13 and 2 of 7 from beyond the arc — but Victor Oladipo nearly had a double-double of his own with 12 points and 9 assists. He also had 6 rebounds.. SG. Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO
BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. B. <a href=. SF. Indiana Pacers
B. The Wizards opened the door for several dunks by Thaddeus Young as he too narrowly missed out on a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. A. Sunday’s double-double puts his season total at 9. Last season he had 11 and his sophomore season he totaled 15 of them. If his current trend of rebounding continues, he’ll surpass those marks early next year.. C
A. It’s easy to score 15 points when you shoot 6 of 7 (85.7 percent from the floor) and go 3 of 4 from the free throw line.. C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS
B. 8 points and 6 rebounds while totaling 6 rebounds and 4 assists.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH
Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT. C+. Only 2 points on 1 of 4 shooting, but that back cut reminds up why opponents can’t just guard him on the arc and call it a day.. SF
B. <a href=. PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY
Next. Should Tyreke Evans be losing minutes?. dark
The Pacers head south to face the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.