Pacers play horribly, get thumped by Celtics
By Tony East
The Indiana Pacers played one of their worst games of the season and got crushed by the Celtics.
The game was a back-to-back. Myles Turner wasn’t playing. There are reasons to think this was an anomaly, but the Indiana Pacers looked horrible from start to finish in a demoralizing loss in Boston.
18. 108. 100. Final. 135
The Pacers looked lethargic for essentially the entire game. They didn’t close out well on shooters (the Celtics hit 14/32 threes) they didn’t box out (Boston won the rebounding battle 48-39) and they went through the motions on D frequently (they gave up 135). It was ugly.
The Pacers didn’t do themselves any favors. They shot 42.9 percent from the field and missed 12 free throws. They couldn’t get anything going, and the lack of effort really piled on to the missed shots. The Pacers looked noticeably frustrated multiple times throughout the game.
There were some silver linings. We got to see Alize Johnson, Edmond Sumner, and Aaron Holiday play. TJ Leaf actually looked pretty good:
On the bright side - TEEEEEJ: pic.twitter.com/D8UfSxjHG0
— Tony East (@TonyREast) January 10, 2019
Sabonis had 20 and 7. He did some good stuff on offense. But overall, mostly everything was bad.
The Pacers really miss Myles Turner
That’s 482 points allowed in 4 games without Turner, over 120 per game. That’s… really awful.
The Pacers needed him tonight. They needed someone to cut off drives and play solid drop coverage and call out everything. Without that player, everything is just a little worse. Tonight that problem was on full display.
The Pacers did not have a block
This is related to the first point, but the Pacers did not have a block in this game. They also did not have one against the Cavs last night. This has only happened 8 times since 2010 for Indiana, so two games in a row are really telling. They have struggled to protect the rim.
TJ Leaf has played well two games in a row.
After having 9 points on 4/5 shooting last night, Leaf had 8 points on 3/4 shooting and 2 rebounds tonight. He has looked useful and has surpassed my expectations for him. Hopefully, he can keep this up.
Player grades:
PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON. D +. 7 points on 7 shots, 2 assists, -17. Not what you want from your veteran point guard.
B -. 17 points for Vic, who was the only guy who looked like he gave a damn at times. But he forced it too much in this one.. SG. Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO
BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. D +. Bojan was held under 10 points for the first time in ages, and Jayson Tatum cooked him quite a few times. Bogey will bounce back, but this was one of his worst overall games of the year.. SF. Indiana Pacers
C +. 4/10 shooting. Thad’s 8 rebounds were nice but the ball wasn’t going in for him and he coughed it up twice.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
B -. 5 turnovers and bad defense really hurt Sabonis’ grade here, but he was one of the more effective offensive players with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.. B. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS
At a glance, 15 points are nice. But it took him 16 shots to do it. Tyreke actually had some good defensive possessions in this game, and his 5 assists were useful, but his inefficient scoring night hurt him a lot.. SG. Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS. C -
PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. C. When Cory Joseph isn’t flying around the court at one million miles per hour the whole game, you know the team is tired and not giving it their all. That was the case tonight. 4/4/3 for CoJo.
D. 4 inefficient points for McDermott (on 5 shot attempts), who basically supplied nothing else tonight.. SF. Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT
Indiana Pacers. KYLE O'QUINN. C. 11 points on 5/7 shooting were good. He rebounded and passed okay. But his defense was really bad.. C
B +. He would have gotten an A if he played better defense, but Leaf did everything asked of him and looked effective. We need to celebrate his good moments, his development is very important.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF
4 points for Holiday, all free throws. 2 assists, too. Not enough playing time to give him a grade.. PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. -
Like Holiday, he didn’t get enough burn to get a grade. His only counting stat was a turnover.. SG. Indiana Pacers. EDMOND SUMNER. -
Indiana Pacers. ALIZE JOHNSON. :). Didn’t play enough for a serious grade, but he gets a smiley face for actually getting some playing time. He’s earned it for the way he has played in Fort Wayne.. PF
Next. The Indiana Pacers need more than breaking even from Tyreke Evans. dark
The Pacers play the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Friday. Hopefully, they can make up for this abysmal performance.