Grades: Pacers can’t get it done, get mauled by Grizzlies
By Tony East
The Indiana Pacers started the journey without Victor Oladipo off with a loss in Memphis.
Chris Denari said with about 20 seconds left in the game “Frustrating night here in Memphis” and he couldn’t have been more right. The score margin was close, but this was a frustrating loss for the Indiana Pacers:
100. 106. 211. Final. 103
The Pacers kept cutting the lead down to 5 or less only to watch the Grizzlies make a run and extend that lead. It felt like no matter what the Pacers did, they could never get the lead.
Indiana had a case of turnover-itis. They had 17 of them, the ball just wouldn’t stay in their hands enough. Some of that is due to an altered rotation. With Victor Oladipo out, Tyreke Evans started and Aaron Holiday played off the bench. The personnel changes throw off the timing of everything ever so slightly. But holistically, a lot of the turnovers were just from sloppy basketball.
The game wasn’t devoid of bright spots. Myles Turner had a nasty dunk to tie the game in the third quarter, Thad Young had a sweet tip dunk to cut the lead to 3 in the 4th quarter, and we saw the Holiday brothers going at each other for a stretch of time:
It's Holiday versus Holiday: pic.twitter.com/Q3WFnRHeuH
— Tony East (@TonyREast) January 27, 2019
Moving on
The first Victor Oladipo-less game presented an opportunity for Tyreke Evans and Aaron Holiday to get a chance. Tyreke Evans shot the ball decently and showed some flashes on D, while Holiday played great D and showed some flashes on O. Give them both more time to mesh with their collective units, and we could see something good.
Frustrating moments
Just when it seemed like the Pacers would get something going, the Grizzlies would assert their will. When the Pacers got the lead down to 4 after a run with about 3:30 to go in the fourth, Mike Conley hit a step-back fadeaway three after a scramble for the ball on the floor. It just felt over after that went in. And that kind of thing happened all night long. The Grizz had quite a few timely success in this one.
More CoJo, Yo
Cory Joseph is the first guard off the bench already. But he played more minutes than Tyreke in this one. That should continue, and Joseph should get more than 24 minutes each night.
He’s versatile, he fits with just about any combination of players the Pacers have, he always supplies energy, and he’s a strong defender. Without Oladipo, the Pacers need that guy out there more.
Player grades:
DARREN COLLISON. A. DC was the brightest spot for the Pacers tonight. You could just feel him all over the floor. He had 18 points on just 5 shots attempts, hitting all 10 of this free throws. He added 9 assists as well. He was great.. PG. Indiana Pacers
Bojan had 21 points on 14 shots, so he still played fine. But 1/6 from deep was unsettling. He was efficient, but one more 3 could have been the difference.. SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. B
B -. Thad’s tip dunk was probably the highlight of the game, but foul trouble limited him to under 23 minutes of playing time. If he plays his usual 32, this game probably ends up differently. He was just okay in his playing time.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
B -. Myles was just okay in this one. He had 14 on 10 shots. Had his 3 ball been falling before the 4th quarter this game might have looked different. The perennially crafty Marc Gasol got him a few times too.. C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. B -. Similar to Myles – Domas was just okay. He was held under 50 percent shooting for the 9th time this season and coughed up a team-high 3 turnovers. He made some fine ball-movement plays like he usually does, but he was just decent overall.
SG. Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS. C +. Meh. 9 points on 7 shots. More assists than turnovers. He’s had many worse games, but he didn’t do anything that wowed me tonight.
B +. 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds for my favorite ball of energy. He was a team-high +3.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH
Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT. C -. His shots have to start falling eventually, I guess. 2 turnovers from McDermott is shocking considering how few touches he gets.. SF
A. Kyle O’Quinn played the final 27 seconds of the second quarter. That’s it. The Pacers forced a shot clock violation. Then Tyreke got a layup blocked. O’Quinn did his job. That’s what an A is right?. C. Indiana Pacers. KYLE O'QUINN
B. A coast to coast layup, a block on Joakim Noah, and 4 rebounds were the high points of Leaf’s night. They were also his whole night. He was fine.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF
PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. B. Holiday shot well early on, and then he started forcing up a bunch of jumpers he had no business taking later on in the game. His defense was fantastic though. A good return to the rotation from him overall.
dark. Next. Tough times don’t last, tough people do
The Pacers next game is at home versus the Golden State Warriors on Monday. I’m not sure if they are any good or entertaining. Hopefully, it is a fun game.