Pacers no match in battle with the Warriors
By William Furr
The Indiana Pacers came out reasonably strong against the Warriors, pushing up to a 16-16 tie before getting absolutely steamrolled for the next 10 minutes.
The Indiana Pacers faced a tall task in just their second game since Victor Oladipo’s season-ending knee injury. Then, Tyreke Evans wrecked his car and missed the game due to back soreness. That combination led to the Pacers starting Edmond Sumner on Klay Thompson, and the game went about as well as expected.
Sumner actually did reasonably well on defense, but the Pacers looked undermanned against the 5 All-Star starting lineup of the reigning champs.
41. 100. 100. Final. 132
Myles Turner is getting a longer leash
Nate might finally give Myles Turner a little more of the reigns. Turner scored 16 in just 26 minutes, and there’s certainly room for more. Watching Turner shoo away the Pacers guards in order to hold for the final shot was awesome; the fact that he took Kevon Looney off the dribble for a dunk made it that much sweet. Myles Turner has a real chance to grow during Oladipo’s absence.
The Warriors are insanely good
The Warriors are good. Really, really good. Klay Thompson didn’t do much of anything against Edmond Sumner. It didn’t matter in the least. Steph Curry went on an 8-0 run himself after the Pacers tied the game at 16, and it was never close again. The amount of talent on the Warriors is unreal.
Aaron Holiday is making the most of his playing time
Aaron Holiday is going to make the most of his minutes. Holiday came out firing and finished 4-5 from deep, along with pesky defense. Holiday is going to be overmatched on a lot of nights, especially on a roster that might necessitate him to play shooting guard far too much, but he’s a competitor and he belongs. The Pacers found a winner in snatching Holiday late in the draft.
Player grades:
PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON. B-. DC had a fine enough statistical night, going for 13 points and 8 assists. His off the dribble 3 to tie the game at 16 proved to be the last time the Pacers were close. Collison was okay on defense, but he can’t guard Steph Curry.
C. Sumner tied for the team’s lead in minutes with 28. Finished 1-10 from the field with 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Going from G-League All-Star to starting shooting guard matching up with Klay Thompson is a rough transition. Sumner has some real NBA skills, and he’ll have better games than tonight. In the meantime, congrats to Edmond Sumner for his first NBA start!. SG. Indiana Pacers. EDMOND SUMNER
C. Scored 15 on a meh 5-13 shooting night. Had a few chances early that just didn’t fall that could’ve helped stem the tide.. SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC
B. Finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. A typical Thad Young game, but he just got about 5-10 fewer minutes than normal. Thad was the catalyst for the last time the Pacers pushed to get within 17.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
A. 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Turner quietly had a really good game. Watching him shoo DC and CoJo away at the end of the 2nd so he could take Kevon Looney off the dribble and dunk on him was pure joy. I’m all in for giving Myles every single opportunity possible to stretch himself in Vic’s absence.. C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. D. 6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 fouls. It’s pretty rare that Domas has a true stinker, but he couldn’t do anything tonight. Got bullied, picked up dumb fouls, missed bunnies. Rough night for a lot of Pacers tonight.
-. DNP – Learning to drive on ice. (Seriously, very glad Tyreke is okay. Get well soon!!). SG. Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS
PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. C+. 6 points and 5 assists. Continued his maddening trend of taking terrible mid-range shots. At one point, CoJo had the ball with both Pacers bigs having mismatches in the paint. CoJo instead charged head down at Kevon Looney and pulled up from 20 feet with both of Looney’s hands in his face. His defense is awesome, but his decision making is downright offensive sometimes.
DOUG MCDERMOTT. C. 6 points and 6 rebounds. Didn’t even notice that he played at any point when the game was close.. SF. Indiana Pacers
KYLE O'QUINN. G. 2 points, 3 rebounds, and a block in garbage time.. C. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF. A-. 8 points and 2 rebounds in 15 sneaky good minutes. Leaf actually looked pretty good out there. He stonewalled Kevin Durant twice in a 3-minute span. That 3 needs to start falling yesterday though.. PF
12 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds in 22 minutes. Holiday went 4-5 from deep and looked great shooting the ball. Did get cooked by Chef Curry once or twice, but who doesn’t? Loved the energy in hassling Curry all over the place. Aaron Holiday is a player.. PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. A-
G. 3 minutes, 1 horribly missed 3, no counting stats. Maybe one day Alize will get a shot before garbage time.. PF. Indiana Pacers. ALIZE JOHNSON
DAVON REED. G. Played 3 minutes in garbage time, but scored his first bucket as a Pacer!. SG. Indiana Pacers
Next. 3 keys to unlock the Pacers offense. dark
The Pacers play next on Wednesday, 1/30 at the Washington Wizards.