Indiana Pacers lose to Orlando Magic, but looked like an actual NBA team
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers stabilized themselves for the first time since losing Victor Oladipo, but the Orlando Magic still came out with the win.
The Indiana Pacers lost the Orlando Magic. There isn’t a way to make that sound better than it is, but it is worth noting the Pacers looked like a normal basketball team for the first time since Victor Oladipo’s injury. It was their fourth loss in a row, but it felt a little different.
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It helped the Indiana Pacers turned to a veteran — Cory Joseph — to star over Aaron Holiday or Edmond Sumner, but putting the ball in Myles Turner’s hands more often helped as well.
The Pacers remain in a tough spot with the trade deadline fastly approaching. If the team is so bad it can’t win more than a handful of games the rest of the season, then Kevin Pritchard need to move some of the team’s expiring contracts.
But this team went 7-4 without Victor Oladipo earlier this season. They aren’t this bad, are they? That Oladipo-less record is now a losing one at 7-8, for those keeping track.
Thaddeus Young, the Indiana Pacers’ stabilizer
Thaddeus Young calmed things down with 8 points after the Magic started off the game on an 11-0 run. Ever since Oladipo went down, it is clear Young took over as the team’s leader. His veteran status mixed with the ability to put down a double-double at any given time is a big part of that.
Young needs Myles Turner to continue to get more aggressive offensively, but as always, Young remains the glue holding things together.
Youth in moderation
Everyone wants Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner to succeed, but recent games showed us they aren’t quite ready for prime time. The duo combined for four points and 5 rebounds in limited minutes on Thursday.
It’s no need to panic, it’s simply part of the learning curve.
I’m not overly worried about either of them just yet, Holiday in particular, but it serves as a reminder that the two are early on in their development.
PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON. B. Darren Collison had a bounce-back performance after an ugly Wednesday night and laid down a double-double. His 10 assists and 16 points one of his worse performance’s of the season and will hopefully carry over into Indiana’s next game.
Bojan can score, but he didn’t look great trying to create for others. His shooting is taking a knock in the process as his 21 points came on 8 of 18 shooting, or 44.4 percent. Not terrible, not at all, but he can’t be himself when asked to play like someone else.. SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. C+
THADDEUS YOUNG. B. Thaddeus Young can only do so much to bail out the Pacers, but 16 points and 10 rebounds is a good start.. PF. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. A++. I was told <a href=. C
Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. C-. Domantas Sabonis is slumping. He looks worn down during his 1 of 9 shooting performance that only bore the fruit of 4 points. He also only grabbed 4 rebounds, more proof the man is tired.. C
Indiana Pacers. EDMOND SUMNER. C+. 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assist isn’t too bad for Edmond Sumner. He is still very much figuring out his role in the NBA, but unfortunately, he was of little help to a struggling Indiana bench.. SG
C. Cory Joseph looked fine with the starters (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), but without his defense, the bench looked rough.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH
DOUG MCDERMOTT. C-. 2 of 5 shooting was only good enough for 5 points.. SF. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF. C-. After a solid performance the night before, T.J. Leaf didn’t see the floor much on Thursday as he tallied 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He still looks like he might be worth keeping around another year, but still feels very replaceable, unfortunately.. PF
Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. D-. 0 fo 4 for 0 points.. PG
Next. Myles Turner calls for an isolation play. dark
The Pacers head down to Miami for a Saturday matchup with the Heat. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.