I was looking for a photo to display for the loss last night, but then I remembered that I had an obligation to put this one up instead! I wanted to put up one for each free throw missed, but decided that it would be just too much. C'mon, look at that mug!
Well, last night, the world was exposed to what I have been watching for most of the season. Ugly basketball! Normally the Pacers at least put up 100 points before losing late in the game. However, last night was not normal. They were falling down, traveling, standing around, it was truly a poor sight to see. I think the point in the game where Mike Dunleavy fell down while dribbling behind his back was about as low as you can get for a fan watching a game.
With all the poor play, the Celtics had Indiana down by 26 early in the second half. It was rough to watch. Indiana couldn't hit a thing. They couldn't hit layups, they couldn't hit threes, and like I said earlier, they couldn't hit their free throws. I'm glad this was the game that ESPN decided to put on TV!
One good thing about the game though. I was able to listen to Hubie Brown. For some reason, I just like listening to him break a game down. I think he pretty much summed up the Pacers roster this season on defense. It went something like this (not verbatim):
Jermaine O'Neal is the charge guy. In that, I mean he leads the league in charges taken. He also is one of the best shot blockers in the league. The rest of the Pacer players aren't as good on defense. That is either because they are slow in realizing the situation, slow of foot, or are just not very athletic.
Thank you for that Hubie! Another thing I thought was interesting was when he was talking about Jeff Foster and how when he was coaching, he tried to trade for him every summer. Then Hubie dropped another pearl of wisdom on me. Jeff Foster is the number 6 leading offensive rebounder in the league. How many other guys can say that? Huh, Huh? Later in the game he gave me this one:
Jeff Foster has seven offensive rebounds right now. He averages two. And has seven now. And he averages two. So that means that he is working harder than normal.
Anyway, for the game Indiana actually didn't play that bad. It may not seem like it when just looking at the 92-77 score final, but let's check the Hustle Board:
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Points in the Paint: Boston 32 - Indiana 28
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Fastbreak Points: Indiana 15 - Boston 9
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Second Chance Points: Boston 20 - Indiana 14
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Points off Turnovers: Boston 27 - Indiana 15
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Bench Scoring: Boston 31 - Indiana 28
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Total Turnovers: Boston 18 - Indiana 20
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Fouls: Indiana 20 - Boston 24
When you are shooting 35% for a game, you have to win all of these categories. Indiana didn't, but they kept fighting. However, in the NBA you don't get points for moral victories!
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Comments
Yes, last night was probably the worst game I have seen them play in recent memory. Granger finished with 14 points, which actually led the team in scoring.
I get tired of watching Troy Murphy chuck up threes.
I don't blame you for watching the Hawks/Raps game. ESPN clicked over and showed the last couple seconds, so I got to see Bibby drill that three at the end.
Thanks to Brian for widening the comments box! He stays on top of things!
I feel bad to say that I started to watch them and was pretty much disgusted. I switched over to the Hawks Raps game and never looked back. What a finish out there...
I see you widened the comment box. Nice...
Well I was unimpressed with Granger, sorry. This is probably my 3rd time watching him from his rookie year and every time I leave with the same feeling and it is something like... did he play in that game?
I watched for 8 minutes of playing time and he made one shot. I think he attempted 3, which is 3 more than I normally see when I watch. I left thinking he looked slow laterally and too thin to be a power forward.
Troy Murphy's 3 is ugly. Just wanted to add that.
During the time I watched, about 1/3 of the Pacers possessions they got wide open shots and some were not even close. Some possessions they barely got a shot up.