It seems like every loss is the same this season. Play well for 45 minutes or more and then lose it right in the end. It is very frustrating to watch game after game. I can't imagine the players and coaches enjoy it either, but they are at least getting paid to participate.
The game last night was no different, except for the opponent. This time it was the Atlanta Hawks. They really are a much improved team from the past few years, even last season. I think the addition of Mike Bibby last season might have thrown them off a little, but now everyone looks in sync and they could be a tough team come playoff time. Mike Woodson is no slouch as a coach either. He gets the max effort from his players on a nightly basis.
Speaking of max efforts, Indiana is getting a lot out of their players, but they need the best from EVERYONE on a nightly basis. Roy Hibbert got his sixth straight start, but only played 13 minutes and didn't do much at all. Brandon Rush played 20+ minutes again and came up shooting 1-of-9 on the night.
Jarrett Jack isn't playing terrible, but his turnovers are killing me. I was taught not to leave my feet to make a pass when I first started playing basketball, yet JJ seems that it is OK to do at the NBA level. Also, where in the point guard handbook did I miss the part about dribbling into the middle of the lane and stopping and throwing the ball away. Every single time I see him do it I feel my blood pressure rise.
I keep telling myself that with all of this "close game experience" that the wins will start coming. I hope for hypertension's sake that they do!
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The Pacers should have a couple more wins than they do, but overall they shouldn't be .500 or anything. 14-19 seems about right. If this trend continues it would be murderous to watch I am sure. I think things will fall into place though... they normally do.
The team only runs about 8 deep though IMO and that is including Deiner who isn't part of the rotation. Once you replace Rush and the horrible Stephen Graham with Dunleavy though, I can see a team that wins more than it loses. I doubt they can get to .500 this year though.