Pacers game report
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 8:44 am
It was a good night to check out the new team. Nobody was there, so I bought a $10 ticket on the street and sat center court 10 rows up. It was like a tomb in there, but the Wolves provided the energy. It's actually kind of fun to watch a game where you can here all the chatter on the court (earmuffs, children ;) ) and from the coaches.
Everyone played except Wiggins Turiaf and Barea. Flip says Wiggins has a sore butt from his fall Monday, and although he was dressed, he was too sore to even shoot pre-game and at halftime. The JJ slight seemed pointed. He was gregarious with his teammates until the moment Flip put Heslip in, and from that point on he was pouting at the end of the bench...he can see the handwriting on the wall. Speaking of Heslip, it was fun to see the team rally around him every time he touched the ball. AB, Thad, Ronny and Pek led the cheers, and the team gave Brady a standing ovation when he scored, stole the ball, and grabbed an offensive rebound!
Since losing Love was the biggest off-season change, I really focused on Young and Bennett tonight, and I liked what I saw. They are different types of players, but both should contribute this year. While they will not be able to replace Love's production, they are clearly an upgrade on defense...both looked really good defensively. Active feet and hands, and effective in help defense too. AB's arms are freakishly long, and he uses them well defensively. And Thad must have known I was there and had been challenging his rebounding, because he rebounded well last night :thumb: .
Our PG's are very different players also, but we are going to join the Mo experience much more than the frustration of the JJ experience. Like JJ, Mo looks for his shot first, but unlike JJ, he doesn't force his shot. Every shot he takes is a "good" shot, and of course, he is a very adept shooter. He's not as careful with the ball as Ricky though. Both PG's really push the action, which I like, but Ricky has an uncanny ability to NOT turn the ball over, even when he looks out of control. While Ricky didn't pass well last night, he repeatedly split defenders and drew fouls while driving to the basket...7 for 8 on free throws last night, and only 1 turnover. Mo on the other hand turned the ball over 6 times (the rest of the team only had 7)...he needs to tighten it up. Defensively, both were superb. I didn't know Mo's defensive reputation, but I was pleasantly surprised. He is smart and active, and keeps the pressure on his man. And Ricky was his usual disruptive self. The thing I liked best about Ricky last night, though, was his effort to fight through screens. I haven't seen him do this regularly before (maybe Sid Lowe is helping him here?), and it's really going to help our defense.
Finally, Ricky shot well last night. He didn't get a chance to finish at the rim, because he was fouled on almost every drive before getting there, but it was really encouraging to see him make three mid-range jumpers (with more arc than we are used to seeing), and 1 for two on his 3-point set shots. It's just one night, but I liked what I saw. The Birthday Boy was clearly focusing on scoring the basketball more, and he did it effectively.
Bud looks nothing like the ineffective Bud of last year, on both sides of the ball. Nobody moves without the ball better than he does (except for K-Mart when he really wants to), and his teammates found him often. He blew 2 shots at the rim, or he would have had 16 points in 21 minutes. He looked smooth with his quick release on his threes, and made both of them. He still has a tendency to reach too much on defense, and that has resulted in a propensity to foul this pre-season, but his defense was acceptable. He looks great this pre-season, and I hope he gets regular minutes at the 2 backing up Martin.
Our centers were mixed in their performance. Tim called me out in another thread for pushing for a Pek trade to give Gorgui more minutes, and based on last night, I'm guilty as charged. Gorgui looked awkward and ineffective on offense, settling for low percentage fadeaway jumpers. And Pek continued his early season habit of missing layups. On the positive side, both rebounded well against a taller Hibbert, and passed better than we are used to...a couple assists for both. Pek's give and go pass to AB for an easy dunk was fun to watch.
Speaking of AB, it's great to see the UNLV version showing up in all three games rather than the pathetic Cavs version...he was our best player last night, despite being bothered by a sore knee (I kind of hope he doesn't play tonight)...gotta love 17 points in 17 minutes on 7 for 9 shooting (even if his first jumper was banked in, and clearly not intentionally :) ). He has the ability to score in so many ways...mid-range jumpers. using his long arms on the offensive glass, posting up, and breaking to the basket. I hope he can keep it up.
On the negative side, Shabazz and LaVine don't look like they will get regular minutes this year absent injuries...both look really ineffective on offense. Flip grimaced as Shabazz tried to go 1 on 4 on a fast break (not sure why they didn't give him a turnover), and Shabazz just doesn't provide any offensive flow...he never makes a pass that facilitates a basket. I'm losing patience with him. And Zach looks like the guy I watched at UCLA last year...not at all ready for the NBA. That's okay, because this team has plenty of depth, and Flip and staff can bring this interesting prospect along slowly. On the positive side, both Shabazz and Zach worked hard and were effective on defense.
I really like this coaching staff, even if they are height-challenged (except for Mitchell). Sam and Sid are active on the bench with the big men and PG's, respectively, and Flip worked the sidelines like it was a playoff game. This club is still getting used to Flip's systems, but I'm confident we will continue to see improvement offensively and defensively.
Just one game, and a preseason one at that, against a woeful Pacers team. But we beat them like we should have, saw rotations that are close to what we expect to see next week, and worked hard. I like our top 10 a lot, and Shabazz, Zach, Ronny, Robbie and GR3 will be fine if needed. This will be a fun club to watch this year.
Everyone played except Wiggins Turiaf and Barea. Flip says Wiggins has a sore butt from his fall Monday, and although he was dressed, he was too sore to even shoot pre-game and at halftime. The JJ slight seemed pointed. He was gregarious with his teammates until the moment Flip put Heslip in, and from that point on he was pouting at the end of the bench...he can see the handwriting on the wall. Speaking of Heslip, it was fun to see the team rally around him every time he touched the ball. AB, Thad, Ronny and Pek led the cheers, and the team gave Brady a standing ovation when he scored, stole the ball, and grabbed an offensive rebound!
Since losing Love was the biggest off-season change, I really focused on Young and Bennett tonight, and I liked what I saw. They are different types of players, but both should contribute this year. While they will not be able to replace Love's production, they are clearly an upgrade on defense...both looked really good defensively. Active feet and hands, and effective in help defense too. AB's arms are freakishly long, and he uses them well defensively. And Thad must have known I was there and had been challenging his rebounding, because he rebounded well last night :thumb: .
Our PG's are very different players also, but we are going to join the Mo experience much more than the frustration of the JJ experience. Like JJ, Mo looks for his shot first, but unlike JJ, he doesn't force his shot. Every shot he takes is a "good" shot, and of course, he is a very adept shooter. He's not as careful with the ball as Ricky though. Both PG's really push the action, which I like, but Ricky has an uncanny ability to NOT turn the ball over, even when he looks out of control. While Ricky didn't pass well last night, he repeatedly split defenders and drew fouls while driving to the basket...7 for 8 on free throws last night, and only 1 turnover. Mo on the other hand turned the ball over 6 times (the rest of the team only had 7)...he needs to tighten it up. Defensively, both were superb. I didn't know Mo's defensive reputation, but I was pleasantly surprised. He is smart and active, and keeps the pressure on his man. And Ricky was his usual disruptive self. The thing I liked best about Ricky last night, though, was his effort to fight through screens. I haven't seen him do this regularly before (maybe Sid Lowe is helping him here?), and it's really going to help our defense.
Finally, Ricky shot well last night. He didn't get a chance to finish at the rim, because he was fouled on almost every drive before getting there, but it was really encouraging to see him make three mid-range jumpers (with more arc than we are used to seeing), and 1 for two on his 3-point set shots. It's just one night, but I liked what I saw. The Birthday Boy was clearly focusing on scoring the basketball more, and he did it effectively.
Bud looks nothing like the ineffective Bud of last year, on both sides of the ball. Nobody moves without the ball better than he does (except for K-Mart when he really wants to), and his teammates found him often. He blew 2 shots at the rim, or he would have had 16 points in 21 minutes. He looked smooth with his quick release on his threes, and made both of them. He still has a tendency to reach too much on defense, and that has resulted in a propensity to foul this pre-season, but his defense was acceptable. He looks great this pre-season, and I hope he gets regular minutes at the 2 backing up Martin.
Our centers were mixed in their performance. Tim called me out in another thread for pushing for a Pek trade to give Gorgui more minutes, and based on last night, I'm guilty as charged. Gorgui looked awkward and ineffective on offense, settling for low percentage fadeaway jumpers. And Pek continued his early season habit of missing layups. On the positive side, both rebounded well against a taller Hibbert, and passed better than we are used to...a couple assists for both. Pek's give and go pass to AB for an easy dunk was fun to watch.
Speaking of AB, it's great to see the UNLV version showing up in all three games rather than the pathetic Cavs version...he was our best player last night, despite being bothered by a sore knee (I kind of hope he doesn't play tonight)...gotta love 17 points in 17 minutes on 7 for 9 shooting (even if his first jumper was banked in, and clearly not intentionally :) ). He has the ability to score in so many ways...mid-range jumpers. using his long arms on the offensive glass, posting up, and breaking to the basket. I hope he can keep it up.
On the negative side, Shabazz and LaVine don't look like they will get regular minutes this year absent injuries...both look really ineffective on offense. Flip grimaced as Shabazz tried to go 1 on 4 on a fast break (not sure why they didn't give him a turnover), and Shabazz just doesn't provide any offensive flow...he never makes a pass that facilitates a basket. I'm losing patience with him. And Zach looks like the guy I watched at UCLA last year...not at all ready for the NBA. That's okay, because this team has plenty of depth, and Flip and staff can bring this interesting prospect along slowly. On the positive side, both Shabazz and Zach worked hard and were effective on defense.
I really like this coaching staff, even if they are height-challenged (except for Mitchell). Sam and Sid are active on the bench with the big men and PG's, respectively, and Flip worked the sidelines like it was a playoff game. This club is still getting used to Flip's systems, but I'm confident we will continue to see improvement offensively and defensively.
Just one game, and a preseason one at that, against a woeful Pacers team. But we beat them like we should have, saw rotations that are close to what we expect to see next week, and worked hard. I like our top 10 a lot, and Shabazz, Zach, Ronny, Robbie and GR3 will be fine if needed. This will be a fun club to watch this year.