Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

[Brad8888]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Tonight is the best example of why they actually play the games.

The NBA - where Hibbert happens!

[AesopRockOn]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Notice that in answering the question about being on this recent tear and having a ton of confidence from different guys, the coach isn't mentioned at all. This would indicate that Roy has pretty much tuned him out. I wonder who else is on that wagon...Dahntay? Earl? AJ? Danny?

[I Love P]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

"He was just on fire tonight. He had an unbelievable game and I’m proud to see him mature into the player he is. I’m very happy for him.” -- Dwight Howard on Hibbert.

[OakMoses]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Quote from the Magic announcers in the 4th quarter: "You get the feeling Dwight could tackle somebody and not get called for a foul." That was said as Dwight was shoving Roy all over the court for most of the 4th quarter. You really can't fault Roy for getting manhandled by Howard, though. There's maybe 5 players in the NBA who can hold their own against Howard if he's getting away with that kind of horseplay.

I got a bit screwed by League Pass just like imawhat. I was lucky enough to find the right channel and start recording about halfway through the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately, I missed Roy's first 16 points and everything good that AJ did. I'd love to here a bit more about any of that.

I was really impressed with Rush tonight. I noticed it in the first game against the Magic and it was confirmed here tonight: Brandon does a fantastic job guarding Vince Carter. He also came up big offensively in some pseudo-clutch situations: the end of the 3rd quarter and middle of the 4th. He pretty much carried us offensively for a few key possessions. He also had a fantastic rebound over Howard in the 4th quarter.

One thought on the Murphy issue: Any 2 man combination of our big guys (Hibbert, Murphy, Solomon, Foster, McRoberts, Hansbrough) can be effective except for Murphy and Hibbert. They are the only two guys that almost always less athletic than their opponent. The defense can hide one unathletic player, but it sucks with them both out there.

Sadly, Troy and Roy are our best two players at their respective positions and complement each other quite well offensively.

[ksuttonjr76]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Sniff...he said that he was going to go into the weight room to get bigger. That warms my heart...sniff. Roy Hibbert is going to be unstoppable once he starts bulking up more.

[Will Galen]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

UB,
It's too late to stop it now anyway. The 5 game win streak has reached mythical levels just because of how badly things have gone since then, and of course your stubborn opposition to join our new religion.

I'm with Buck!

As for the game, the Pacers looked like a different team out there. They were being scrappy just like last years team. I love watching them when they are scrappy!

Still, they are going to be a lottery team this year, but in a couple years they are going to be a contender.

[gummy]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Sniff...he said that he was going to go into the weight room to get bigger. That warms my heart...sniff. Roy Hibbert is going to be unstoppable once he starts bulking up more.

Hmmmm. Maybe another 10 lbs. or so but I don't want him to bulk up too much. Not good for the knees of a guy that size, not to mention it'll slow him down some and probably further decrease his lateral quickness.

Also, totally off-topic but Hibby's official pic looks much better than many other guys: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/roy_hibbert/index.html

[CableKC]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

The problem is Murphy is built like a PF with no PF game. He's soft on defense and his post game is obsolete. I haven't seen Troy post up once all year. He's a one trick pony - 6'11" shooter with diminshed supporting skill.

Danny should be our PF until Hans is ready. Danny is more versatile on offense. It's not like we lose anything on D. We just need to make sure that Rush is in that lineup as he is a long wing who will rebound.

Sorry, I don't think that Granger should always be used as a PF all the time but only in certain situations. I know that it's easy to simply say that we should play Granger at the PF spot and to "Tinsley" Murphy....but we aren't always going to be playing Teams with the type of PFs that Granger can matchup against that Murphy would be better suited to guard. I know it's hard to believe, but I think that Murphy is better suited to guard certain types of Big Men...clearly not all opposing Big Men ( like the athletic ones )...but certain types that are slower but bigger then Granger.

I don't like that Murphy has no Low-Post skills....but that's simply not part of his game and something that we have to live with. Is he the ideal PF to complement Hibbert? Most of the time...no....but I don't think that his lack of Low-Post scoring skills or lack of mobility should disqualify us from using him in the lineup. Foster can't be counted on to consistently score on the offensive end and doesn't have any real low-post skills.....yet we don't disqualify him from the lineup. I know that Foster has a greater impact on the game then Murphy does ( at times ), but I don't always want to go 4 on 5 on the offensive end.

Bear in mind that I'm not saying that Murphy should be playing extensive minutes on the floor as one of the Big Men out there.....but he is still a capable scorer on the Offensive end and possesses skills that our other Big Men ( other then Hibbert and Hansbrough ) simply don't have. How many bunnies that were passed to Solo this game that he missed when he was out there? Would you trust Solo or McRoberts to consistently hit a midrange jumper?

I don't think that he should be solely relied upon to help close out games ( as in pull Hibbert out in favor of Murphy to satisfy JO'Bs need to have a vet close out the game ), but I think that he contributes something different that does warrants playing time on the floor.

I know that it's easy to throw Murphy under the bus to explain why we are doing so bad, but I don't fault him entirely for where we are right now ( yes, I understand that having a less then mobile Big Man that only seems to help on one side of the court doesn't help that much ). The problem is that I think that JO'B isn't properly utilizing his skills to enhance his strengths while minimizing his weakness on the court.

Play him about 24+ mpg solely at the PF spot as the 1st Big Man off the bench while pairing him up with better defensive/athletic Players that are more energetic ( like McRoberts, Solo, Foster or even Hansbrough in the Frontcourt alongside some Backcourt combination of Granger/Inferno/BRush/Watson ) and I think that he'll be able to contribute more consistently and we won't notice his "negatives" as often. His offensive skills will be maximized while his defensive deficiencies will be minimized....it's all a matter of how many minutes he plays ( so that he's not over used so that he's not tired and has no lift in his legs and ( more importantly ) HOW he is used ( as a PF while being paired up with the right combination of defensive minded Players ).

[Trader Joe]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Can we officially put to rest all that "Roy Hibbert is the worst center in the NBA" garbage that was being spewed for a while?

[Trader Joe]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Also, 5 game win streak aside, IMO if you want HIbbert and Rush to be operating at their peak abilities, this is the lineup you MUST use, and I dunno about the Pacers, but if I had two second year guys that had both shown true irreplaceable NBA skills (Rush-defense, Hibby-low post awareness, scoring) I would be doing everything I can to make sure they thrive, and I think for Hibby and Rush that means they both absolutely cannot play with Troy Murphy. Murphy hurts Hibby on D by getting him bad fouls where Roy tries to cover a mistake Murph makes, and I actually think Murph gets in Rush's way offensively by taking up some perimeter space that Rush can use to help setup plays which is what he is best at. Forget for a second whether you like Murphy or not, and just consider the fact that he may not work at all with two of our most talented, young players.

[cdash]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

Can we officially put to rest all that "Roy Hibbert is the worst center in the NBA" garbage that was being spewed for a while?

When was that ever discussed?

[Trader Joe]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

When was that ever discussed?

There have been several people who have said that when Hibbert is starting for us, "He is the worst starting center in the NBA."

[IndyProdigy]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

There have been several people who have said that when Hibbert is starting for us, "He is the worst starting center in the NBA."

i can vouch for this. theres also the others....

"Slowest player ive ever seen"

"will never amount to anything"

"awful pick by bird"

"he cant block shots"

"hes too heavy, he needs to lose weight"

he must read all this criticism. so thank you members of PD for inspiring him.

[IndyProdigy]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

well, i went to the game tonight. i sat in club level, right behind the t.v. cameras and where austin chroshere was sitting. chroshere by the way stood up several times to give our team a standing Ovation.

Some things i noticed...

a lot of ppl in the lower level, which made me want to go down there lol, but it was good for all those fans to get the exposure of such a huge win for us. this could be the confidence boost we needed right before granger comes back.

the very first time i noticed aj price. he had some good plays, he had some bad. played aggressive and passive. but overall he made some really crisp passes and showed good vision and seems to have a really good 'feel' for the game. it just comes very natural to him. even when he makes a mistake, he knows how to put it behind him and get better.

the magic were frustrated by every single pacer player. i thought when JOB got a technical foul when it was 2 - 2, i was gonna flip my lid. and was going to be the beginning of an awful game for us and i was gonna want to leave soon. but i was wrong. jj redick and luther head had a little rivalry going, dahntay and vince carter were jawing and giving eachother some extra shoulder, elbow, hip, what have you. dwight was EXTREMELY frustrated with hibbert. and hibbert didnt back down ONE BIT. and I LOVED IT. he really showed the determination and effort i like to see. and by golly he earned it tonight. dunleavy's box score looked 'ok' but that was extremely decieving. his shot was off he threw it away many times. most of his rebounds were uncontested. and tonight was the first time i noticed just how good brandon rush's defense is. he is built to defend. he shut carter down, big time. and im starting to just accept that and take the occasional offensive explosion that he is capable of every once in a while.

the game made me so happy tonight because it shows me what we can be capable of especially when hans and granger get back. and we get rid of ford, foster, and murph for picks/other players.

[Bball]

Re: Postgame: Pacers beat the Magic

I thought O'Brien's early technical was justified and timed beautifully... and helped set the stage for what followed...