At some point in time we are going to have to determine, in all honesty, how good are we? Was this a case of a declining Boston Celtic team just being too old and out of shape to play on the back end of a back to back game? Or was this a dominate team on the rise just taking care of business no matter who the opponent was? Or was it maybe both?
Boston had everything to play for here. They had revenge on their minds, they are on a losing streak that they would want to come to an end and at the end of the day they are playing for pride if nothing else.
None of that mattered. The Indiana Pacers imposed their will on this game and no matter what Boston tried at the end of the day there was just nothing they could do, this was pretty much over by the half and was definitely put to bed in the 3rd.
At some point in time we are going to have to stop doubting, stop questioning and start believing. I’m not sure we are there yet, but certainly we are getting very very close.
There are things to probably complain about, or to say needs improvement if you will. But in all honesty that would be knit picking at this point in time.
One of the things that kind of struck me tonight was that early in the season the majority of our offense seemed to be being generated in the front court between West, Hansbrough & Hibbert. Lately however you see the offense coming from Hill, Collison, George & Granger. What I take away from that is that we have several offensive weapons to choose from and that we can go either way.
When you have an overall system that works like that I think it’s safe to say that you need to look at the Coach and his staff. I want to point out one small thing that happened tonight by Vogel. It wasn’t a big deal but to me it just went to show that Vogel saw the potential for a problem, adjusted his lineup and insured that the outcome was what he wanted. In the first half George Hill picked up two quick fouls so he had to go with Lance. Instead of having poor Lance attempt to run through a million screens and picks chasing Ray Allen all over the place Frank brought Paul back in before it was his normal time. This worked perfectly as Ray did nothing and Lance did not get into any kind of foul trouble and Paul basically ran Ray into the ground with his athleticism. Just basic stuff of making adjustments and understanding player’s strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s do tonight’s version of Odd Thoughts with the good the bad and the ugly.
The Good:
Danny Granger, after last night’s debacle he came out tonight hit some tough shots, played stellar defense and just never quit attacking. I think he and Paul George must have spent the summer working on odd falling twisting flip scoop shots because each of them have one or two a game and they both hit one apiece tonight. Danny was only credited with 3 steals but he was far more involved in knocking the ball free from the Celtics than that. Still shot more three’s than I would prefer but overall I think he was a great player out there.
Paul George, for all of the games where he seems to just kind of be satisfied floating around and not being aggressive he made up for it tonight. He constantly attacked Ray Allen and pretty much just ran him out of the game. He’s to long, to athletic and to fast for Ray Allen to keep up with when he plays aggressive and attacks on the offensive end of the floor.
Darren Collison, he made Rondo look like a member of the big 4. By that I mean he made him look old and irrelevant like the other three. Season high for Darren and every time he had the ball and Rondo was on him he viewed the situation like Boris Diaw views a ham. In other words he devoured him.
David West dunk, where in the name of God did that come from?
George Hill’s defense was outstanding.
Our bench in general was great and once again we just overwhelmed the opposition with pure numbers and a deep bench. Their starters held their own to begin the game but it didn’t last once each team went to the bench.
Big Roy had another good but not spectacular game. Just goes to show how deep of a team we are when he can just have a good game and we still kill the competition.
The Bad:
Rajon Rondo, wow talk about irrelevant. I could not tell if he was tired or just not interested. Obviously it doesn’t help when the rest of your club isn’t helping much but both Pierce & Garnett were trying and actually producing so why he couldn’t provide more I don’t know.
Lou Amundson shot selection when he gets put in for garbage time is just that, garbage. Wait, never mind that is just his general shot selection. I love Lou’s game but since he has come to Indiana he seems convinced that he has to be an offensive threat. Take our word for it Lou, we need your defense, rebounding & hustle and if you can get a put back feel free. But leave the post up plays to Roy.
The Ugly:
Jermaine O’Neal’s face after Lance Stephenson trash talked both he and Kevin Garnett. It was actually priceless really. If you didn’t see it Jeff Foster went up for a shot hit it and got fouled by Jermaine. It was really a pretty good shot that Jermaine tried his best to block but didn’t get. To which Lance proceeds to tell Jermaine all about it. Oh that face was a thing of beauty and a joy forever for me. When they came out of the time out Jermaine was trying to say something to Lance but obviously Lance was having none of it and this irritated Jermaine even more, at this point in time Kevin Garnett stepped in and took Jermaine away. I don’t know what Lance said but I would pay money to have it on tape.
Ok the guys now get a very well deserved break and then it’s off to the west coast to continue our world domination tour. Sorry that this isn’t any more analytical than what it was but as I said early on, complaining about anything tonight would just be knit picking.
Now here is the question I want to leave everyone with. Is this five man starting unit for the Pacers right now as good as the starting five for the 1994 Pacers? The 2000 Pacers? Or the 2004 Pacers?
Boston had everything to play for here. They had revenge on their minds, they are on a losing streak that they would want to come to an end and at the end of the day they are playing for pride if nothing else.
None of that mattered. The Indiana Pacers imposed their will on this game and no matter what Boston tried at the end of the day there was just nothing they could do, this was pretty much over by the half and was definitely put to bed in the 3rd.
At some point in time we are going to have to stop doubting, stop questioning and start believing. I’m not sure we are there yet, but certainly we are getting very very close.
There are things to probably complain about, or to say needs improvement if you will. But in all honesty that would be knit picking at this point in time.
One of the things that kind of struck me tonight was that early in the season the majority of our offense seemed to be being generated in the front court between West, Hansbrough & Hibbert. Lately however you see the offense coming from Hill, Collison, George & Granger. What I take away from that is that we have several offensive weapons to choose from and that we can go either way.
When you have an overall system that works like that I think it’s safe to say that you need to look at the Coach and his staff. I want to point out one small thing that happened tonight by Vogel. It wasn’t a big deal but to me it just went to show that Vogel saw the potential for a problem, adjusted his lineup and insured that the outcome was what he wanted. In the first half George Hill picked up two quick fouls so he had to go with Lance. Instead of having poor Lance attempt to run through a million screens and picks chasing Ray Allen all over the place Frank brought Paul back in before it was his normal time. This worked perfectly as Ray did nothing and Lance did not get into any kind of foul trouble and Paul basically ran Ray into the ground with his athleticism. Just basic stuff of making adjustments and understanding player’s strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s do tonight’s version of Odd Thoughts with the good the bad and the ugly.
The Good:
Danny Granger, after last night’s debacle he came out tonight hit some tough shots, played stellar defense and just never quit attacking. I think he and Paul George must have spent the summer working on odd falling twisting flip scoop shots because each of them have one or two a game and they both hit one apiece tonight. Danny was only credited with 3 steals but he was far more involved in knocking the ball free from the Celtics than that. Still shot more three’s than I would prefer but overall I think he was a great player out there.
Paul George, for all of the games where he seems to just kind of be satisfied floating around and not being aggressive he made up for it tonight. He constantly attacked Ray Allen and pretty much just ran him out of the game. He’s to long, to athletic and to fast for Ray Allen to keep up with when he plays aggressive and attacks on the offensive end of the floor.
Darren Collison, he made Rondo look like a member of the big 4. By that I mean he made him look old and irrelevant like the other three. Season high for Darren and every time he had the ball and Rondo was on him he viewed the situation like Boris Diaw views a ham. In other words he devoured him.
David West dunk, where in the name of God did that come from?
George Hill’s defense was outstanding.
Our bench in general was great and once again we just overwhelmed the opposition with pure numbers and a deep bench. Their starters held their own to begin the game but it didn’t last once each team went to the bench.
Big Roy had another good but not spectacular game. Just goes to show how deep of a team we are when he can just have a good game and we still kill the competition.
The Bad:
Rajon Rondo, wow talk about irrelevant. I could not tell if he was tired or just not interested. Obviously it doesn’t help when the rest of your club isn’t helping much but both Pierce & Garnett were trying and actually producing so why he couldn’t provide more I don’t know.
Lou Amundson shot selection when he gets put in for garbage time is just that, garbage. Wait, never mind that is just his general shot selection. I love Lou’s game but since he has come to Indiana he seems convinced that he has to be an offensive threat. Take our word for it Lou, we need your defense, rebounding & hustle and if you can get a put back feel free. But leave the post up plays to Roy.
The Ugly:
Jermaine O’Neal’s face after Lance Stephenson trash talked both he and Kevin Garnett. It was actually priceless really. If you didn’t see it Jeff Foster went up for a shot hit it and got fouled by Jermaine. It was really a pretty good shot that Jermaine tried his best to block but didn’t get. To which Lance proceeds to tell Jermaine all about it. Oh that face was a thing of beauty and a joy forever for me. When they came out of the time out Jermaine was trying to say something to Lance but obviously Lance was having none of it and this irritated Jermaine even more, at this point in time Kevin Garnett stepped in and took Jermaine away. I don’t know what Lance said but I would pay money to have it on tape.
Ok the guys now get a very well deserved break and then it’s off to the west coast to continue our world domination tour. Sorry that this isn’t any more analytical than what it was but as I said early on, complaining about anything tonight would just be knit picking.
Now here is the question I want to leave everyone with. Is this five man starting unit for the Pacers right now as good as the starting five for the 1994 Pacers? The 2000 Pacers? Or the 2004 Pacers?
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