Indiana Pacers Need to Get Going
Mar 19, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard
Raymond Felton(2) and Indiana Pacers power forward
David West(21) react after West is called for traveling during the second quarter of a game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
I know it’s another loss in the books for the Indiana Pacers, and yes, they’ve been not good for a bit. But ultimate, isn’t this team going to be judged by the playoffs? They are still top in the Eastern Conference. They’re just a few games from clinching the division.
But of course, this isn’t the time to start coasting. This Pacers team needs to get that blue collar back of their blue collar, gold swagger motto back. Where has the defense been of the Blue and Gold? Last night, you look and see 92 points allowed on 38-percent shooting.
The Pacers still lost to the New York Knicks. That to me is a concern. When this team can hold teams under at least 95 points, I feel like they should win every time. But the defense has been lacking.
The offense isn’t flowing when guys are not sharing the ball. We see lots of dribble, dribble, dribble when Lance Stephenson is at the point. I think he works fine in small chunks running the point. But when he’s out there with the second unit, I think he’s trying to do way too much. I thought we were done with Bad Lance on the year, but he’s still out there, and that needs to turn around.
Roy Hibbert had a nice game last night of 20 points, but still doesn’t seem to be getting the ball enough to at least get going. Just think what an advantage Hibbert can be if he’s got his groove going for the Indiana Pacers. Just look at last year’s playoff run, and you see what a difference Roy Hibbert can make.
Paul George has definitely lost his luster, and I don’t know what’s going to fix him. The old adage is keep shooting, and I guess that’s about the only answer you can give to Paul George. But he’s fallen off the map as far as Most Valuable Player is concerned.
Maybe the Pacers just need to be in more of that underdog role, and not the top dog. I still believe they’ll end up as the number one seed, but they need to play up to that standard of the top seed. They really need to get the kinks fixed on the defensive side of things because we know when that’s on top, the offense will come around.
Allowing 92 points per game is a fine bar to have, but I would like to see the bar even lower for that, how about just allowing 90 points per game? That way you can hope your offense puts up 91 points and get the win. Right now, I would say just getting a win is going to be something in the right direction for the team.
We saw a four game winning streak, and I thought last night would be key to keep that momentum going. Now you look and see a red hot Chicago Bulls team that you’ll have to face twice. The Pacers have to take care of business in both of those games in my mind.
Most certainly, you need to win at home tomorrow night to get fans back on your side as the bandwagon has come to a screeching halt over the past couple of months. It will just take some big wins over Chicago to get going again. I’m still waving the Pacers flag, and so should you.
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