Live in-person for Pacers vs Mavericks: 5 Takeaways

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Oct. 18 preseason game where the Indiana Pacers hosted the Dallas Mavericks.  As always, Bankers Life Fieldhouse remains a phenomenal basketball venue and the staff always puts on a good event.  Even though it was smack-dab in the middle of preseason, there are still some takeaways, even if you should really take preseason with a grain of salt.

1.  Roy Hibbert (and George Hill)

After losing Paul George to a leg injury and losing Lance Stephenson to free agency, the 2014-2015 de facto “Big 3” for the Pacers became David West, Roy Hibbert and George Hill.  At 34-years old, West is what he is.  A bruising, physical power forward who commands respect on the court and in the locker room.  That, and he can still safely be relied on for about 15 points a game and that rock-solid midrange jumper.  However, Hibbert and Hill are in different boats coming into the season.  They both are now required to be more of an aggressor and be the veteran leaders of a still pretty young team going through uncharted territory without their superstar.

If last night, is any indication, they are both on the right track.  Hill was aggressive all night, driving coast-to-coast on occasion and not being afraid to mix in deeper shot attempts with driving the lane, resulting in coming up just shy of a double-double in points and rebounds, even if his shot wasn’t really there on Saturday night.  Hill is looking like he’s willing to embrace a bigger role and, as previously mentioned here at InkOnIndy, having another capable ballhandler in Rodney Stuckey (who didn’t play against Dallas due to a sore foot) should only make the transition smoother.

As for Hibbert, it may not have been the prettiest game, but he did contribute eight points, six rebounds, and a block in 25 minutes, which is probably about five-to-eight less than he can expect on a nightly basis.  However, he looked a little leaner to me and was moving pretty well with some good footwork and getting up-and-down the court without much trouble as the minutes accumulated.  Based on last night, it looks like his time spent with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the summer may well pay some nice dividends.  What I liked even more about last night was his enthusiasm on the bench.  When a timeout was called, he was the first Pacer off the bench ready to come over and give the guys coming off the floor high-fives.  When a big bucket was scored, he was up dancing around and waving a towel.  Obviously, a lot more goes into being a leader than being an excited cheerleader when things are going well in a preseason game.  The true test will be when the inevitable bumps in the road come this season.  How he, West, Hill and head coach Frank Vogel get out in front of that remains to be seen.  Hibbert has unfortunately relapsed into bad body language before, namely during last season’s second-half stumble, but his vow to be a different type of all-around player is so far holding up.

2.  Chris Copeland

Oct 12, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA;Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland (22) reacts after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, it’s preseason.  Yes, his matchups most of the night consisted of Jae Crowder and Charlie Villanueva and not the Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol types he’ll see during the regular season.  But we can only judge this year based on what we’ve seen on the blank slate this preseason provides.  So far, it’s clear that he’s ready for bigger minutes and seems comfortable being a part of the starting five, or at least the lineup that gets a good chunk of the important minutes.  Copeland started, played over 30 minutes, and was in the game at the end as the Pacers turned a double-digit deficit into a five-point victory.  Copeland is still very much a one-trick pony, as evidence by 18 of his 22 points coming from beyond the arc (the other four from the foul line), and only taking one two-pointer (which he missed.)  But he still showed his quick release, no fear in taking a three in a close game situation, a willingness to drive the lane, and even some good floor vision which ended up in him recording a pair of steals and moving the ball pretty well.  Right now, it’s looking like he’ll start at the three spot and/or get most of the minutes.  Based on his willingness to step up, no hesitations should be Vogel’s call.

3.  Turnovers and Offensive Lulls

One major issue last year was offensive lulls, which frequently stemmed from bad ball movement or trying to do too much.  A lot of that was still on display against Dallas, especially in the early goings.  Trying to thread the needle or pass in the middle of a crowd still happened way too much.  And by too much, I mean 18 total turnovers.  Dallas had 16, but they didn’t exactly have their studs (Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons) playing at all, whereas the Pacers’ starting five (Hibbert, West, George Hill, Copeland and C.J. Miles) each played 23 minutes or more.  So, the fact that the poor passing decisions are still happening is frustrating, even if it is preseason.  This all contributed to the double-digit deficit the Pacers played behind most of the night, scoring just 36 combined points in the middle two quarters.  Fortunately, players like Copeland, Donald Sloan, and Lavoy Allen led the attack and the Pacers went bananas with a 37-point final frame to squeak out the victory.  They can get away with that against Dallas’ reserves, but not when the league’s big guns are playing.  Definitely a sticking point this year that will need to be worked on.

4.  The Team’s Fighting Spirit (Within The Flow of The Game)

Again, I know it’s preseason, but I’m under the school of thought that these guys could be playing preseason, a mid-January game, a playoff game, or an offseason pickup game.  They are still competitive athletes and they want to win the game.  So the fact that the team didn’t use the whole, “Eh, it’s just preseason” excuse when things were looking grim during the game isn’t surprising.  However, it’s still encouraging that Vogel is enough of a motivator to have his guys keep their foot on the gas and keep chipping away during a game that doesn’t count.  And the lineup that did it was mainly some combination Copeland, Sloan, Allen, Mahinmi, C.J. Miles, Damjan Rudez, and Solomon Hill – all guys that are all but guaranteed to make the final roster.  Nothing out of character and they clearly stayed within the game plan.  (Occasionally, Donald Sloan would blur the line between being aggressive and unwisely driving the lane to take on the trees in the paint.  But when his 15 points helped facilitate the comeback, it’s hard to be too upset.)

During the Summer League and preseason, it’s not uncommon for players to try to pose for the coaching staff and do too much, breaking the flow of the game and start stat-chasing.  None of that last night.  Granted, any player currently on the roster, even the ones with the highest uphill battle to make the final 15, know that playing an individual brand of ball is the quickest way to wind up on Vogel’s and front office leader Larry Bird’s naughty list.  Rudez, Solomon Hill, Copeland, and Miles are all part of the dogfight for minutes that George’s injury created, but the preseason’s show of teamwork and not playing for selfish minute-related reasons are still good to see.

5.  David West’s injury

I hate to end on a downer, and we should know more about this pretty soon, but I haven’t seen West in that much pain since his season-ending ACL injury back when he was a Hornet.  Seeing the tough-as-nails David West not be able to put hardly any weight on his ankle definitely caught my breath.  Post-game X-rays were promising and it’s diagnosed as a sprain, but it’s safe to say we won’t see him again until Opening Night at the earliest.  Still though, my heart dropped a little bit when I saw him writing in pain as the play continued on the other end of the floor.

All in all, it’s clear that there is good reason to temper expectations this coming season.  But, there is still enough to believe that there’s no reason to dub this campaign a “lost season.”  Many analysts are calling the Pacers longshots to make the playoffs already, but there’s still enough talent on the roster and on the sidelines to make me believe that the Pacers will deserve to be in the postseason should that be the case.  Fortunately, just over a week until the journey begins.