Pacers Courtside

I have never been so pleased with a Pacers loss.  Sure I would rather see them get a “W”, but this was an acceptable loss. The Pacers competed at a high level until the final buzzer against one of the top veteran teams in the league. The only weakness they showed in their season opener was turnovers, a whopping 21 of them. But turnovers are fixable and are not completely unexpected for a young team full of new faces trying to learn how to play with each other. Oh and did I mention they played without their starting shooting guard Mike Dunleavy who not only scores 19 points a game, but also seems to be the oil that keeps the gears of the team running smoothly.

Some trends from this game that will hopefully continue all season:

• Well balanced guard play from TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack. They compliment each others games well and give O’Brien a lot of options for matchups and game situations.
• Wining the free-throw game. Getting to the line is such an advantage and the Pacers went 24-29 while the Pistons only 14-16. This is good for several reasons: free points, aggressive play, avoiding the penalty the other way. Granger, 11-12 tonight, will shoot a lot of FTs if he keeps this up, and it will really make him a more reliable go-to guy.
• 15 rebounds from Murphy. This is the glasseater from Notre Dame and his early years at Golden State. Not that Murph was a slouch last year when he averaged 7 a game. But I hope its a sign of a focused effort to rebound and play defense.
• High shooting percentage. The Pacers shot over 49% against the Pistons, even with subpar 3-point shooting night at only 33%. Ford and Jack should lead to more open shots and a higher FG % this season.
• Brandon Rush looking smooth on offense and solid on defense against someone as slippery as Rip Hamilton. Rush may be a baller.

Some trends from this game that will hopefully go away:

• 6 minutes for Roy Hibbert. He needs more minutes and hopefully this was only because it was the Pistons. In his 6 minutes he did not seem to do anything that would make JOB think he needed to bench him. He scored on a great patient post move. Blocked a shot. Avoided fouls. I hope 6 minutes becomes at least 12 sooner rather than later.
• 21 turnovers. There will be bad nights, but I think tonight was still part of the process of learning new teammates habits and playing without DunDun.
• Jack played 27 minutes but only racked up 2 assists. Ford had 5 in 29 (4 TOs). Granger had 1 in 38. I hope those numbers increase.