Open Game Thread #38: Pacers at Kings

by Tom Lewis on Jan 12, 2008 12:02 PM EST in Indiana Pacers News

The Indiana Pacers are in Sacramento tonight to take on the Kings. It appears that Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O'Neal should be available. Kareem Rush might not be. That could hamper O'B's efforts to push a small ball lineup.

The Pacers may really miss Rush tonight since the Kings are set to welcome back Kevin Martin. Plus, John Salmons has been playing out of his mind this year. He already has a pair of LoNny nods and could've had another earlier this week. I have to say I flinched when I saw Martin was set to return after enduring an outburst from him last year at the Fieldhouse. Hopefully Rush is available to matchup with Martin.

Here's Bruno's Scouting Report which takes a look at the incredible negative free throw differential for the Pacers. The team has not outscored an opponent from the line in the past 20 games. Most of those 20 haven't even been close either.

O'B doesn't seem concerned, explaining part of the difference is due to the types of players on the roster and the system in place.

"A lot depends on the personnel and the strength of the personnel," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "For instance, we use Troy (Murphy) as a perimeter guy. Some teams might use the power forward as an inside guy. It's really the style of the individuals. What are their strengths? I think that is what's more of a factor.

"If it was a situation where we weren't attacking the paint and you'd say, 'Geez coach, maybe one of the reasons why you're shooting foul shots is you're not scoring in the paint,' well, that's not the case. We are scoring in the paint, certainly in the top half of the league. It's more of a style, going from one individual to another. We just are not necessarily guys that are going to bang it to the point where they get to the foul line a lot."

I can buy that to a certain extent, but there's also been plenty of defensive breakdowns that have lead to fouls in an attempt to recover.

Here's what the efficiency numbers say:

Team	Pace	Off.Eff.	Def.Eff.
IND	96.9(2nd)	105.3(18th)	107.1(14th)
SAC	92.1(11th)	105.9(16th)	109.0(24th)

Projected Starters

PACERS	pos.	KINGS
Jermaine O'Neal	F	Mikki Moore
Danny Granger	F	Francisco Garcia
Troy Murphy	C	Brad Miller
Mike Dunleavy	G	John Salmons
Jamaal Tinsley	G	Beno Udrih

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the game in the comments.

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Comments

Why Keep J.O.??

I hate to be a Jermaine O'Neal hater, but the way he is playing right now, he is more of a liability than an asset. If the Pacers want to get to the next level, they should trade him. I know his value is down right now, but if we trade him it will at least clear up some cap room to sign free agent later. Does anyone agree?

by pacers33 on Jan 12, 2008 1:04 PM EST reply actions

JO needs to get healthy

His value is down and when he's hurt there's no reason for anyone to trade for him. Matching up that monster salary without having something big coming back in return won't be easy.

by Tom Lewis on Jan 12, 2008 1:10 PM EST up reply actions

Trades

This is probably a stupid question,but: If a player gets traded, is he guaranteed the same contract that he had on his old team?

by pacers33 on Jan 12, 2008 2:45 PM EST reply actions

Salary

The Pacers trading JO would not void that contract. Generally, either the other team must pick up the entire amount of the multi-year contract, or the Pacers would have to pay the difference, or the player and his agent somehow would have to OK taking a lesser amount.

Here's a link to a breakdown of the Pacers contracts. Notice we are still paying Orien Greene.

by kester99 on Jan 12, 2008 3:15 PM EST reply actions

OK, here's the link.

Doh!

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/indiana.htm

by kester99 on Jan 12, 2008 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

Senor Cornrows

I think the interesting matchup of the night will be Salmons vs Dunleavy. I don't know why, and since I will be at work for this game and won't get to watch it until about 2am pacific time, I'll get to see whether I'm right. I do know that Brad Miller's increased productivity might do the Pacers in. While it's true that B-52's low post presence is minimal, it's also true that when he's effective it increases the effect Salmons and Garcia in particular have.

As a side note I wonder how Martin's return will effect Quincy Douby's playing time. He was starting to show signs of life.

Oh, and good luck.

When the tough get going the going gets Cornrows.

by pookeyguru on Jan 12, 2008 5:10 PM EST reply actions

Should be interesting

well, at least for those of us who follow the Pacers and Kings.

by Tom Lewis on Jan 12, 2008 7:37 PM EST up reply actions

An observation about your boys Senor Rows

First off Dunleavy. This kid got serious talent. It's hard for me to understand why he was able to score 18 pts so effortlessly in the 1st half while managing to score 5 in the 2nd. It's not like the Kings defensive resistence was stiff tonight.

Marquis Daniels clearly prefer's O'B's style to Carlisle's. When Daniels is healthy and right he makes a huge difference in a team's ability. Especially since he's a huge 3 position guy and O'B favors the 3 ball type of perimeter game.

I think the Pacers have to be complimented for winning the game by not turning the ball over early. It's a 4 quarter game, and while the popular notion is that you lose games early, and the Kings clearly lost it in the first 18 minutes with their Turnover happy offense. Good win by the Pacers.

When the tough get going the going gets Cornrows.

by pookeyguru on Jan 13, 2008 6:47 AM EST reply actions