IC Cold Links: Recapping A Slide Below .500
Here are some a few items of interest after the Pacers loss in Chicago:
- Bruno's Live Blog captures the feel of the road loss and compares it to the Friday night collapse.
This might've been a worse loss than last night because at least in that one the Pacers played one good quarter. They had a few bursts but couldn't sustain and looked thoroughly out of synch all night long. Too many turnvoers (20), too little ball and player movement and not enough activity on defense.
- For the Star, Jeff Rabjohns pinpoints the problem and thinks Jim O'Brien may need to appeal to a higher power to get the message across.
Jim O'Brien might as well petition for an 11th commandment: He that winneth the turnover battle winneth the game. The Indiana Pacers coach has seen his team's result perfectly mirror that one aspect in every game so far. The four times the Pacers have made fewer turnovers than their opponent, they've won. The five times they haven't, they've lost.
- Pacers Notebook heaps praise on Derrick Rose and looks at the puts Friday night's collapse into historical perspective.
- Duke dynamite didn't take the loss well and his latest Blue & Gold looks toward the bench for answers. Is Jim O'Brien the problem?
- K.C. Johnson finds a statistical comparison of Derrick Rose to Michael Jordan after looking at both players' first ten games as a pro.
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A Humble Opinion
I hope, as a group of fans, that we avoid the trap of blaming Jim O’Brien for
whatever shortcomings the Pacers demonstrate this season. He’s just fine
as the Pacer coach.
The truth is that our depth of talent is handicapped by the unavailability of
Mike Dunleavy. We have a wonderful young team now that is easy to root
for, and there is real hope for the future, but we aren’t any more talented or
deep than several other Eastern Conference teams. If Hibbert and Rush
were each in their third NBA season, rather than rookies, it might be a
different story.
Turnarounds take time in the NBA. This is a player’s league. Even Phil
Jackson, Jerry Sloane, and Greg Popovich are only as good as the talent
and experience of the players they have available to put out there. Jim
O’Brien is an excellent coach, with good basketball knowledge, good
management and people skills, and high standards. Moreover, he and
Larry Bird are “on the same page”—which is vital.
by fanaticus on
Nov 17, 2008 12:51 PM EST
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