A Closer Look At Flip Murray

by Tom Lewis on Mar 3, 2008 10:06 PM EST in Indiana Pacers News

Bruno has more on the Flip Murray signing. Sounds like the Pacers are hoping for the best and not expecting Jamaal Tinsley back very soon. A couple of quotes from O'B:

"As soon as possible that we can kind of seamlessly move him into the rotation, we will," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "Travis (Diener) and Marquis (Daniels) played a good game the other night (in Toronto) and you don't want to mess up a good thing when they're starting to play well but we didn't bring Flip here to be on the bench. We think he's kind of a scorer and the more scorers we can have on the court, the better."

"I think it improves our depth," said O'Brien. "He's not a pure point guard but he's a guy that's comfortable being able to break down his defender. You get him in a one-on-one situation and he can usually create his own shot. The more guys we have that can create their own shot, the better. I really have to get more knowledgeable by practicing and being around Flip more about what he can bring to this situation. It's not only a matter of a player coming into a new situation and getting comfortable, it's also us understanding how we might best utilize him."

My initial reaction to the signing was based on that first quote. Diener and Daniels finally seem comfortable in their roles so why bother messing with things at this point. Well, the Pacers aren;t giving in, so Flip comes it to see if he can spark a few wins. One thing Flip can bring that the Pacers desperately need is a guy who can create a shot for himself AND finish.

I'd say the expectations of a big impact from Flip are minimal, so anything positive he contributes will be a bonus. Of course, this may dash my hopes of Stephen Graham getting an opportunity to develop his game with some actual playing time. For that reason, Flip better make an impact, because fewer opportunities for Stevie bums me out.

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