IC Cold Links: Pacers Depth Comes To Play In Win Over Celtics

The only thing frustrating was his shot not falling, which isn’t something you should harp on a shooter about. Had his shot gone in last night and he finished 8-14, it would have been close to a perfect game.

His defense on Pierce was stifling, and something that people forget is that the guy is 3rd in the league – yes, you heard me correctly – in steals per game. That’s impressive considering he averages less than 3 fouls a night.

His shot selection improved dramatically against the Celtics, so let’s hope that carries over into the future.

DG had 3 steals, all while frustrating Paul Pierce to the tune of a 3-17 shooting night with a mere 10 points to show for it. If you watched the game, you saw that he was playing tight defense the entire night with few lapses. He was constantly in the passing lanes creating deflections and oftentimes reacting to Rondo’s passes like he knew where he was going before he went there. The reality is that this is the DG we were all harping for before JOB got fired, the only difference is that his open jumpers aren’t falling. All the while, we’re 7 games into the season and Danny is a notoriously slow starter.

But he needs to focus on postups/cuts over the dribble-drive for inside points. Roy found him early on a nice cut, and he’s got a good enough touch around the rim to develop his post game. I just can’t stand his drives, they look awkward and usually end up in a bad shot, steal, or charge. He’s playing solid D, and that J he passed up to give Darren the 3 was beautiful. I really prefer him to hoist a 3 over trying to drive. His 3pt% is better than his 2pt%. Let’s see where he’s at when we play the Bulls. Hopefully, he’ll find his groove by then.

I’ll eat my words and agree, for two reasons: 1) Hill should be at shooting guard, where he looks so natural and smooth, and 2) AJ plays a whole lot better with Hansbrough than does Collison.

Also, I really liked the off-the-ball movement from both the first and second teams on offense last night. That starts with the effort of the point guards to distribute.

George reminds me so much of Jason Terry right now, and his offense carried us early in the 4th last night. He’s selfless, a great defender, and seems to know when to score and when to give up the rock. LB needs to be a top candidate for Exec of the Year, he’s put together a very good team.