Hawks 107, Pacers 95: No Answer for Hot Hawks

by Cornrows on Dec 26, 2007 11:41 PM EST in News Comment 2 comments

The Indiana Pacers began a critical stretch of their schedule Wednesday night with a disappointing 107-95 loss at the Atlanta Hawks. This loss began a stretch of six games prior to a killer West Coast roadie that will determine just what type of team the Pacers will be by season's end.

First of all, plenty of praise should go to the Hawks who are starting to reap the benefits of their roster full of young talent. They haven't always drafted the perfect player but they do have a stash of NBA talent and it is finally showing some results.

As for the Pacers, I was unable to watch this game but from all accounts I feel like I've seen this game several times over the past few years. Key lapses, missed bunnies, with no one to stop the bleeding all combine for a chalk mark in the L column.

Let's boil it down to a simple point in the game that should tell the story. Since the final score shows a 12-point win for the Hawks, I took a look at the 12-0 run the Hawks threw at the Pacers spanning the end of the third quarter thru the start of the fourth.

After Andre Owens' 3-ball tied the game at 70, the Pacers spoon fed the Hawks 12-0 run with several poor possessions. Check it out:

Poss. 1 -- Owens Driving Layup Shot: Missed
Poss. 2 -- Owens Turnover:Bad Pass (2 TO)
Poss. 3 -- Dunleavy Turnover:Bad Pass (3 TO)
Poss. 4 -- Diogu Turnover:Poss Lost Ball Turnover (1 TO)
Poss. 5 -- Granger Turnover:Poss Lost Ball Turnover (3 TO)
Poss. 6 -- Granger Jump Shot: Missed, Diogu Layup Shot: Missed, Granger Tip Shot: Missed
Poss. 7 -- Owens Layup Shot: Missed
Poss. 8 -- Dunleavy Jump Shot: Missed
Poss. 9 -- O'Neal Turnover:Bad Pass (3 TO)
Poss. 10 -- Tinsley 3pt Shot: Missed
Poss. 11 -- Tinsley Turnover:Bad Pass (3 TO)

So there you have it, eleven empty possessions comprised of seven missed shots, including four layups, and six turnovers. That my friends is some poor basketball and more than enough for a well-earned loss to a good NBA team.

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Shooting

Again, JT with a truly bad shooting night, and by bad I don't mean he shot poorly. I mean he shot poorly AND took 25% of our FGAs.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is becoming a 'systemic' thing rather than an individual quirkiness. J'OB's blessing of the open 3 and the quick offense, on a night when our D is not getting enough stops, and we are outrebounded, leading to JT 3s (not the shooter we want) alternating with JT drives into traffic and being stymied, thus kicking out to someone else for a contested 3 since the opposing D has set up.

The string of games Jamaal had with the high shooting percentage was, as someone else observed, fool's gold...and he keeps trying to get that gold. Danny is inconsistent but regularly has great shooting nights. Ditto JO. Jamaal's great shooting nights are not, and will never be, regular, I'm afraid.

So, once again we come back to the defense. If we get stops, it leads to an efficient running offense that JT is meant for. But the more half-court sets we have to deal with....well, you know the deal.

by kester99 on Dec 27, 2007 12:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

0-8 from 3-land

is hard to look at in the box. I could live with 6-13 from the field with those 8 attempts going somewhere else. No doubt, JT is streaky, but it seems like he doesn't realize when he doesn't have it on a particular night. Not having Quisy for longer PG rotations didn't help either.

by Cornrows on Dec 27, 2007 2:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs