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Pacers Links: Spurs give Pacers reality check and reality stinks

Pacers lineup change doesn't change offensive struggles against tough Spurs defense.

By Tom Lewis

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The San Antonio Spurs ran an NBA basketball clinic on the Indiana Pacers on Monday night with the execution of their offense and defense, a five-man unit tied together with impressive results.

They should've charged the Pacers $200 per player and handed out snack at halftime for the personal lessons in how to get it done.

So while the Pacers saw where they want to get as a team, their play exposed just how far they have to go and it appears they forgot their map. Once again, the blue and gold wandered through far too many wasted possessions (19 more turnovers) and often were left to settle for a shot the Spurs were hoping they'd take.

Save for a good stretch of play for a few minutes to start the game and a few minutes to end the first half, the Spurs dictated play for most of the night. As Mike Wells reports, David West realizes his team is nowhere near competing with top teams like San Antonio with the way they've played through their first four games.

"No disrespect to the two wins we have. That stuff works against Toronto and Sacramento, but when you start talking about teams that have made playoff runs and have a proven system, you’re not going to be able tocompete and that was the case tonight," West said.

Even before the game, it was obvious the Pacers coaching staff wasn't pleased with the team's play. Frank Vogel isn't one to make lineup changes when the team is winning, but last night he added Sam Young to the starting lineup for Gerald Green.

That change had little impact on the outcome since again, the Spurs dictated the outcome, so we'll see if Vogel rides this lineup for a little bit, looking for something that works while waiting for Danny Granger. But, Young and/or Green are not the issue. Roy Hibbert and George Hill have to play much better than they did last night. Of course, I'm not sure Hibbert could play much worse.

On to Atlanta in search of more answers.

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