Pacers stumbling into a deficit problem
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – Written on the whiteboard in the Indiana Pacers’ dressing area prior to Friday night’s game was the warning, If you leave dirty plates in the locker room, rats will come.
Perhaps a wiser message would have been, If you fall behind by huge deficits, losses will come.
For a fourth straight game, incredibly, the Pacers trailed by at least 20 points. They are fortunate to be 1-3 in that stretch.
Looks like the biggest question about Indiana is the one that wasn’t even on the radar three weeks ago: Where is the defense?
The Brooklyn Nets had a 24-point lead in the Pacers’ building, and while Indiana stunningly stormed to a fourth-quarter lead, the rally immediately lost steam for the same reasons it was necessary in the first place.
George Hill inexcusably left Joe Johnson open for a tiebreaking 3 from the right wing. Jerry Stackhouse drilled an open corner 3 on the next trip. Lance Stephenson, whose long ball gave Indiana its only advantage at 101-99 with about five minutes remaining, failed to box out Andray Blatche, leading to a put-back which gave Brooklyn a 111-104 lead with 69 seconds remaining.
No sooner had the Pacers climbed the mountain than their defense slacked off in a decisive 14-3 Nets run.
We over-rotated, Paul George said. Some possessions, we over-helped. On another, we didn’t help.
So how could a team that can look so dominant, so intimidating, allow itself to be pushed around in three consecutive home games?
I don’t know what it is, George said.
Someone better figure it out.
For a half, Brooklyn was making everything it threw up. Deron Williams nailed some shots no defense could stop – a step-back 3, for example – but others – such as Brook Lopez storming down the lane for a dunk off the dribble – came far too easily.
I don’t think we are playing tough enough, Indiana coach Frank Vogel said.
Somehow, Williams was scoring like crazy and still involving teammates. His 33 points and 14 assists led the Nets to an impressive 117-109 win over a reeling Indiana team and gave them a three-game sweep of the season series.
Part of the reason the Pacers got back into the game was the decision to use George, their best perimeter defender, on Williams in the second half. With George on him, Williams was rendered ineffective, shooting just 1-of-8, but he still assisted on the two most important buckets of the game: Stackhouse’s aforementioned triple, followed by a lefty layup from Lopez out of a pick-and-roll. Sandwiched around a Blatche steal, those scores provided Brooklyn a 109-104 edge.
We moved the ball around really well, coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
Carlesimo indicated before the game that it was an important one for the Nets – a test run for the postseason.
And the contest adopted that feel in the second half – ear-splitting crowd reactions, tussles for loose balls, relentless pursuit of offensive rebounds, hard fouls and even an emotional ejection of Reggie Evans, who boiled over to the point he heaved his green headband into the Nets’ bench right in front of an official.
But the Pacers lacked Brooklyn’s initial energy and fire.
We have to start games with a bigger sense of urgency, Vogel said. We didn’t do that tonight.
And it made all the difference.
Now Indiana is essentially buried in its race for second place in the Eastern Conference. New York won at Cleveland Friday and needs one victory in its final three games to clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
The Pacers visit Madison Square Garden on Sunday. If their defense doesn’t snap to form in less than 48 hours, the offensively potent Knicks will feast in what might be a preview of a second-round series.
Vogel might not win a round if he doesn’t solve a number of issues.
There is still time for the Pacers to correct themselves, but it will take quite a turnaround in play.
There’s concern, Vogel said. You want to be playing better at this time of year.
Little things – Stephenson foolishly trying a crossover in front of two defenders, too many passes on a secondary break, Hill tripping Kris Humphires with 4 seconds on the shot clock – add up.
Big things – Vogel’s revelation that Hill is playing hurt and may sit out a game or two, 16 turnovers (including four traveling violations), an inability to protect the 3-point line (Brooklyn made 12 of 25 shots from long range) – cement poor results.
Afterward, most players insisted all would be fine. Maybe so.
One factor in the Pacers’ favor is that no dynamic floor generals are likely to stand in the way of their playoff run. Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and Williams have taken turns carving up Indiana’s defense over the past four games. But no likely opponent – be it Chicago, Atlanta, New York or Miami – features a healthy star at point guard.
However, it wasn’t just Williams who did the Pacers in Friday night. Johnson (24 points, six rebounds) and Lopez (24 points, six rebounds, five blocks) caused all sorts of difficulty. Johnson’s size is overwhelming in person. He’s 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds: heavier than Pacers center Ian Mahinmi, and a couple inches shy of having the height of a power forward at shooting guard. The former Hawk often posted smaller defenders, never really scoring from the block, but usually drawing help defenders that led to clean looks on the perimeter. And Lopez won a duel of max-contract centers involving Roy Hibbert.
Johnson and Lopez are very good, precisely the type of players Indiana must control in April and May.
It would help if Hill, battling what the team says is a sore hip, didn’t struggle on defense even when he was attentive. That might be a sign Vogel’s thought to sit him is advisable.
Though Hill acknowledged he might be hurting the team, the second-year Pacer vehemently dismissed the idea of rest, saying, Now is not the time.
It is past time for someone on the Pacers’ bench to step up. Stackhouse, Blatche and C.J. Watson combined for 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting for Brooklyn. Indiana managed one productive reserve: Tyler Hansbrough, with nine points.
Even with all these spots of worry, at 49-30, the Pacers need just one victory to guarantee themselves at least the No. 3 seed. Following Sunday’s visit to the Big Apple, Indiana closes the regular season with games Tuesday at Boston and Wednesday at home against Philadelphia. A fall to fourth, setting up a potential semifinal bout with Miami, would be catastrophic.
Almost as bad as rodents crawling around the locker room.
