Monday was a tough night for Hoosier hoop heads
As I got into my truck Monday night after work, I checked my CBSSports app to see what I had to look forward to in sports programming that evening. In the parking complex at work, I knew I had an hour of Washington metropolitan area traffic ahead of me, and an errand to run after getting home. But the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics game was scheduled to be broadcast on NBA TV -- rush hour traffic was now going to be bearable.
On my way home from my errand, I caught the first quarter of the game on XM and the Celtics were hammering the Pacers. As described by Adam Friedman of IndyCornrows, Boston jumped out to a 12-0 lead on the strength of hitting their first 10 shots. The Pacers would end up trailing for the first 47 minutes of the game (there are only 48 minutes in an NBA game, by the way).
Since school is out and schedules are light, I was able to watch the second half with my son -- which is a treat. My daughters were thoroughly uninterested, however.
Thanks to excellent late-game performances by G Victor Oladipo and F Damontas Sabonis, Indiana jumped into the lead during the last minute of the game in front of a suddenly raucous home crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It was looking like this was going to be another -- "this is my city" -- comeback that has been authored before by Oladipo and the rest of the underappreciated Pacers. But, and there always seems to be a "but" with my teams, Bojan Bogdanovic absolutely filled his diaper, and threw an ill-advised pass that led to a game-winning dunk by Boston's Terry Rozier.
Result: Pacers lose a 112-111 heart breaker to the best team in the Eastern Conference. Ugh.
A very good friend of mine asked me my thoughts on the "epic choke" in an email the next day. First off, I don't see that as an epic choke. If Boston would have lost after holding a 19-point second quarter lead, that would have been a choke job.
If this had been a home playoff game in June, the loss would have stung mightily and maybe you would have to grade that as a choke. However, it is still December, and there is a long way to go with the Pacers still looking like a legitimate playoff team. They need to erase the memory, and continue to move forward.
I don't necessarily believe in moral victories, but there are positives and lessons that can be derived from close losses like this one.
Positive: Oladipo is legit
During the fourth quarter Pacer run that saw Oladipo score ten straight points, my son said, "Oladipo is better than Paul George EVER was."
I think it is a little early to say something like that, but it certainly seems like Oladipo has much more competitiveness, confidence, and composure in the crunch than George has ever displayed. I'd rather have the young guys -- Oladipo and Sabonis -- the Pacers got from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the George trade than George. Also,Ken Berger of BleacherReport recently described how poorly things are going in OKC for George and his new mates.
Lesson: Bogdanovic needs to chill
Before the inbound play that led to the loss, there were 9.3 seconds left, the Pacers led by one, and Bogdanovic was on the floor (I assume, because the Pacers expected the Celtics to foul and Bogdanovic is a good shooter). Boston didn't foul right away as they attempted to garner a game-winning steal, which they got after Bogdanovic lost his mind. Next time, Bogdanovic needs to chill, take the foul, and go make his free throws.
Hoosiers fall flat, at home, to mighty Mastodons of Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne traveled southeast to Bloomington and beat the Indiana Hoosiers in Assembly Hall, 92-72. Monday night. Seriously, that did happen -- for the second year a in a row!
I don't think this game was on in the D.C. market Monday night. If it was, I wouldn't have watched it anyway. I would have thought it would have been a non-competitive game between a Power 5 Conference team, and a lower mid-major club.
That would have clearly been a poor assessment. As reported by Ricky O'Donnell of SBNation, Indiana is stacking up losses to in-state foes over the last two years, can't defend or score, and has holes up and down their roster. Zach Osterman of the IndyStar, faults the lack of defensive capability as well, but also wonders about the "intangibles" (I assume he means, heart, hustle, and leadership) possessed by the Hoosier upperclassmen.
I have faith in IU coach Archie Miller, but it is becoming clear that his first year on the job will not see an immediate improvement -- we might even see the Hoosiers regress from last year's sub-par performance. Help is supposedly on the way according to InsidetheHall, with four quality recruits coming in next year's class, and Romeo Langford still uncommitted. If Miller lands Langford, this thing will turn around quickly.
Fletcher Page of the Louisville Courier-Journal says Langford, the #5 high school senior in the nation, has narrowed his college choice down to three -- Indiana, Kansas, and Vanderbilt.
Can't get too high or too low in December
I am drastically lowering my expectations for the Hoosiers, and tempering my hopes for the Pacers. But I am staying after it. You can't quit the process.
In light of following my own advice, I am taking the young 'uns to Capital One Arena for the Georgetown Hoyas game against the North Texas Mean Green tonight. I have hopes that I will see an improving Hoyas team, and I can get my girls a little more interested in basketball. I honestly have very little expectation of either, but the tickets were cheap, and it can still be graded as "family time" over the holidays.
NOTE: We do have non-sports oriented activities planned for the holidays. Back off.
On my way home from my errand, I caught the first quarter of the game on XM and the Celtics were hammering the Pacers. As described by Adam Friedman of IndyCornrows, Boston jumped out to a 12-0 lead on the strength of hitting their first 10 shots. The Pacers would end up trailing for the first 47 minutes of the game (there are only 48 minutes in an NBA game, by the way).
Since school is out and schedules are light, I was able to watch the second half with my son -- which is a treat. My daughters were thoroughly uninterested, however.
Thanks to excellent late-game performances by G Victor Oladipo and F Damontas Sabonis, Indiana jumped into the lead during the last minute of the game in front of a suddenly raucous home crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It was looking like this was going to be another -- "this is my city" -- comeback that has been authored before by Oladipo and the rest of the underappreciated Pacers. But, and there always seems to be a "but" with my teams, Bojan Bogdanovic absolutely filled his diaper, and threw an ill-advised pass that led to a game-winning dunk by Boston's Terry Rozier.
Result: Pacers lose a 112-111 heart breaker to the best team in the Eastern Conference. Ugh.
A very good friend of mine asked me my thoughts on the "epic choke" in an email the next day. First off, I don't see that as an epic choke. If Boston would have lost after holding a 19-point second quarter lead, that would have been a choke job.
If this had been a home playoff game in June, the loss would have stung mightily and maybe you would have to grade that as a choke. However, it is still December, and there is a long way to go with the Pacers still looking like a legitimate playoff team. They need to erase the memory, and continue to move forward.
I don't necessarily believe in moral victories, but there are positives and lessons that can be derived from close losses like this one.
Positive: Oladipo is legit
During the fourth quarter Pacer run that saw Oladipo score ten straight points, my son said, "Oladipo is better than Paul George EVER was."
I think it is a little early to say something like that, but it certainly seems like Oladipo has much more competitiveness, confidence, and composure in the crunch than George has ever displayed. I'd rather have the young guys -- Oladipo and Sabonis -- the Pacers got from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the George trade than George. Also,Ken Berger of BleacherReport recently described how poorly things are going in OKC for George and his new mates.
Lesson: Bogdanovic needs to chill
Before the inbound play that led to the loss, there were 9.3 seconds left, the Pacers led by one, and Bogdanovic was on the floor (I assume, because the Pacers expected the Celtics to foul and Bogdanovic is a good shooter). Boston didn't foul right away as they attempted to garner a game-winning steal, which they got after Bogdanovic lost his mind. Next time, Bogdanovic needs to chill, take the foul, and go make his free throws.
Hoosiers fall flat, at home, to mighty Mastodons of Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne traveled southeast to Bloomington and beat the Indiana Hoosiers in Assembly Hall, 92-72. Monday night. Seriously, that did happen -- for the second year a in a row!
I don't think this game was on in the D.C. market Monday night. If it was, I wouldn't have watched it anyway. I would have thought it would have been a non-competitive game between a Power 5 Conference team, and a lower mid-major club.
That would have clearly been a poor assessment. As reported by Ricky O'Donnell of SBNation, Indiana is stacking up losses to in-state foes over the last two years, can't defend or score, and has holes up and down their roster. Zach Osterman of the IndyStar, faults the lack of defensive capability as well, but also wonders about the "intangibles" (I assume he means, heart, hustle, and leadership) possessed by the Hoosier upperclassmen.
I have faith in IU coach Archie Miller, but it is becoming clear that his first year on the job will not see an immediate improvement -- we might even see the Hoosiers regress from last year's sub-par performance. Help is supposedly on the way according to InsidetheHall, with four quality recruits coming in next year's class, and Romeo Langford still uncommitted. If Miller lands Langford, this thing will turn around quickly.
Fletcher Page of the Louisville Courier-Journal says Langford, the #5 high school senior in the nation, has narrowed his college choice down to three -- Indiana, Kansas, and Vanderbilt.
Can't get too high or too low in December
I am drastically lowering my expectations for the Hoosiers, and tempering my hopes for the Pacers. But I am staying after it. You can't quit the process.
In light of following my own advice, I am taking the young 'uns to Capital One Arena for the Georgetown Hoyas game against the North Texas Mean Green tonight. I have hopes that I will see an improving Hoyas team, and I can get my girls a little more interested in basketball. I honestly have very little expectation of either, but the tickets were cheap, and it can still be graded as "family time" over the holidays.
I know I have one already hooked; chipping away on the other two.
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