Indiana Pacers: Defense Helps Indiana Escape New York, An Important Issue Still At Hand

Coming off their first loss of the 2013-14 season, the Indiana Pacers took on the struggling New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, normally a tough environment to walk into and come away with a victory. Prior to this game, the Knicks had dropped their previous three games and fell to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The disappointment isn’t fading away in the Big Apple, as Indiana pulled off yet another outstanding second half to defeat New York 103-96 in overtime. That placed the Knicks at just 3-8 on the year, tied with their cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets. The Pacers advanced to 10-1 on the season continue to show that their defensive efforts give them the best chance to capture the Eastern Conference title next May.

In an ugly and repugnant first half, the Pacers only managed to score 37 points and looked very stagnant on the offensive end. Despite the slow start, Indiana only trailed by five at the break, and made it their priority to stick with the extraordinary defense in the second half. Overall, the Pacers held the Knicks to just 37 percent shooting in a game where New York attempted 100 field goals and also stopped majority of the perimeter attack by keeping the Knicks at just 8-30 from 3-point land.

Of course, the superstar power came into play just like everyone expected. Carmelo Anthony, the league leader in field goal attempts with 22.3 shots per game, played a very inefficient game on the offensive end by shooting just 10 of his 28 field goals and playing his usual isolation style of basketball in too many instances. However, it was on the glass that Anthony made his presence known as a strong power forward asset while his team is missing Tyson Chandler in the middle. Anthony grabbed 18 rebounds and just bullied Paul George in the post for majority of the night.

Since last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, it’s clear that the Pacers give Carmelo Anthony the most trouble in big moments. (Flickr.com photo by Keith Allison)

It was the same song, different dance for Pacers’ All-Star Paul George on Wednesday evening.  Throughout this magnificent start for Indiana, George has made it clear that he is in favor of “letting the game come to him” in the first half and then being more aggressive with the ball in the 3rd and 4th quarters. George demonstrated the same attitude in this game, by starting off slow out of the gate and ultimately finishing the night with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-26 field goals and 9-of-12 attempts from the free throw line.

No three free throws were bigger than the ones that George nailed in the closing seconds of regulation. After taking control of his new leadership role with this group, George pulled up from beyond the arc over Knicks’ Iman Shumpert in an effort to tie the game. As a foul was called on Shumpert for tapping George’s elbow on the release, the Knicks’ bench and fans were in disbelief that such a small touch foul would be called. Nonetheless, George stepped up to the free throw line and showed great maturity and composure by knocking down all three free throws, which would send the game to overtime after Anthony’s failed attempt in the paint with just one second left.

Asked about his role as the big-shot taker in the final moments of games this season, George noted the key differences from his play in 2012-13:

"“I would have looked to have someone else to be in that position or that role,” George stated. “This year, this time around I want to be more aggressive.”"

While this game outlined just how dangerous Indiana can be against some of the best superstars the NBA has to offer, one particular question arose that may need to be addressed as the Pacers move forward:

The Roy Hibbert Issue

Throughout last postseason and even this summer, center Roy Hibbert dedicated a lot of time working to improve his left handed post moves, hoping to make him just as much of a force in the middle as the best centers in the league. Hibbert even traveled to San Antonio to engage in workouts with the legendary Tim Duncan, a player that Hibbert calls “the best” at what he does. Duncan wasn’t hesitant at all, stating that he realized Hibbert’s good work ethic right away. The hard work he put in truly payed off, as Hibbert has developed a smooth turnaround hook with either hand, and c0ntinues to be guy that can handle having the ball in clear-out situations on the block. Just this past Friday, Nov. 15th, Hibbert shot 8-10 from the field and scored 24 points as he put on display a terrific ability to score with his back to the basket.

With all that said, why does he seem to disappear in spurts throughout a game, or even for the entire game? In Wednesday’s win over the Knicks, Hibbert attempted just 5 shots, one of which was just a desperation launch from 3-point land as first quarter buzzer sounded. He scored just eight points, grabbed eight boards, and didn’t even record an assist by drawing defenses and kicking the ball out to Indiana’s shooters. In a large amount of playing time (37 minutes), Indiana simply needs to look to use their 7’2″ center more often. With Tyson Chandler sidelined and Kenyon Martin/Andrea Bargnani defending him the entire game, it made absolutely no sense to basically remove him from the offense.

We tend to see an inconsistent game plan for the Pacers when it comes to utilizing Roy Hibbert, and it’s going to be important down the stretch for them to feel comfortable letting him operate with the ball in the paint. All the grit and grind in the offseason to improve a specific aspect of one’s game was for a reason; to put it to use and help separate his team from the rest in the Eastern Conference. It may be in the best interest of the Pacers’ perimeter talents to deliver the ball into Hibbert more often as the season progresses, and allow him to deliver the goods.

The way the Pacers seem to play on the road is that Roy Hibbert hasn’t improved his post game. That certainly needs to change. Photo Credit: Sacramento Press Media, Flickr.com

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