Well that was depressing. The Indiana Pacers again showed flashes of brilliance but again faltered down the stretch, losing a close one to the Memphis Grizzlies that ended up being 112-103 on the final score board.
With the loss, the Pacers dropped to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 at home. They will get their next chance at a win against Utah on Sunday.
First off, it was interesting to see Frank Vogel change up the starting lineup tonight to try and match up with the burly Memphis frontline. CJ Miles was moved to the bench in favor of Jordan Hill, meaning Paul George was moved back to his preferred position of SF.
Didn’t really help. Paul George is doing a bit of everything and has generally defended strongly, but he isn’t shooting well. After shooting 24% in last night’s loss to the Raptors, he shot 5-15 (33%) tonight. He finished with a solid 18, 8 and 5, but had 4 turnovers and couldn’t will the team over the hump. He’ll need to break out of the slump if the Pacers are going to win some games.
Another guy who needs to be more aggressive is Monta. He scored just 9 points for the second night in a row and shot poorly (3-12), and it’s obvious the dynamic duo we were hoping for with him and PG is still working out the kinks. It’s still too early to be concerned about chemistry but the poor numbers are a worry. He was by far the worst presence on the floor for the Pacers tonight with a plus-minus of -21. Ouch.
Of the positives, George Hill (20 points) and CJ Miles (18 points) both appear to be playing well, as is Ian Mahinmi, who scored in double digits again tonight with 11. Do you know the last time he scored in double digits in consecutive games? November last year.
The most positive thing I saw out there tonight was the first game time to 1st round draft pick Myles Turner. He made a bunch of the usual rookie mistakes but showed poise out there in 18 minutes, putting up 8 points on 4-6 shooting, grabbing 4 rebounds, getting 2 steals and rejecting a shot. I say give the man 20 minutes every night. and develop him instead of giving it to Jordan Hill.
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