The Indiana Pacers are on a roll. Four straight and five of six. The latest victim today, the appalling Washington Wizards, who stumbled to their 13th consecutive loss.
Danny Granger had his third consecutive 30+ game with 31 points, 12-20 from the floor including 4-5 from three point range. Troy Murphy had 12 points and 19 rebounds, all on the defensive end. But the biggest surprise was Josh McRoberts, who started in the place of the injured Roy Hibbert (smacked in the jaw in last game) and scored 14 points and grabbed 12 boards, with 5 offensive.
It’s easy to get carried away with this current hot streak, which is, let’s face it, too little too late. The Pacers are not going to make the playoffs this season, and all this streak is going to do is ruin the chances of a better draft pick. Besides, out of the four wins, two games were against the Pistons, whom the Pacers swept this season, and one against the Wizards. The only upset win was against the Thunder. So let’s not start pretending these wins are anything more than they are.
Nevertheless, it is good to see the team play with passion, as much as it hurts to watch the probability of a top five pick slipping out the back door.
This is what Granger had to say: “I really don’t believe in trying not to win. I don’t even know how you can say that about a team, tell them not to win. It goes against every principle of sportsmanship that’s out there.”
Danny, it’s not like that. No one is telling the Pacers to lose games on purpose. But play the young guys significant minutes, rest the starters. See what happens. As much as I admire Danny’s attitude, it’s affecting the future of the franchise. The Pacers have been stuck in mediocrity for long enough.
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