The Pacers are surely crushed by the way their season ended Monday night — in a flood of unwatchable first-half turnovers, and with an unsettling feeling that Game 7 represented the way the league’s hierarchy is supposed to look when the world’s best player gets help from his supporting stars.
But at least the blowout loss reinforces what the front office already knew about this team’s shaky offense and forces the team to ask, again, the deepest philosophical question it faces: Can this core eventually beat a healthy, dialed-in Miami team four times in seven games?
The signs are encouraging. The Heat have been together for three seasons now, and though they’ve strung together a rather dominant run — 10-1 in playoff series — they’ve been on the precipice in each of those three seasons. Dwyane Wade always seems to be dealing with a nagging injury in June, and this aging, taxed-out team doesn’t have the roster depth to deal with that sort of thing in a seamless way. The Pacers played the Heat to the edge of elimination, and, even after a catastrophic Game 7, it doesn’t feel like a fluke. Every regular season, the Heat look as if they’re going to cruise through the playoffs. And every postseason, they somehow find themselves amid some crisis-level melodrama. They can be had.
By Zach Lowe at
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A few league executives mentioned to me during the preseason what an interesting position the Pacers were in — a very good team, with a star player (Danny Granger) struggling through an unknown injury, in the same conference as a juggernaut. Should the Pacers kick the can down the road a few years, perhaps by dealing David West’s expiring contract for a no. 1 pick, hoping to peak again during the primes of Paul George and Roy Hibbert, when the Heat might be in decline?
It turned out to be a hot-button question, though more a theoretical one, since the small-market Pacers could not afford to alienate a tepid fan base by taking a calculated step back. (Nor would ownership approve such a thing.) Some rival execs took the cold route, suggesting the Pacers should dangle West in search of a pick. But most urged Indiana to stand pat and go for it, even if the Pacers internally concluded they had only something like a 5 percent chance of winning a ring. Only a few teams each season reach even those slim odds, a point at which one ill-timed injury or stroke of matchup luck can vault a 5-percenter onto the podium next to David Stern.
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
Chris Ryan: Here's LeBron's "clear eyes, full hearts, pass me the ball or I will eat your dreams" speech that had everyone buzzing last night. What do you think he's saying here? In my mind, it's a mix of Alec Baldwin's "I am God” speech from Malice, a Maori war chant, Samuel L. Jackson's "You think water's fast? You should see ice!" speech from Deep Blue Sea, Drew Brees's pregame barking, profanity, threats to finally collect on loans that he has doled out, utter disbelief that Lance Stephenson wears And1s, and sincere questions about the intestinal fortitude of everyone in front of him. LeBron looks like a linebacker, and now I guess he talks like Ray Lewis.
The Cleveland Show
Andrew Sharp: Just add it to the list.
LeBron's third quarter last night goes right next to his 48 points against the Pistons in 2007, almost everything he did against the Magic in the 2009 Eastern finals, everything he did to the Bulls in 2011, Game 6 in Boston, his Finals masterpiece, and probably 20 or 25 other murderous works of art I'm forgetting. It's been a gift and a curse for Bron ever since that '07 Pistons series. The more he's given us what we wanted, the more often we've demanded it.
But we're getting it. In Game 3, he went into the post and bullied the Pacers from the inside out with the post game we'd always wanted from him. In Game 5, after a lifeless first half that had a lot of us wondering if maybe the Pacers were really going to pull this off, LeBron came out and destroyed EVERYTHING.
LeBron scored or assisted on 24 points in 3Q. Pacers only scored 13 as a team.
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
The Decision
Robert Mays: He didn’t have to change. The LeBron James from Miami’s Game 1 squeaker and its Game 2 loss was not the Heat’s problem. Aside from his two late turnovers, James had turned in another borderline perfect performance in Miami’s loss, and the consensus afterward was that the onus to improve was on the other two-thirds of the Big Three. LeBron James was doing all he could.
Still, in yesterday’s first half, the shift in James’s approach was clear. He pounded Paul George on the block, scoring whenever he went to his left, and showing that even when he doesn’t have to adjust, he can. Let’s forget for a second that 15 months ago, that choice, to dominate from the block, would’ve set the Internet on fire. James’s post game is just something that exists at this point, another piece of his essentially complete arsenal. I don’t want to laud LeBron James for adding those elements to his game — I want to know how he chooses among them.
James’s combination of skills has always been apparent. On any given possession, there probably isn’t a conscious thought about whether to pass or whether to score. The defense dictates that as much as he does, and the decision is likely instantaneous and based on a combination of preternatural feel and collective unconscious.
It’s the approaches, though, that do seem to require a choice. At some point yesterday, or the day before, or in the locker room after Game 2, he decided that in Game 3, he’d try his hand on the block. James’s desire to diversify his game is unquestionably a good thing, but now that the collection of options exists, it has to be navigated. Most players in the NBA have carved out a niche that’s required years and countless hours to shape. They’re unique pieces that fit on any given team because all the others do. But what if you could be whichever piece you wanted? What if you could do everything? James has gotten to the point where he has to choose which player he wants to be at any given moment, and his mastery of that is just as baffling as the choice existing at all.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel’s decision to sit Roy Hibbert for the last defensive possession of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals was perhaps the most infamous substitution in NBA playoff history. Immediately after LeBron James’s left-handed layup in overtime ended that amazing game, the hoops Twittersphere began second-guessing Vogel’s late-game tactics; many were quick to criticize his final lineup and that gaping, Hibbert-shaped hole in the restricted area.
The Heat needed two points in two seconds, a tall task for any basketball team. Fortunately for Miami, it had LeBron James on the roster, and the most efficient shot in the entire NBA this season was a LeBron James close-range shot. During the regular season, James made a staggering 72 percent of his 637 close-range attempts. If Miami could find some way to get James a shot near the basket, it would have a decent chance of winning the game.
That's exactly what Miami did, and the game-winning shot looked a lot like the exact kind of shot that Hibbert is paid max money to stop, something James is probably aware of.
By Grantland Staff at
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So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
I kept replaying the video over and over again, but every time I paused, backtracked, and pressed play, LeBron would already be a step away from the hoop, about to win the game for Miami. I wasn’t looking for the result, obviously. I was looking for anything that could help explain how he did it. With the power of DVR and YouTube, I should’ve had the upper hand. But even when I had complete control over his movement, I couldn’t keep up with LeBron.
His game-winning layup was unbelievable. Maybe if he had caught the ball while he darted to the basket after a curl, maybe it would’ve made sense then. That’s not what happened, though. He caught the ball with his body facing away from the hoop. His left leg was planted far out, and he took half a beat, probably less, before making his move. Just as Paul George came up close with a little too much velocity, LeBron turned and bulleted to the hole. The entire play took two seconds. It took LeBron less than two seconds to recognize where George was, where he was going to be, and where his lane would open up once George made the inevitable mistake. Game 1’s fate was sealed (let’s be honest here: with or without Roy Hibbert’s presence) the moment that left leg, planted back behind the 3-point line for leverage, propelled LeBron forward on the drive.
This news cycle will be brimming with criticism over Frank Vogel’s decision to sit Hibbert on the final play, because with LeBron, it’s a lot easier to rationalize what didn’t happen than to rationalize what did. That’s just how we respond to LeBron. It was awfully fun picking at his psyche last season. The convenient narratives helped distract us from the inexplicable wonder of his game. But now those safety blankets are gone. All that’s left is LeBron’s unfettered greatness, which is so omnipresent it's often taken for granted, like nature. Have you ever tried to explain nature?
In case you were busy not making up with Sergio Garcia, here's what you missed in sports on Monday:
Detroit overcame a Patrick Kane third-period goal, as the Red Wings topped the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1, to take a 2-1 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal matchup. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville held himself responsible for the loss, explaining, "I motivated our team before Game 1 by having them all watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator. Worked like a charm. Then I'm like, boom, stick with Scott, but emphasize teamwork: Black Hawk Down. But they all got hung up on the title. Mixed message on my part. OK, Game 3, Prometheus. Huge mistake. Movie makes no sense. Totally lost control of the team." When asked if there were any actual tactical or line adjustments he would implement, Quenneville said, "I'm this close to going with Thelma & Louise before Game 4 just to mix things up."
This … this was not a fun, attractive, or well-played NBA game. The Pacers, turnover-prone all season and barely able to handle the ball without George Hill, committed 19 turnovers and seemed to be on the verge of losing the ball on every possession. The Knicks committed 30 fouls, about 10 more than the average team commits in a game, and at one point in the third quarter, I think every player had at least four fouls. It was truly awful. There were so many low points that the entire game transformed during some third-quarter nadir into a 48-minute-long low point.
It happened around the 4:45 mark of the third quarter, where my meticulous notes about X's and O's and crowd tomfoolery abruptly stop and transition into a single harrowing sentence: “I have no idea what is going on right now.”
By Zach Lowe at
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It has been a weird six weeks for the Pacers. They’re a middling 11-9 in their last 20 games, and their vaunted defense, the stingiest in the league, has slipped a bit in the last three weeks, partly because George Hill is battling hip and groin issues. They swept a four-game road trip that included strong wins in Dallas, Houston, and in L.A. against the Clippers, but they’ve also had some concerning losses — at home to the Lakers and Thunder, the latter in convincing fashion; a tough roadie in Chicago, and then puzzling road losses in Philadelphia and Washington. Toss in a close home loss to the scorching Nets and a miracle home comeback against the pathetic Cavs, and it has been hard to read Indiana of late.
It was a good moment, in other words, to chat at length with Frank Vogel about the state of his team. Vogel spent time with Grantland after Indiana’s loss in New York on Sunday, and it’s clear he is very confident about the Pacers. What follows is an edited transcript of our chat.
You guys ranked 29th in points per possession in mid-January, which is not all that long ago. But you’ve been something like 10th or 11th since the All-Star break. What happened? Is it as simple as Roy Hibbert finding his game again?
Part of it is that Roy has gotten right. But Paul George has fallen off now in the last few weeks, so we’ve gotta make sure everyone is clicking at the same time. But we’ve got a lot of offensive weapons. Lance growing into his role, Paul growing into his role, and just getting more familiar with our bench — that has all factored us into being pretty good offensively.
The last time I had seen Roy Hibbert at Madison Square Garden, in mid-November, he was as dejected as any player I’d ever seen. Hibbert is a candid, funny guy — he was on Parks and Recreation, after all — and he admitted to enjoying Grantland’s long profile of him last season. But he just wasn’t up for talking that day. He was in the middle of a horrendous slump that had him shooting below 38 percent well into December, unacceptable for any big man, let alone one who had just signed a post-rookie maximum contract. He had no explanation for what was going on back in mid-November. He just stared at the floor, barely making eye contact, shrugged, and said he was missing the same shots he was making last season. He had no clue why.
He figured out what was going on in mid-December, and he’s been shooting about 48 percent since — not great, but plenty good enough, considering what Hibbert brings on the other end. A much happier Hibbert sat down with Grantland before the Pacers’ loss Sunday in New York. Here’s an edited transcript of our chat.
You were so dejected the last time we talked at length. You had no clue why you couldn’t make shots. But you’re basically fine now. What changed?
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George Hill dropped his second game-winner of the season Tuesday in Los Angeles, sparing the viewing audience five additional minutes of ugly basketball and dropping the Lakers to 7-8. The sub-.500 record has predictably inspired panic around the Lakers, even though they are one of just four teams ranked in the top 10 in both points scored per possession (no. 9) and allowed per possession (no. 4). The other three members of this ever-changing crew — Memphis, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City, the last playing surprisingly good defense that will merit some in-depth attention if the Thunder maintain it as their schedule gets tougher. The Clippers, at no. 11 in defensive efficiency, are basically in the club, and the Knicks, still tied with Miami at no. 1 in offensive efficiency, were heading it up until their defense started slumping a week ago.
Three weeks into the season and it’s become clear the Indiana Pacers are in big trouble. An offense that ranked in the top third of the league last season has completely slid off the rails, ranking 29th in offensive efficiency, just ahead of the woeful Wizards team they defeated last night. It’s been a rather startling development for an Indy team many considered to be a solid, up-and-coming team, capable of making a deep run in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Watching the team squeak past the Wizards, it’s hard to imagine they are even remotely capable of winning a game in the postseason much less an entire series. So what went wrong exactly?
