Recap: Pacers 107, Cavs 85 (or, the preseason, it ain’t nothin’ but the blues)

I felt impending dread having to recap the 76ers game last week, and it turned out to be shockingly entertaining. My stay of execution was extinguished last night, and my fear of uncoordinated, meaningless basketball was fully realized. If you DVRed the game, and don’t have children, delete it immediately. Pick up that guitar that’s been buried in your closet for years, and teach yourself a few chords. If you do have children, save the game, and in lieu of giving your kiddo a timeout, or confiscating their cell phone, or whatever the modern day punishment for a sapling is, make them watch this game. It will be a threat to hold in your back pocket at all times. You won’t even have to count to two as a warning.

The Pacers went through a reboot in the offseason with the subtraction of longtime mainstays David West and Roy Hibbert. The addition of Monte Ellis gives them the secondary scorer they’ve been craving for years. Frank Vogel is still running the show, and he still looks like an assistant manager at a RadioShack. His days of plotting to plod and ground teams into submission are gone. This incarnation of the Pacers wants to run the floor and stretch the defense with Paul George at the four. They struggled from downtown, but outplayed the Cavs in every other facet of the game.

LeBron sat this one out, and I’d honestly be fine with him taking the rest of the preseason off, as long as I don’t recap the game. Every minute off the court now will help him in June, and that’s all that really matters. Kevin Love warmed up on the court before the game, and it appears the target date for him to make his preseason debut will be Sunday against Gum Drop Bear and the Raptors of Toronto.

YAY

• Like a child of divorce, Cavs fans got two Christmases this year, and they shared the court in the game’s closing minutes. My DVR thankfully stopped just after Dionte drilled a three through contact. I was relieved that I didn’t have to watch the final minute of the game, but in a strange way I wanted to see if he could covert the four point play in an act of self mutilation.
• J.R. Smith and Andy had some serious chemistry on the court together. Their pick and pops were effective, and hopefully a preview of them becoming the foundation of the reincarnation of The Herculoids.
• In relation to the previous bullet, we must be in a manic episode of J.R. Two days ago, he bought air sugar from the bench, and tonight he rang up 10 points on eight shots, and dished out five assists, including a gorgeous behind the back pass to Andy. J.R. was also the only Cavalier with a positive plus/minus who played more than 10 minutes. He delivered the runner-up for Cavs’ play of the night, breaking Paul George’s ankles on a behind the back crossover late in the third quarter.

Jr Smith dropped Paul George with behind the back dribble pic.twitter.com/Yq5ohYht90

— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 16, 2015

• The capo di tutti capi (boss of bosses) play of the night goes to Mo Gotti for summoning the Kraken with LeBron James surprisingly spry Richard Jefferson. Jefferson had a nice game offensively, putting up 14 points, including a pair of triples.

https://youtu.be/FzV-u2W_HYA

• Anderson Varejao continued his efficient offensive preseason play. There were times where it looked like he was giving the ball a cranium crush in the post, but he still managed to put it in the hole.
• Jared Cunningham is a lock for the team. His first step is devastating, and as EvilGenius mentioned on our email chain, he can run the point, as shown by his game high eight assists.
• Paul George is back, and that’s a plus for hoops heads everywhere. I disagree with Austin Carr that George is where he was before the injury athletically. Sasha Kaun rejected him at the rim by going vertical, and two years ago George would gone Carter/Weis on him. Either way, it’s nice to see that he’s healthy, and he might be a more cerebral player than he was before the injury.

BOO

• If you just glanced over the box score, you’d think that Moz had a great game, and he did in the post offensively. Off the ball, he just set random picks on the perimeter like a guy in pick up game who doesn’t know what to do. It’s the basketball equivalent of not knowing what to do with your hands while acting. Moz was absolutely abused on defense by Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner. My “are you kidding me” moment came when Timo bit on a lazy Mahinmi shot fake, which led to a pair of free throws. Mahinmi looked like Rich Paul’s version of Tristan Thompson. Turner was impressive with a hard rejection on a Dionte Christmas layup, and his ability to stretch the floor. The pair combined for 27 points on just 16 shots.
• As nice as it is seeing chemistry grow between guys, they are still unfamiliar with one another’s tendencies. Passes were often mistimed. The Cavs had a ridiculous 22 turnovers in the first 37 minutes of the game.
• Monte Ellis had his way with the Cavs’ backcourt, no matter who was guarding him.
• C.J. Miles couldn’t find his shot in his old stomping grounds. It’s strange to root for a player on the opposition, but of all of the former Cavs during the dark ages, he’s probably the one that I’d like to have back the most.
• I don’t like the Cavs’ court design. I’ve held that in for awhile. I get the Cleveland pride thing with the skyline and all that jazz, but I’m a blues kind of guy. I like simplicity. There’s just too much going on with the floor like a metal band with three guitars. They drown one another out. Less is more. It’s cleaner.