From Distance: Keeping Pace

four point play….

1. With the Cleveland Cavaliers getting blown out relatively early in their game against the Orlando Magic, last night was a good opportunity for NBA fans to check out some more exciting contests. (At least in a split-screen).

We were given two dramatic game endings between fun teams. In the Mavericks/Nuggets matchup, Luka Doncic threw down a go-ahead dunk that was answered by a game winning bizarro toss from Nicola Jokic. A shot couldn’t be more Joker-esque than that absurdity.

Over in Indiana, a weakside put-back layup from fresh face, Wesley Matthews lifted the Pacers over old friend, Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Both games were entertaining for different reasons. The Doncic/Jokic matchup is more than enough to warrant this basketball junkie’s attention. That Mike Malone saved us from the misery that is Isaiah Thomas was an added gift. (Sidenote: He has been as terrible this season as he was last year. Denver would be smart to permanently pull the plug on that experiment. He isn’t going to “round into form”.)

In the other arena, it was fun to see a superstar return to his jilted small-market team. Considering George stayed with a different small-market team after flirting with L.A., his return to Indiana had another kind of venom than other analogous situations a la Durant, Bosh, or Bron. Last year, Indiana showered George with boos. This year, he received an interesting mix. Indiana does love basketball, and it is hard to boo something as beautiful as PG-13 circa 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gezsmpgXv0w

Only a couple pieces remain from George’s last year in Indiana, but it was clear that the crowd both enjoyed his spectacular play and desperately wanted to see his Thunder lose. Paul George certainly did put on a show dropping 36 points in 36 minutes. He seems to have rebounded from his post All-Star break cold spell by hitting 9 of 14 threes over the last two games. With George cooking, the Pacers needed someone to step up.

With Victor Oladipo out for the season, it was fitting that the Pacer who led the way was the other guy in the George/Oladipo trade. Young Lithuanian bigman,  Domantas Sabonis has been fantastic of the bench all season for the Pacers.

After missing five games with an ankle injury, Sabonis returned to action earlier in the week against the 76ers. After a couple feel out games, Sabonis found his footing against the Thunder. The bigman scored 26 by swishing 13 from the stripe. Defensively, Sabonis is always a terror, sliding his feet more efficiently than most expect.

The Pacers stuck with Sabonis and Myles Turner down the stretch against the Thunder. It is not the easiest combination to play against many “pace and space” teams in the NBA, but it worked well against the Thunder’s large line up of so-so shooters. The Pacers are eager to see how the two players fare together this postseason so they can have a better idea of what to do this summer when team building questions arise. If Turner and Sabonis can consistently play well together, the Pacers could be in a far more comfortable position going forward.

2. This current Pacers team sits a half game ahead of the 76ers for the third seed. Neither the 76ers or Celtics want to be trapped into playing each other in a four/five  matchup.

Either team would be considered a huge failure if they were unable to get out of the first round. That Boston/Philly matchup could as easily happen in the Eastern Conference Finals if the plucky Pacers would stop being so stubbornly good.

If the Pacers can somehow maintain the three spot and face the Nets or surging Pistons in the first round, they would have a great chance of advancing. The Nets offer a somewhat awkward matchup, but the Pacers’ size and talent should be able to overwhelm Brooklyn over a series.

Against the Pistons, the Sabonis/Turner frontcourt could even become a necessity instead of a curiosity. Indiana would likely win relatively easily against a Pistons team that lacks any quality guard play.

For the Pacers, the Wesley Matthews acquisition has greatly bolstered the wing defense and three point shooting from the back-court. Bojan Bogdanovic has a strange ability to defend the NBA’s best wings more effectively than he can guard an everyday athletic wing. Go figure.

Clearly, the Pacers are a better team with Oladipo than without, but Nate McMillan has done a wonderful job of creating a team chemistry that values egalitarian scoring and tenacious defense. For McMillan, already a Coach of the Year winner, it has been one of his finest seasons.

3. Now is as good a time as any to eat crow over my Los Angeles Lakers playoff prediction. I could cite injuries or general Anthony Davis malaise as reasons why my pick held water until “things” happened, but that would undermine the spirit of a prediction.

Any record prediction should include the possibility of injury and general LeBron created confusion. The Lakers did look incredibly good against the Warriors the day James strained his groin. They were firing on all cylinders, showed a decent understanding of rotational defense, and had an exciting pace of play.

We have since realized that that was only a successful exception in a season full of disastrously terrible defense, general LeBron’isms, and hilariously bad front office choices in the 2018 offseason.

So I tip my cap to Evil Genius who was probably the most steadfast disbeliever in Lakers success. I was certainly wrong. Though it could make me feel slightly better to be with so many people on this wrong side of the argument, it actually makes me feel more silly. If any folks should have guessed that LeBron would destroy his young players’ confidence and get a coach fired, it should have been all of us here on the site. I guess it comes down to my irrational love of Lance Stephenson. Oh Lance, why can’t I quit you?!

4. I did anticipate that the Boston Celtics would not breeze through this regular season on the way to winning a million games. Like with LeBron, no team with Kyrie Irving is likely to win a huge percentage of regular season games.

Still, this new consensus that the Celtics are hopelessly lost, and that their team chemistry will not allow them to make it deep into the playoffs has gotten a little bit out of hand.

The whole reason to have Kyrie Irving and your team is for the playoffs. I find it strange that the media at large has forgotten what makes Kyrie Irving special, or to a lesser degree, what makes Jayson Tatum great. The ability to make bad shots in one-on-one ball.

While I still think that the Raptors, Bucks, Celtics and Sixers are the cream of the East (in that order), it would in no way shock me if the Celtics got their act together and pushed the Warriors in the Finals. It’s the regular season folks. Why do we pretend it is so important every year?

https://youtu.be/Wk9nUE135Jg

Then again, losing in the regular season could matter. Thank the basketball gods that this guy only tweaked his knee a while back.