Pacers not pretty but productive
MINNEAPOLIS— They are far from the flashiest team in the NBA, a group of grinders more likely to hammer an opponent physically rather than win with athleticism and grace.
But it doesn’t really matter in the end because the Indiana Pacers are proving toughness is as good as if not better than flash.
The Pacers just finished a perfect 4-0 trip, they have won eight of their past 10 and they began Thursday night action one-half game out of second place in the East. How? They don’t have anyone whom fans might deem an established superstar, but they are a group that just finds a way to get things done. David West might be the best mid-range shooting big man in the NBA, Paul George provides most of the athleticism they need and Roy Hibbert is in one of his “good” phases of late.
Hibbert, who can suffer through stretches of mediocrity fuelled by self-doubt, averaged 22 points on 59 per cent shooting from the field and 10 rebounds a game on Indiana’s road trip.
Some of that came in games West missed with a bad back as Hibbert became more of focal point.
“There were obviously more touches for him, more minutes for him,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel told the Indianapolis Star. “I think that extended time, and extended emphasis on the offensive end, helped him find more of a rhythm that had been missing this year.”
It remains to be seen if the Pacers have the depth to make a long run in the post-season but they won’t back down from anyone and are bursting with confidence now.
WHO’S HOT?
The Houston Rockets. If there were those who worried whether James Harden could assume responsibility as the top dog on team, their questions have been answered.
Harden’s Rockets are 7-3 in their past 10, and have moved comfortably into seventh place in the Western Conference. If they finish strongly enough, sixth isn’t out of reach.
WHO’S NOT?
The Los Angeles Clippers. There are those who wonder if they’re built for a long playoff run, and they are stumbling in the home stretch of the season.
They are just 5-5 in the past 10, and have fallen to fourth in the West. They’ll keep a top-four seed because they’ll win the Pacific Division but it’s going to be a harder road to the conference final.
ON FIRE
There is no individual player hotter today than Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks.
Anthony poured in 50 points as the Knicks beat Miami on Tuesday and followed that up with 40 points in New York’s win over Atlanta on Wednesday. Anthony was so much the focus of New York’s offence that through three quarters of the Atlanta game, he had scored 36 points. The rest of his team had combined for 32. Anthony’s exploits have helped New York continue its league-best winning streak, which has now reached 10 as the Knicks are closing in on the Atlantic Division title.
IT MIGHT NOT BE BIG IN B.C . . .
The Memphis Grizzlies, a team that tends to fly under the radar in the regular season, are having the best year in franchise history. Fans of the team when it was Canada’s second franchise certainly didn’t enjoy too many moments, but the folks in Memphis have. When the Grizzlies beat Portland on Wednesday (ex-Raptor Ed Davis had 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes), it moved Memphis to 51-24 on the season. The 51 wins are the most in a single season for the Grizzlies (the Vancouver incarnation won 48 in total over its first three years of existence) and left Memphis in a tie with Denver for the third-best record in the Western Conference. That puts Memphis in the driver’s seat to have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs; coach Lionel Hollins isn’t all that impressed. “It’s not a motivation,” he said. “The players might think about it, but I just want us to play well. We had home court last year and we lost the series (to the Los Angeles Clippers). You just have to go play, and play.”