So much to be discouraged about.
So much to be encouraged about, too.
The Pacers’ 111-106 overtime loss to Cleveland at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Monday drove a wedge between the optimists and pessimists of the world, and gave each side plenty of fodder to support their viewpoints.
The pessimists could point to Paul George continuing to look nothing like the player who earned a starting spot in the All-Star Game, finishing this one with 11 points and five turnovers.
There’s also the Pacers’ relentless inability to execute a play on a game-winning or game-saving possession. They blew two more against the Cavs, at the end of regulation and the end of overtime, not to mention other possessions leading up to those ultimate opportunities, continuing a series of misadventure that stretches the boundaries of reason. It’s no coincidence they’re 1-5 in overtime games this season.
Optimists, meanwhile, can fall back on the fact the Pacers took the best team in the Eastern Conference to the limit despite poor shooting performances from their two leading scorers – George and Monta Ellis, who combined to hit 8-of-33 shots – and the absence of starting center Ian Mahinmi, who is day-to-day with a sore back. The Cavs (35-12) are in the honeymoon period with new coach Tyronn Lue and had won their four previous games, and had every player available, so they’re one of the NBA’s toughest outs at the moment.
Pacers’ rookie Myles Turner also continues to line all gray clouds with silver, despite a major gaffe. He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and not a single turnover in 36 1/2 minutes, not to mention a Play-of-the-Day-variety block of LeBron James’ dunk attempt that Turner himself called “surreal.”
Turner had a similar block of Gary Harris’ layup in Saturday’s overtime win over Denver, but he also blew the execution of an end-of-game play in that one when he set a screen at the wrong angle, forcing Monta Ellis into a bad shot at the end of regulation that forced overtime.
This time he forgot to set a screen for George on the baseline, forcing Ellis into another bad shot at the end of regulation. He had set a screen for Ellis to run out to catch the inbound pass, but failed to follow up with a cross-screen for George to get a pass on the weakside.
“That was all on me,” Turner said. “I kind of forgot the play. I forgot the play. I’m really frustrated about it. I just have to move past it. I put my teammates in a bad position by doing that. It’s behind me, though.”
Pacers coach Frank Vogel was just as eager to to accept the blame.
“It’s my fault,” he said. “That play was on me. I’ve got a young kid in a crunch time situation I need to look him in the eye and tell him what to do. It’s on me.”
Turner was far from alone in his failure to execute. The Pacers had a chance to force a second overtime when they had the ball out of bounds trailing by three points with 13.7 seconds left. The plan was for George to create his own 3-pointer or hit George Hill coming off a screen on the left wing. Hill, however, wound up forcing a shot with his left foot inside the 3-point line that missed badly and wouldn’t have mattered even it it had gone in.
“We ran what was drawn up,” George said. “G-Hill was supposed to come off and get that easy opportunity. Probably was just unsure of how much time was left.”
An overtime loss to the Cavaliers isn’t an embarrassment, but the Pacers have bigger issues: their lack of offense down the stretch of close games and George’s inconsistency. They scored just 17 fourth-quarter points in this one as they increasingly failed to find good shots. After taking a 93-89 lead on Ellis’ driving layup with 4 minutes left, they had three chances to extend the lead. They responded with a turnover when George threw the ball behind Ellis on the perimeter, Ellis missed a 3-pointer and Ellis lost his dribble while unguarded at mid-court.
That allowed the Cavs to get within a point on J.R. Smiths’ 3-pointer, then George lost the ball on the baseline and was forced into a jump ball. He lost the tip with Kevin Love, and LeBron James beat George on the left wing for a go-ahead basket. George Hill responded with a 3-pointer to give the Pacers their final lead in regulation, 96-94 with 53.7 seconds left, but after a timeout Kyrie Irving dribbled off a screen to hit an easy jumper in the foul lane to tie the game.
Hill missed a forced jumper on the Pacers’ next possession, but Lavoy Allen drew a rebound foul. After a timeout to set up the potential game-winner, Turner failed to execute the final play in regulation.
“We get stagnant on offense,” said Solomon Hill, who played 20 solid minutes off the bench with 10 points and six rebounds. “Everybody’s just standing around. Throughout the game we were getting breakaways, we were getting to the cup, we were getting (the ball) to the post. We had a mix of everything. At the end of the game we’re just going to a couple of things.
“We have a lead because of the things we did to get there. Let’s not change up how we’ve been playing, let’s keep it the same way.”
George had no problem with the end-of-game play-calls, saying “I’m behind my coach 100 percent.” He is, however, struggling to find his place in the revised team chemistry. He averaged 27.9 points while hitting 45 percent of his 3-pointers over the first 20 games, earning his starting spot in the All-Star Game. He’s been erratic since then, and most recently has looked out of sorts trying to find a niche within the remade lineup.
Ellis is healthier and taking over more of the offense. Adding Turner to the starting lineup forces another adjustment. In the three games Turner has started, George has averaged 13.7 points on 29 percent shooting. He’s taken 41 shots in those games, while Ellis has taken 57 and Turner 44.
“It’s changed; it’s definitely changed,” George said. “To start the year off, I kind of felt … the coach was giving me the confidence with the green light. I’m still confident. Guys are still making the right plays. It just seems we’re in transition a little bit.”
Are you OK with that?
“As long as we’re winning,” he said. “I pride myself on being a go-to guy and the leader of this team, so it’s bothering a little bit, but again, at the end of the day, I’m all in on this team and Coach puts guys in great positions to succeed.”
The Pacers remain in transition, as they have been all season. Now, at least, they have a set starting lineup, which Mahinmi will rejoin when he’s healthy again. Rodney Stuckey will be back before too long, boosting the second unit. Monday’s game indicates they have enough weapons to compete with every team in the East, but they’ll surely need George to get back to being an All-Star again to have any chance to do anything meaningful.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the emergence of Paul really soon,” Solomon Hill said. “His work ethic, the way he goes about it every day … he’ll find it coming back to him pretty soon.”
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