Hero-ball explains Pacers’ offensive collapse
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Columnist
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainmnet)
Well, it was there for the taking Sunday night.
Make a list of the things the Pacers would have wanted to happen in Game 4 and put a check box next to them, and you’ll see Indiana had a tremendous opportunity to take control of its best-of-seven first-round series with Cleveland.
• Quiet night from Kevin Love? Check. Cleveland’s second-best player had 11 rebounds but only five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
• Cavaliers holding out George Hill? Check. For seven days, they tried and tried to loosen up Hill’s ailing back, but, after three games of obvious discomfort, those back spasms finally had their starting point guard sitting in street clothes. His status is in doubt for Game 5 on Wednesday night in Cleveland.
• Lance Stephenson getting under the Cavs’ skin? Check. His line (11 points and six assists) was the end product of a classic Stephenson night. You take the bad (ill-advised jump shots) with the good (pretty much everything else) and chuckle at how he baited LeBron James into a technical foul.
• Another amazing comeback? Check. The Cavs led by 16 midway through the second quarter, but Domantas Sabonis (19 points, six rebounds) and Myles Turner (17 points) helped Indy get back in the game and eventually seize a fourth-quarter lead.
A victory? Alas, that box remained empty.
Series tied 2-2. #Pacers miss a huge opportunity, as they tend to do every time LeBron is here.
It's now a best-of-3. Cavs are still vulnerable, and the Pacers love being doubted.
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) April 23, 2018
The reason it did was because Indiana’s offense locked up down the stretch. Victor Oladipo made one of two free throws to push the Pacers’ lead to 93-91 with 4:28 left in the fourth quarter. Then, for the first time this series, Indiana flinched.
From the 4:28 mark until 24 seconds remained in the game, the Pacers mustered only two points as Cleveland made a 10-2 run. Indy came up empty on five of their six possessions in that span and saw a two-point lead become a six-point deficit.
How did the Pacers’ offense grind to a halt? Let’s break it down.
In those six trips, they took seven shots and made one. Only two of those attempts were taken from within 15 feet, and the Pacers’ precision ball movement vanished, causing them to be something they’re not: an isolation-heavy, hero-ball team.
The 6-foot-4 Oladipo, who shot just 5-for-20, pulled up from 20 feet with the 6-10 Love closely guarding him. Clank. There was not a single pass on that trip after the ball crossed midcourt.
The next time down the floor, two Pacers touched the ball, but Darren Collison dominated it, dribbling for 20 seconds only to produce a desperation 12-footer that was rejected by Love.
“We kind of settled,” Collison said. “We didn’t get the looks we wanted in the last couple minutes.”
Indiana also had a poor possession with the score 99-95, managing to get off only an airballed 3-pointer from the corner by Turner with 2:01 left.
Oladipo again never passed the ball before he pulled the trigger on a 3 with Indiana down six and 1:40 remaining. Clank.
With a shade under a minute to go, Indiana produced a contested 3 from Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young secured the rebound but missed a putback attempt, and the Pacers’ offensive meltdown was complete.
“We didn’t play the game the right way,” coach Nate McMillan said. “I thought there were some quick shots, some heroic shots, that were taken, and you’re not going to win if you play like that. I saw it throughout the game and certainly at the end.”
Poor shot selection, not earning free throws and running a one-on-one fest instead of their offense? The Pacers were anything but the picture of cool in crunch time.
“I thought we (were) frantic offensively,” McMillan said. “Sometimes you get into emotional games and you’re so pumped up you try to do things by yourself. A lot of times it doesn’t work. We talk about being calm and poised. We need to calm down and execute, and we need to be connected. You play together, and I didn’t think we were connected (in Game 4).”
It’s the last time this series the Pacers can afford to say that. Because they now need another road win to upset Cleveland, one has to wonder if their best opportunity to steal the series passed them by on Sunday night.
Oladipo- "Tough loss. Doesn't feel good. At the end of the day, it's a series. Gotta be even-keeled. We're looking forward to the challenge."
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) April 23, 2018
