| First Half Gold, Second Half Blue Authored by Andrew Perna - November 26, 2008 - 3:31 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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Indiana is 5-8, with three consecutive losses, heading into their battle with Houston on Wednesday night. In each of their last three losses against Dallas, Miami and Orlando the Pacers led at the midway point.
They also held a lead at halftime against Philadelphia, Cleveland and Phoenix, three more losses that came in the early part of the month.
In addition to that, they were beating the Mavericks, Magic, 76ers and Cavaliers after three quarters, further proving just how terrible they have been in the fourth quarter this season.
Having the reputation of being a "first-half" team is one thing, but collapsing in the second half six times in thirteen games is frightening.
Not surprisingly, their issues in the second half, and fourth quarter specifically, have been a result of both poor offense and porous defense. It could be that they still aren't disciplined and cohesive enough to keep the clamps on opponents, or that they still aren't seasoned enough as a team to withstand the inevitable run that every NBA team makes.
"For us to become a good basketball team and win consistently or win a decent amount of these games we've got to finish down the stretch. I don't know what we were ahead going into the third, but we've been down this road before and for whatever reason we didn't execute," Jeff Foster said on Tuesday night after another disappointing loss.
2008-09 Quarter Scoring Breakdowns
Team: First, Second, Third, Fourth
IND: 28.8, 23.8, 23.5, 23.5
OPP: 23.9, 25.1, 23.9, 25.3
As you can see, Indiana's scoring averages drop in each quarter. If their defense was consistent, an early start wouldn't necessarily be an issue, but that is far from the case.
Looking at their opponent's scoring averages it's really the fourth quarter, and not the third, during which the Pacers are losing games.
Either way, the question remains why are they losing so many games in crunch time?
Are they losing steam?
It could be that they are pushing the ball too hard, and exerting too much energy at the start of games. That would explain why they score a game-high 28.8 points in the first, and appear to play the best defense in the first and third quarter, when they have halftime to catch their collective breath.
Are they losing focus on the defensive end?
Crumbling late especially as they did against Cleveland when they allowed the Cavs to score 40 points in the fourth is obviously a huge problem. They also need to start taking better take of the basketball though. Danny Granger is averaging 1.3 turnovers in the fourth quarter, second to just Minnesota's Sebastian Telfair (who has played 72 fewer fourth-quarter minutes).
Do they lack the mental toughness to hang onto leads against tough opponents?
Comeback victories by teams like Phoenix, Cleveland, Orlando and Dallas all of whom have enjoyed some measure of postseason success clearly indicates that Indiana is still far behind the contenders in each conference.
Is it Jim O'Brien?
Some are wondering why Jarrett Jack has gotten significant time in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers have been manhandled by the opposing team's bench this season. The starters are averaging 74.6 points, while the bench is posting just 25.1 points per game. They have the 6th-highest scoring starting unit in the NBA, but are 24th in bench scoring. The reserves need to produce better, and more effectively.
Have guys like Granger and T.J. Ford been unable to handle the pressure of being the go-to option down the stretch?
Well, Granger is averaging 6.5 points in the final quarter, but is shooting just 41.4% from the floor. There is also that turnover problem I mentioned earlier. Ford, meanwhile, is posting 4.5 points and 0.8 assists on 41.3% shooting in the fourth. A strong argument could be made that both need to be more efficient with the game hanging in the balance.
Eight of their next nine opponents, beginning with the Rockets on Wednesday night, qualified for the playoffs last spring.
Chances are that they won't even be building huge leads to blow against teams like the Lakers, Pistons and Celtics, so holding onto any sort of lead will be tougher than ever.
"It's very frustrating. It's a habit we're going to have to learn to break or we're going to be very disappointed this year," Granger said following the loss to Dallas on Tuesday night. "We just can't seem to close teams out. [I] can't tell you why. I don't know."
If the Pacers aren't able to correct this issue over the next two weeks, they could easily fall even deeper into the basement of the central division.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
