While Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers will officially go down as a loss, the Bulls‘ effort should not go unnoticed considering they were playing shorthanded on the road against one of the top defensive teams. Indiana has had the Bulls’ number lately, now accounting for three of the Bulls six losses amongst central division foes since Thibodeau took over as head coach of the Bulls.
The Bulls ran a screen-heavy offense just like the Pacers and had players that matched up well against Indiana, however Chicago did a poor job working through screens and closing out on perimeter shooters. As a result, Indiana went 6-for-14 from downtown.
Donnie Walsh returns to the Pacers and Larry Bird takes a walk. This is kind of how it used to be in Indiana. Donnie Walsh was running the show and the Pacers were a good-looking team. I think we can all safely say that Donnie’s time in New York was not exactly fruitful, and it’s probably a good thing that he just went back to the Pacers so that they could get back to their roots.
I think MJ will take MKG under his wing and try to develop him into a star. Has the attributes to defend, rebound and attack the basket, however he has an unusual shooting stroke. With the help of MJ, this can be corrected at the age of 18, as he has plenty of time to develop. May reach for Beal for greater offensive power or a big man in Robinson.
If you missed the Game 5 matchup of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, you missed quite the show. The game itself wasn’t much—the Heat put a 115-83 beatdown on the Pacers—but it was the battles, particularly the three flagrant fouls, that now has everybody talking.
The first occurred early in the second quarter, when Tyler Hansbrough came down hard on the back of the neck of Dwyane Wade. It wasn’t the most brutal flagrant foul ever, but it was enough to get the Heat all riled up.
It’s been two days since Dwyane Wade’s epic third-quarter meltdown in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers and we still don’t know where exactly the Heat are as a team.
Following the disappointing 94-75 loss Thursday night, a defeat that was magnified by a sideline confrontation between Wade and coach Erik Spoelstra, the Heat have gone into hiding. Per NBA rules, teams are not required to meet with the media if they don’t hold practice. So in order to avoid answering questions as to how they are going to recover from being down 2-1 in the series, or what exactly Wade said to his coach, or why the team has looked so average the last two games, the Heat circumvented the media by just canceling their Friday practice in an effort to “circle the wagons” a bit and review game film.
The Pacers pounded the Magic 97-74 last night in what I would like to think of as a statement game. Not only did the Pacers show that they are clearly the better team, but they also showed that they are a great team, period. It may seem weird to say because the Pacers are sort of a rag-tag bunch of talent that is assembled around Danny Granger, but it’s true. The Pacers are a great team.
The first week of the hectic 2012 NBA Playoffs are in the books and already there are plenty of story lines and drama that will likely ensure to become a very entertaining 40 nights to decide a champion. From the match ups to the injuries and records being broken, every game this weekend had worth watching and plenty of things to discuss: The Magic and Clippers are up 1-0, Derrick Rose is out and the Spurs and Heat look like the best teams in the postseason. Highlights from Weekend 1 include:
Orlando won game one of its playoff series with the Pacers–surprisingly–and I have to say it. It feels like a tease. Dwight Howard is out, but, somehow, the Magic prevailed, so, of course, they would get better with him, right?
Well, I guess, but, if this kind of tease is the thing that convinces the Magic that they need to keep him, I would be pretty concerned if I were a Magic fan. Basically, he’s been dragging this out for years with the Magic without once giving them any semblance of hope, and, I must say, him agreeing to stay another year is not hopeful.
The Lakers lost their third in a row, this time to the Pacers. However, it is not a fluke. The Pacers are starting to become something more than a nice story with a nice coach who came out of nowhere to get that job and do it well.
Roy Hibbert looks a bit different, he’s refined his game somewhat, and he was able to handle Gasol and Bynum last night. Remember when we thought that the Pacers were silly for trusting their franchise to Tyler Hansbrough? Yeah. They weren’t doing that. They were waiting for something better and hoping Hansbrough would be a nice get. Roy Hibbert is turning out to be a force on the inside.
Frank Vogel was never worried about the stereotypes that come with being an “interim” coach—not after he led the Indiana Pacers to their first playoff berth since 2006.
“They never told me I wasn’t going to be the coach, so I just tried to carry myself like I was,” the 38-year-old said Wednesday after the IndianaPacers officially made him the coach.
Vogel didn’t have an easy job. After taking over for Jim O’Brien in the middle of last season, Vogel rallied the troops to a 20-18 record to close out the regular season.
Charlotte | 
