Pacers very glad to be done in wild, wild West
By
Bruno
• March 8, 2010 • 4:50 PM
In case you weren't able to stay up late last week, allow me to summarize the Pacers' four-game trip through the Western Conference playoff race.
T.J. Ford is the starting point guard once again, completing a full-circle trip that has taken him from the lineup to the end of the bench to nearly being traded to Charlotte and back to the lineup. And he's playing much better this second (or is it third?) time around.
Josh McRoberts has become relevant off the bench, playing four games in a row for just the second time this season and producing 35 points, 12 rebounds and six or seven monster dunks.
You know how it always seems like you forget to pack something for a long trip? For the Pacers, it was defense. They allowed an average of 114.8 points in losing to the Lakers, Blazers, Nuggets and Suns.
Despite the 0-4 record, Coach Jim O'Brien was encouraged by the team's fast-break volume and efficiency; they outscored the Nuggets and Suns on fast-break points, no mean feat.
The lads are playing with a bit more of an edge. They had gone 16 games without an individual technical foul but had at least one in each game of the trip, capped by the Phoenix game that had a combined eight technicals, an ejection, one minor engagement (between McRoberts and Louis Amundson) and one more prominent set-to that resulted in the ejection of Channing Frye. That's right, noted pacifist Channing Frye was tossed for throwing a punch in the general direction of Danny Granger.
Roy Hibbert did not come up with any new post-dunk dances but he did put on a 22-point, five-block show in Phoenix, proving he's unquestionably better than at least one of the Lopez twins.
Danny Granger continued to score with a vengeance. If not for the Lakers game, in which Granger wore Ron Artest like a vest and scored just nine points, he would've averaged 30 for the trip, and he's not just making jumpers, he's attacking the rim again.
Mike Dunleavy did not find his stroke on the road. He's 10-of-34 (.294) overall and 3-of-16 (.188) from the 3-point line in the last six games, as mystifying a slump as has transpired in this season of mystifying slumps.
O'Brien continued to break news on his weekly radio program on 1070 The Fan, revealing Tyler Hansbrough may have a post-concussion problem in addition to the inner ear infection and reiterating he doesn't expect the rookie to play again this season.
The Pacers are very, very, very, very, very glad to be done with the Western Conference portion of their road schedule. They were 1-14 on the road against teams from the West this season, making the Rockets wonder just where they went wrong.
And, finally, with a 20-43 record, the Pacers' tragic number is down to eight, which means any combination of eight losses by Indiana or victories by whoever happens to be in eighth place will officially certify Indiana's fourth straight trip to the lottery. Follow Bruno on Twitter
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