2014 Playoffs - Eastern Semifinals - (1)Pacers vs. (5)Wizards

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

No poll, because I don't create polls for games/series after opening tip-off.


Game 1 - 5 May, 19:00 TNT
Game 2 - 7 May, 19:00 TNT
Game 3 - 9 May, 20:00 ESPN
Game 4 - 11 May, 20:00 TNT
Game 5 - 13 May, TBA* TNT
Game 6 - 15 May, TBA* ESPN
Game 7 - 18 May, TBA*

All Times Eastern
* If Necessary.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Drew Gooden is good for what I like to call a gentleman's 10 and 8.

 

[Hadlowe]

Drew Gooden is good for what I like to call a gentleman's 10 and 8.

Was Trevor Booker injured? Suspended? I can't figure out what Drew Gooden was doing on the floor in this game.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Was Trevor Booker injured? Suspended? I can't figure out what Drew Gooden was doing on the floor in this game.

I do not grok this statement; Drew Gooden is better than Trevor Booker. And, for the record, Booker did play, he just didn't do ****.

 

[kingsboi]

Booker probably won't play much in this series due to the fact that he doesn't spread the floor like Gooden does. How was Roy Hibbert an all-star by the way...

 

[Hadlowe]

Booker probably won't play much in this series due to the fact that he doesn't spread the floor like Gooden does. How was Roy Hibbert an all-star by the way...

For half the season, he was the best paint protector in the league and not awful at rebounding/scoring. I don't know what has happened over the last three months.

 

[KingMilz]

Was Trevor Booker injured? Suspended? I can't figure out what Drew Gooden was doing on the floor in this game.

Floor spacing/shooting for Gooden, plus Drew was monstering everyone in his way on the boards with nifty one hand putbacks, Drew might have been the difference he was like 12 points 13 boards. Booker looked nervous out there traveling and making a few ill advised plays so coach yanked him. Plus everytime during the regular season Gooden got decent time he easily outplayed Booker imo.

The more I watch the Wizards to me style wise they might be the only team that can beat Miami, they got the reciepe in a elite PG two quality bigs who play both ends and like 3-4 40% 3 point shooters. If they both make it through should be a interesting series.

Wizards are a joy to watch they have become my 2nd favourite team this year. I honestly feel terrible for Roy he seems like a nice/hard working type guy I've never seen someone break down on confidents like this in my life watching any sport.

 

[jalfa]

Gooden did play some terrible defence, though, and mucked up the spacing on some offensive possessions as well. it's good that his shot was falling and he kept hustling on the offensive boards, but I'd be very hesitant to put any trust in him going forward. Booker was bad when he played, but he was key in the Chicago series. he needs to get his act together for the next game.

as far as the Pacers, they don't really have the offence to hurt Washington much. Ariza is a near perfect match up to bother Paul George, Stevenson is too erratic, Hibbert is still comatose and as valiantly as the West/Watson/Scola/Hill group fought (some lucky shots by Hill in there, though), they are not going to be enough against this Wizards team. it doesn't help that Vogel won't be able to play Copeland, as Gortat or Nene would feast on him, down-low.

sidenote: is anybody else irritated that Scott Foster is allowed to be crew chief on a crew featuring Bill Kennedy? I don't think much of Foster, who seems well on his way to become the next Joey Crawford, while Kennedy is one of the two best refs in the game, imo.

 

[KingMilz]

Gooden did play some terrible defence, though, and mucked up the spacing on some offensive possessions as well. it's good that his shot was falling and he kept hustling on the offensive boards, but I'd be very hesitant to put any trust in him going forward. Booker was bad when he played, but he was key in the Chicago series. he needs to get his act together for the next game.

as far as the Pacers, they don't really have the offence to hurt Washington much. Ariza is a near perfect match up to bother Paul George, Stevenson is too erratic, Hibbert is still comatose and as valiantly as the West/Watson/Scola/Hill group fought (some lucky shots by Hill in there, though), they are not going to be enough against this Wizards team. it doesn't help that Vogel won't be able to play Copeland, as Gortat or Nene would feast on him, down-low.

.

I think they could if they go small, honestly with the way Roy has been playing Scola could not be any worse defending Gortat who he knows very well from there days in Phoenix. I would play more of a Hill/George/Copeland/Scola/West line up, even with Hibbert or Mahimi they have no chance of stopping Nene one on one may as well put your best shooting line up out there. Lance is just all over the place and often times hurts the team with that isolation dribbling crap (same with Turner).

I just think Washington is a better team and with the way Wall gets into the paint Ariza/Webster/Beal are going to continue to shoot at a high % and Nene has been impacting the game like very few in these playoffs.

 

[kingsboi]

Keep in mind too that when Washington went on that scoring drought with 12 straight misses Nene was out of the game due to foul trouble. Once he re-entered the game, the Wiz offense became productive again. He is vital for this team moving forward...obviously.

 

[Hadlowe]

I think they could if they go small, honestly with the way Roy has been playing Scola could not be any worse defending Gortat who he knows very well from there days in Phoenix. I would play more of a Hill/George/Copeland/Scola/West line up, even with Hibbert or Mahimi they have no chance of stopping Nene one on one may as well put your best shooting line up out there. Lance is just all over the place and often times hurts the team with that isolation dribbling crap (same with Turner).

I just think Washington is a better team and with the way Wall gets into the paint Ariza/Webster/Beal are going to continue to shoot at a high % and Nene has been impacting the game like very few in these playoffs.

Scola is not good enough offensively to give up the size and defensive advantages that Hibbert brings. The Pacers also lack the depth to be a small running team. San Antonio does it because they can legitimately go ten deep into the bench. Thunder can go 9 deep. Clippers can go ten deep. Pacers have the starting five (with Hibbert and Hill stinking it up) then Scola, Mahinmi and Turner and a bunch of guys who might not see play time on the Kings. They play it slow because they are a shallow team.

No, the Pacers win when they play defense, something their size helps them do, but something they haven't been doing for three months. I wonder if the team is just tired. They played so hard for the first three months of the season, and now they just look gassed.

 

[jalfa]

I think they could if they go small, honestly with the way Roy has been playing Scola could not be any worse defending Gortat who he knows very well from there days in Phoenix. I would play more of a Hill/George/Copeland/Scola/West line up, even with Hibbert or Mahimi they have no chance of stopping Nene one on one may as well put your best shooting line up out there. Lance is just all over the place and often times hurts the team with that isolation dribbling crap (same with Turner).

I just think Washington is a better team and with the way Wall gets into the paint Ariza/Webster/Beal are going to continue to shoot at a high % and Nene has been impacting the game like very few in these playoffs.

that would probably be too drastic a change to work well for them. they'd have to completely change their identity on the fly, which is really hard to do anyway and even more so in the playoffs. plus, that lineup has other inherent disadvantages. it would force Vogel to play Stephenson and Turner together, who have really terrible chemistry. unless of course Turner is just benched, period, which would actually a pretty decent idea, given that he's pretty terrible. but they'd probably be beaten up on the boards even worse and West/Scola offer pretty much negative rim protection, so once you involve them in pick and rolls with Nene or Gortat, either the lane is wide open or they give up open threes to Beal and Ariza. all in all, the Pacers are pretty much screwed, unless they can find their intensity from the beginning of the season again, which seems unlikely.

 

[kingsnation]

For half the season, he was the best paint protector in the league and not awful at rebounding/scoring. I don't know what has happened over the last three months.

Half the season may be being generous. I'd say at best it was November and December. MAYBE half of January. However, when the team decided to implode, he did as well. Not sure if it was coinciding or cause and effect with that team.

 

[jalfa]

trying not to read too much into it, but was ousting Andrew Bynum really all it took to get the Pacers back on track? defence was insane in this game and the Wizards completely imploded after half. bad shot selection, terrible turnovers and a loss of focus on the defensive end for them. wasn't even just inexperience, as Gortat, Nene, and even the old sage Andre Miller were affected.

putting Paul George on Beal was a good idea, btw, and one that Vogel came up suspiciously late. why didn't he go there from the beginning?

 

[Hadlowe]

trying not to read too much into it, but was ousting Andrew Bynum really all it took to get the Pacers back on track? defence was insane in this game and the Wizards completely imploded after half. bad shot selection, terrible turnovers and a loss of focus on the defensive end for them. wasn't even just inexperience, as Gortat, Nene, and even the old sage Andre Miller were affected.

putting Paul George on Beal was a good idea, btw, and one that Vogel came up suspiciously late. why didn't he go there from the beginning?

Sailors know better than to shoot an albatross, and now GM's know better than to sign Andrew Bynum.

 

[kingsboi]

What a embarassing performance by Washington. For all those who want to credit Indiana's defense, Washington missed shots they made in the 1st round and in the 1st game of the second round so as much credit as I'd like to give Indiana, it's all mental for Washington right now. Beal and Wall are going through their lumps and that was to be expected, let's hope they learn from this and have a nice bounce back game tomorrow.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Sailors know better than to shoot an albatross, and now GM's know better than to sign Andrew Bynum.

"I trust thee Pritchard," Larry said, "You find a bargain, sign 'em!"
"What did'st thou then?" "With my Cross pen, I inked the Andrewbyn'm."

 

[jalfa]

"I trust thee Pritchard," Larry said, "You find a bargain, sign 'em!"
"What did'st thou then?" "With my Cross pen, I inked the Andrewbyn'm."

 

[jalfa]

and the Heat are all like