10 things that must happen in the Indy game

[khaos7]

Here are 10 keys for the Indy game (IMHO):

1) Joe has to be Joe (I believe he's better than anyone Indy has on their roster)

2) Bibby has to get out of his shooting slump and score in tandem with Joe.

3) We can't let guys like Granger and Daniels out hustle us

4) We can't make guys like Diener the next coming of Larry Bird the way the Bucks did

5) Our bench has to provide meaningful minutes

6) Out rebound them

7) Impose our will in the 1st quarter and play a full 48 minutes worth of basketball Share the ball and defend. Don't leave guys open and miss assignments.

8) DEFEND THE 3! Don't fall asleep on guys like Dunlevey.

9) Josh Smith has to play within himself and be a viable 3rd option

10) No senseless turnovers.

[Plainview1981]

Indy only has a 50/50 home record so they're beatable. Rebounding might be a big key to the game.

[khaos7]

Quote:

---

Indy only has a 50/50 home record so they're beatable. Rebounding might be a big key to the game.

I hope you're right. Losing to Indy isn't the end of the world. However, with their soft schedule, anything could happen. Beating them would give them no room for error and give them a crushing blow. Because the majority of our guys have never been in this position, I have to wonder if they have it in them to deliver a death blow. Can you step on a desparate team's throat in their house? I'm not being pessitimistic. However, until they prove it (and they haven't yet), we don't know what team will show up when they have the opportunity to seize the moment. Joe and Bibby have done it in the past and I think they could be the difference. The X factor is Horford. I really don't think they have anybody who matches up with him well.

[Dukegotgame]

Honestly there is no excuse if we lose to Indy. There team is full of slow,unathletic players (aside from Granger) who should have no prayer of keeping up with our players. We are a bad matchup for them.

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

---

Honestly there is no excuse if we lose to Indy. There team is full of slow,unathletic players (aside from Granger) who should have no prayer of keeping up with our players. We are a bad matchup for them.

That's what I'm taking about!!!

[khaos7]

We've got Bibby now, so hopefully, we'll fair better this time at Conseco:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Danny Granger bounced back from one of the worst games of his career with one of his best.

The third-year forward tied a career high with 32 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-91 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Granger, who tied his career-best points total on a dunk late in the fourth quarter, shot 10-for-15 from the field and had nine rebounds. The performance came two nights after he was held to six points on 2-for-9 shooting in a loss to Memphis on Wednesday.

"It was working tonight," Granger said. "I've been in a slump, or whatever you want to call it, but it's good to get back on track."

Granger also guarded Joe Johnson, the Hawks' leading scorer, for much of the night. Johnson had 26 points and 11 assists in a win over the Pacers on Dec. 26, but he scored just eight points this time.

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal appreciated Granger's all-around effort.

"It's definitely good to see him scoring," O'Neal said. "We need him to really lock in and bring that every single night for us. I think Danny did a great job, not only offensively, but he was very impressive defensively with Joe Johnson."

Mike Dunleavy had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Kareem Rush scored 20 points for the Pacers.

It was Indiana's largest victory margin at home this season. The Pacers shot 13-for-25 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Hawks 49-35 to win before heading out on a five-game road trip.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said earlier in the day that no game is more important than any other, but his players disagreed.

"It becomes sort of mental to a point," Granger said. "We gave some games away to teams we probably should have beaten, but we got some good momentum going into the West Coast. Those losing streaks potentially ruin seasons, so I'm glad we snapped it."

Indiana scored a season-low 72 points in the loss to Memphis but shot 48 percent against Atlanta. The Hawks gave the Pacers credit but said they didn't offer much resistance.

"We didn't put the pressure on them defensively, and they were able to come down and get comfort jump shots," Josh Childress, who tied a career high with 26 points, said. "Once they blew open the lead, it was hard to catch up."

Josh Smith added 20 points for the Atlanta, which has lost three straight. The Hawks, one of the pleasant surprises of the NBA season, hope they're not falling back into their old ways.

"We had a terrible game tonight," Atlanta point guard Anthony Johnson said. "We didn't do anything well, in any phase of the game. In this league, there are nights like this that are always out there, always lurking. But to have this happen against a team that's lost five games in a row like the Pacers have ... definitely a setback for us."

Indiana led 39-37 in the second quarter before closing with a 15-6 run to take a 54-43 lead at halftime. Dunleavy had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

The Pacers started the second half on a 16-5 run that included eight points by Granger to take a 70-48 lead. Indiana extended that advantage to 87-61 by the end of the period.

Indiana's largest lead was 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Pacers point guard Jamaal Tinsley sat out his fourth straight game with a sore left thigh. It was the team's first win without him.

The Pacers often have given up big leads this season, but they put the pressure on in the third quarter and outscored the Hawks 33-18 in the period.

"We were so flat from the beginning," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Offensively, we were struggling to score a little bit. We compounded it by not defending and rebounding the ball, and that's a bad combination. They were desperate for a win to get off that slide. They did what they had to do and we didn't respond."

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

---

We've got Bibby now, so hopefully, we'll fair better this time at Conseco:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Danny Granger bounced back from one of the worst games of his career with one of his best.

The third-year forward tied a career high with 32 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-91 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Granger, who tied his career-best points total on a dunk late in the fourth quarter, shot 10-for-15 from the field and had nine rebounds. The performance came two nights after he was held to six points on 2-for-9 shooting in a loss to Memphis on Wednesday.

"It was working tonight," Granger said. "I've been in a slump, or whatever you want to call it, but it's good to get back on track."

Granger also guarded Joe Johnson, the Hawks' leading scorer, for much of the night. Johnson had 26 points and 11 assists in a win over the Pacers on Dec. 26, but he scored just eight points this time.

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal appreciated Granger's all-around effort.

"It's definitely good to see him scoring," O'Neal said. "We need him to really lock in and bring that every single night for us. I think Danny did a great job, not only offensively, but he was very impressive defensively with Joe Johnson."

Mike Dunleavy had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Kareem Rush scored 20 points for the Pacers.

It was Indiana's largest victory margin at home this season. The Pacers shot 13-for-25 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Hawks 49-35 to win before heading out on a five-game road trip.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said earlier in the day that no game is more important than any other, but his players disagreed.

"It becomes sort of mental to a point," Granger said. "We gave some games away to teams we probably should have beaten, but we got some good momentum going into the West Coast. Those losing streaks potentially ruin seasons, so I'm glad we snapped it."

Indiana scored a season-low 72 points in the loss to Memphis but shot 48 percent against Atlanta. The Hawks gave the Pacers credit but said they didn't offer much resistance.

"We didn't put the pressure on them defensively, and they were able to come down and get comfort jump shots," Josh Childress, who tied a career high with 26 points, said. "Once they blew open the lead, it was hard to catch up."

Josh Smith added 20 points for the Atlanta, which has lost three straight. The Hawks, one of the pleasant surprises of the NBA season, hope they're not falling back into their old ways.

"We had a terrible game tonight," Atlanta point guard Anthony Johnson said. "We didn't do anything well, in any phase of the game. In this league, there are nights like this that are always out there, always lurking. But to have this happen against a team that's lost five games in a row like the Pacers have ... definitely a setback for us."

Indiana led 39-37 in the second quarter before closing with a 15-6 run to take a 54-43 lead at halftime. Dunleavy had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

The Pacers started the second half on a 16-5 run that included eight points by Granger to take a 70-48 lead. Indiana extended that advantage to 87-61 by the end of the period.

Indiana's largest lead was 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Pacers point guard Jamaal Tinsley sat out his fourth straight game with a sore left thigh. It was the team's first win without him.

The Pacers often have given up big leads this season, but they put the pressure on in the third quarter and outscored the Hawks 33-18 in the period.

"We were so flat from the beginning," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Offensively, we were struggling to score a little bit. We compounded it by not defending and rebounding the ball, and that's a bad combination. They were desperate for a win to get off that slide. They did what they had to do and we didn't respond."

I think that we are a slightly different team now! Don't you think? If you don't notice the difference then you don't know what you are looking at when watching bascketball!

[HawksBalla]

Quote:

---

Here are 10 keys for the Indy game (IMHO):

1) Joe has to be Joe (I believe he's better than anyone Indy has on their roster)

2) Bibby has to get out of his shooting slump and score in tandem with Joe.

3) We can't let guys like Granger and Daniels out hustle us

4) We can't make guys like Diener the next coming of Larry Bird the way the Bucks did

5) Our bench has to provide meaningful minutes

6) Out rebound them

7) Impose our will in the 1st quarter and play a full 48 minutes worth of basketball Share the ball and defend. Don't leave guys open and miss assignments.

8) DEFEND THE 3! Don't fall asleep on guys like Dunlevey.

9) Josh Smith has to play within himself and be a viable 3rd option

10) No senseless turnovers.

I would add: Marvin has to score at least 10 points. Since our bench gives us nothing, we need every point we can get from our starters.

[khaos7]

Quote:

---

I think that we are a slightly different team now! Don't you think? If you don't notice the difference then you don't know what you are looking at when watching bascketball!

[Plainview1981]

It's too bad that the bucks didn't pull it out tonight. It could have pretty much ended it.

[Plainview1981]

Indy takes 24 3's a game. The fact that Indy's biggest strength is one of the Hawks biggest weakness could be a big problem. What is worse is that Indy's shooting is spead out. It's not just one or two guys to shutdown. They have 6 guys that attempt 3 3pt attempts or more.

[pimp]

Quote:

---

Indy takes 24 3's a game. The fact that Indy's biggest strength is one of the Hawks biggest weakness could be a big problem. What is worse is that Indy's shooting is spead out. It's not just one or two guys to shutdown. They have 6 guys that attempt 3 3pt attempts or more.

That's 100% right.

The we got blown out by Indy lat time we played them, because we could not defens the 3pt shooters.

Woody, needs to have everyone play man to man defense.Non of that double everybody crap.Or else we're gonna have guys like Kareem Rush going off on us again.

[frosgrim]

I agree against Indy you can't go with switching-defense rotating game. Their bigs shoot the 3 better than some of their guards.

I wonder if we went to a 3-2 zone if that would help defend the 3. That defense is supposed to help against a shooting team. The problem is that it leaves the paint relatively unguarded.

Probably the best defense we can go with is a high-tempo offense and run the legs off their shooters. Dunleavy, Murphy, Foster all will tire out quickly in an up and down the court game.

[DrReality]

We've played so much more consistently since we added Bibby.

I would add I checked on Shelhead Williams, et all and they aren't doing anything more than they did in Atl.

[khaos7]

Indy plays up tempo pretty good with a quick strike offense. I was reading Indy's paper and they are looking forward to Tuesday's game just as much as we are because they haven't been in the playoff for a second as well. To me, it's not enough for the Hawks to play hard. They need to play hard and smart. Intense focus has to be used on the defensive end and no silly turnovers. Again, I believe we should win this game. However, the Hawks haven't played a game of this magnitude. Guys like Smith, Childress, Duck, Horford, and Zaza don't have a pro game to refer to that would suggest to them, "this is how we win." Horford and Marvin has national championship games under their belt, but it's not the NBA. Yeah, they played Philly hard, as well Toronto. However, they've never had a game where if they win, it virtually means they go to the playoffs. Plus, they suck on the road (Philly game excluded).