Pooh
10-14-2003, 03:29 PM
By Conrad Brunner
Indianapolis, Oct. 13, 2003
The system has changed, but the faces have primarily remained the same. Perhaps that explains why the Pacers’ first unit has made the transition under coach Rick Carlisle with relative ease.
Aside from a slow start in the opener (Chicago jumped to an early 11-5 lead and controlled most of the first quarter last Wednesday night), the first unit has been dominant. Beginning with the third quarter of the Chicago game, the starters – when playing together as a unit - have outscored opponents by 27 points in slightly less than 22 minutes.
Four of five starters from last season return (Jamaal Tinsley, Reggie Miller, Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal). Center Scot Pollard is the only new face in the first unit. The preseason continues Tuesday night with a rematch in Chicago (7:30 p.m.)
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job on really focusing in and really abiding by the system,” said Jermaine O’Neal, averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 23.0 minutes. “(Saturday night against Boston) was a perfect example. We did a much better job of moving the ball and getting everybody involved. We kind of picked up where we left off in the second half of the first game.”
The Pacers trailed the Bulls 54-45 at halftime but had runs of 14-2 and 13-0 in the third quarter to open a 71-58 lead before coasting home, 96-82.
Against Boston, the Pacers scored 14 unanswered points early in the third period to open a 68-47 lead but the Celtics came back, primarily using their regulars against Indiana’s reserves, before falling, 91-90.
The starters have fueled their success with strong defensive play. Combining their third quarter of the Chicago game with the first and third quarters of the Boston game, the starters held opponents to 26 points in just under 21 minutes (while scoring 53).
“(Defense) has definitely been the first emphasis of camp, especially with the starting five,” O’Neal said. “We’re the first five to take defensive stands in every drill and everybody has been going really hard.”
Artest Comes Back Strong
After generating a brief flash of debate with his technical foul and postgame comments after the opener, Ron Artest gathered the right kind of attention against Boston. He scored 17 points in 31 minutes, adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
In fact, Carlisle went out of his way to praise Artest in front of the team afterward.
“I told him after the game in front of the team that I thought he played a great floor game,” Carlisle said. “The shots that he got came out of the rhythm and cadence of the offense. He made a lot of offensive plays and, as always, he was a real factor, defensively. I thought he played just a sensational all-around game. Even though he didn’t shoot a spectacular percentage, he was very much a key guy for us.”
Artest was much more low-key after the Boston victory.
“Everybody played together, worked hard, made some difficult shots, played tough defense and kept second shots at a minimum,” he said. “We all had fun out there tonight and that’s what we intend to do for the year. It will not be easy, we will have obstacles, I will have obstacles; but we all must play through it.”
Carlisle Moving Slowly with Offense
Carlisle’s offensive system is still in the relatively early stages of implementation, so the team’s statistics after two games aren’t necessarily an indicator of things to come. The Pacers are averaging 93.5 points on .410 shooting, with more turnovers (41) than assists (37).
Carlisle estimated “probably a little less than half” of the scheme has been given to the players.
“We still need a lot of work on the things we have in, so we’re going to make sure we have everything absorbed before we move on,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to have a vast menu of things and not be able to do any of them really, really well. We’re trying to do the simple things well first, learn our sets and so forth as we go along. I have to make sure we really know what we’re doing before we move on to other stuff otherwise that’s where you run into slippage.”
Injuries haven’t helped, particularly at point guard. Jamaal Tinsley (swollen hand) could miss Tuesday night’s game; Kenny Anderson (hamstring) and Anthony Johnson (broken finger) are both out. In addition, forwards Austin Croshere (hamstring) and Jonathan Bender (knee) will miss the game. All five injured players are expected to be part of the regular-season rotation.
“I know what we want to do,” Carlisle said. “I think I have a good handle on what this team needs to do. It’s just a matter of how diverse to go and how quickly to get there. Right now I’m more likely to err on the side of caution and make sure we really have absorbed everything before moving on to more things.”
Carlisle has not been happy with the turnover frequency. The Pacers had 23 against Boston, 15 in the second half. But, overall, he has seen few unexpected problems.
“I think we’ve played unselfishly, for the most part,” he said. “We’ve had some miscommunications at times and sometimes we hit the ‘No Smoking’ sign but, hey, that’s why you have a training camp and exhibition games, to try to sort that stuff out.”
Indianapolis, Oct. 13, 2003
The system has changed, but the faces have primarily remained the same. Perhaps that explains why the Pacers’ first unit has made the transition under coach Rick Carlisle with relative ease.
Aside from a slow start in the opener (Chicago jumped to an early 11-5 lead and controlled most of the first quarter last Wednesday night), the first unit has been dominant. Beginning with the third quarter of the Chicago game, the starters – when playing together as a unit - have outscored opponents by 27 points in slightly less than 22 minutes.
Four of five starters from last season return (Jamaal Tinsley, Reggie Miller, Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal). Center Scot Pollard is the only new face in the first unit. The preseason continues Tuesday night with a rematch in Chicago (7:30 p.m.)
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job on really focusing in and really abiding by the system,” said Jermaine O’Neal, averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 23.0 minutes. “(Saturday night against Boston) was a perfect example. We did a much better job of moving the ball and getting everybody involved. We kind of picked up where we left off in the second half of the first game.”
The Pacers trailed the Bulls 54-45 at halftime but had runs of 14-2 and 13-0 in the third quarter to open a 71-58 lead before coasting home, 96-82.
Against Boston, the Pacers scored 14 unanswered points early in the third period to open a 68-47 lead but the Celtics came back, primarily using their regulars against Indiana’s reserves, before falling, 91-90.
The starters have fueled their success with strong defensive play. Combining their third quarter of the Chicago game with the first and third quarters of the Boston game, the starters held opponents to 26 points in just under 21 minutes (while scoring 53).
“(Defense) has definitely been the first emphasis of camp, especially with the starting five,” O’Neal said. “We’re the first five to take defensive stands in every drill and everybody has been going really hard.”
Artest Comes Back Strong
After generating a brief flash of debate with his technical foul and postgame comments after the opener, Ron Artest gathered the right kind of attention against Boston. He scored 17 points in 31 minutes, adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
In fact, Carlisle went out of his way to praise Artest in front of the team afterward.
“I told him after the game in front of the team that I thought he played a great floor game,” Carlisle said. “The shots that he got came out of the rhythm and cadence of the offense. He made a lot of offensive plays and, as always, he was a real factor, defensively. I thought he played just a sensational all-around game. Even though he didn’t shoot a spectacular percentage, he was very much a key guy for us.”
Artest was much more low-key after the Boston victory.
“Everybody played together, worked hard, made some difficult shots, played tough defense and kept second shots at a minimum,” he said. “We all had fun out there tonight and that’s what we intend to do for the year. It will not be easy, we will have obstacles, I will have obstacles; but we all must play through it.”
Carlisle Moving Slowly with Offense
Carlisle’s offensive system is still in the relatively early stages of implementation, so the team’s statistics after two games aren’t necessarily an indicator of things to come. The Pacers are averaging 93.5 points on .410 shooting, with more turnovers (41) than assists (37).
Carlisle estimated “probably a little less than half” of the scheme has been given to the players.
“We still need a lot of work on the things we have in, so we’re going to make sure we have everything absorbed before we move on,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to have a vast menu of things and not be able to do any of them really, really well. We’re trying to do the simple things well first, learn our sets and so forth as we go along. I have to make sure we really know what we’re doing before we move on to other stuff otherwise that’s where you run into slippage.”
Injuries haven’t helped, particularly at point guard. Jamaal Tinsley (swollen hand) could miss Tuesday night’s game; Kenny Anderson (hamstring) and Anthony Johnson (broken finger) are both out. In addition, forwards Austin Croshere (hamstring) and Jonathan Bender (knee) will miss the game. All five injured players are expected to be part of the regular-season rotation.
“I know what we want to do,” Carlisle said. “I think I have a good handle on what this team needs to do. It’s just a matter of how diverse to go and how quickly to get there. Right now I’m more likely to err on the side of caution and make sure we really have absorbed everything before moving on to more things.”
Carlisle has not been happy with the turnover frequency. The Pacers had 23 against Boston, 15 in the second half. But, overall, he has seen few unexpected problems.
“I think we’ve played unselfishly, for the most part,” he said. “We’ve had some miscommunications at times and sometimes we hit the ‘No Smoking’ sign but, hey, that’s why you have a training camp and exhibition games, to try to sort that stuff out.”