Pacers vs Lakers

Bluesky · by **Andrew** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:23 pm

The last couple of weeks, ESPN Pacific Rim has delivered some blowouts (or in last week's case, no games) which have been somewhat lacking in drama. But I was treated to a really good live game today, the Pacers/Lakers game in Indiana. Anyone else catch this one?

It was great to see Reggie put on a show, 14 points in the first quarter, 19 for the half...then 20 in the second half to finish with 39. I was hoping he'd hit 40, but his 39 were spectacular enough. Pretty much every shot he hit was vintage Miller, including those big ones down the stretch, that game clinching three...he and Anthony Johnson really carried Indiana in the final minutes.

A point of interest: not only did Kobe have a lacklustre second half (though foul trouble hampered him throughout the game, he only played 29 minutes), the Lakers actually played better without him during the fourth quarter. They came all the way back without him, and then lost momentum when he came in for Luke Walton (speaking of the Junior Walton, he should be ashamed of losing that jump ball to Anthony Johnson).

A big problem remains his shot selection and his desire to take over a game. He's a guy capable of being the hero, but tonight he didn't do much to help them. I thought that when he re-entered the game with about four minutes left, he'd give the Lakers that final boost. Instead, they had no answer for Miller and Johnson.

But the game was still close down to the final minute, and that made it exciting. A lot better than the Timberwolves falling behind San Antonio early on Wednesday and scoring only 73 points, or some of the other matchups they've shown on ESPN-PR of late. Or the zero games they showed last week.

A few other things:

Checking on the boxscores, I was amazed to see Stephen Jackson registered five assists. I don't really remember him passing the ball once during the game. Jackson's a fine scorer but he's a bit too selfish in my view. There were quite a few instances where he should have given up the ball but kept it for his own shot. Sometimes he made the shot, sometimes he was lucky and got bailed out with a foul. I suppose you need guys who aren't afraid to shoot, but he was making some bad, selfish decisions late in the game when Indiana really needed to make some buckets.

Lamar Odom also left the game with what turned out to be a shoulder sprain. It didn't look too serious, but he'll be undergoing an MRI upon returning to LA, Gary Vitti and co are apparently somewhat concerned about the severity of the injury. Obviously, that's not good news for the Lakers.

And as always, ESPN's commentary team...call me a fool for the 90s if you like, but I miss the NBA on NBC. I share a birthday with Tom Tolbert, but that's where my admiration begins and ends. I hope ESPN-PR is able to rebroadcast a few other games this year, as well as a few ABC games in the playoffs.

by **Alcoholic** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:30 pm

I saw it too. Not as exciting as I hoped it would be, but it was pretty good in the end when Reggie Miller made that 3 falling out of bounds over Brian Grant. Down 5 Kobe shot 2 free throws but missed the 2nd. :cry:

by **GloveGuy** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:50 pm

I caught the first half and I have some analysis too.

The Lakers just suck. They have no chemistry and can't run the freaking triangle. I don't know what their coach is thinking by making him play that shit mid-way through the season. It's just not the right time to make a team go through that offensive set.

Lamar Odom and Caron Butley need to get their heads out of the clouds and play aggresive basketball. No wonder Kobe feels the need to demand the ball. These guys don't do shit.

I love Chucky Atkins, but he's a poor-man's Bobby Jackson who's better-suited to coming off the bench. Lakers management should consider getting Kobe a true point guard this off-season. The draft is loaded with PG's -- making the lottery not all too bad for LA.

I don't know what it is about Luke Walton but he is one of the best passers in the league. He's not fancy or flashy but he just knows how to make the right pass at the right time. Extremely unselfish, maybe too unselfish.

You gotta feel bad for Reggie. How awesome would it be to see him do his magic in the playoffs just one last time. This team would be completely different with O'Neal, Artest, and Tinsley active; but sadly that's not the case. Hopefully they can take the eighth spot and make a strong playoff run.

Bluesky · by **Andrew** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:15 pm

I can't feel too sorry for Indiana, they've just overtaken Chicago for the sixth spot. I'm hoping they'll make the playoffs (though not at the Bulls' expense

) so Reggie can finish in style. He could easily go another couple of years, I admire his unselfishness in wanting to step aside so as not to stand in the way of the future...though surely one more year couldn't have hurt.

You know, Reggie Miller is a lot like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in that a lot of fans haven't really warmed up to him until he became one of the league's elder statesmen. I suppose it's because of the headaches they caused for opposing teams and their fans, but it's interesting because the same dislike wasn't really extended towards other great players (MJ, Magic, Bird for example) who made life miserable for their opponents.

by **John WB** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 5:17 pm

I'm a Knicks fan and I've liked Reggie for a good couple of years now.

by **Dean** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:08 pm

it was a good game. i especially enjoyed it because of Kobe Bryants foul trouble and lack of minutes. :mrgreen:

speaking of ESPN Pacific Rim, next saturdays game is (Apart from PHX @ SAS) of Phoenix Suns @ Miami Heat, the best game they have screened. it is evenly matched, and i may get a chance to see STAT dunk on SHAQ. there we go, we have a tag line, STAT v SHAQ. (Y)

lame, yes, marketable, also yes

Bluesky · by **Andrew** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:22 pm

I hadn't looked ahead to next Saturday - that should indeed be another enjoyable game. Detroit vs Philadelphia will also be shown this coming Thursday.

by **Fresh8** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:58 pm

Firstly, its great for Reg to have his largest points total in 4.5 years. Really awesome. The crowd was chanting, 'One more season' or something right? Thats real cool... so much repsect!

Anyways, about Kobe. He needs to learn when to take over a game and trust in his teammates. He tries to take over in wrong times or do too much. His teammates should be blamed for playing passively... and they need to stop playing no defence. You can't win by playing no defence and jacking up 3 pointers.. where about 8 or 7 of 10 attempts are missed.

I agree with Andrew about the shot selection. Kobe is taking too many 'stupid' shots including a lot of threes. And whats worse is that, his percentage is an extremely low percentage from beyond the arc. But then apart fdrom that he still getting no help from teammates and factor in the defences that are aimed at him... its hard to be Kobe right now!

As Andrew has already, and I have, read Steve Kerr's article on Kobe. Yes, Kobe should have seen it coming that it was gonna be harder than being said to win by himself. But I have to say the team not working together... isnt all his fault. So no matter wat happens.. Kobe needs to cope with the losses but his teammates need to shoulder some of the blame.

by **Strike Freedom** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:22 pm

I thought Miller played a little bit dirty in the game..
KO'ing Jones and.. someone else.. :lol:

by **Fresh8** on Sat Mar 19, 2005 9:46 pm

Miller's always been a dirty player

by **Jona** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 2:09 am

I got that one live too!!
What a great 4th quarter for Reggie, I still think he's got 2-3 years left in him...

by **cyanide** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:19 am

I'm surprised IndyPacers67 haven't posted yet :lol:

Anyway, I was watching highlights, and Miller was hitting shots from everywhere. He had an excellent game and it's good to see him carrying the Pacers when he can.

by **LouisvilleLip** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:22 am

I only caught the 4th quarter but I read a lot about the game at a pacers message board and from what i seen and read this was one of the most entertaining games in years for pacer fans. I can't wait to download the game and watch the whole thing. I also can't wait to go see Reggie live for the final time ever next month, hopefully he can put on another show.

by **Indy** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 2:50 pm

oh. i caught it all right.

i was there :mrgreen:

it was a great expirience seeing reggie put on his best show in years. i was almost in tears at the end of the game because of how joyus i was.

great great game. good win too. puts us ahead of the bulls by a half a game.

I'm surprised IndyPacers67 haven't posted yet

haha yeah, thats cuz i was in indianapolis, catching this game!

by **cyanide** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 2:55 pm

Whoa, that's probably the best time for you to visit!! Congrats, man, that's something you won't forget

by **Indy** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:08 pm

cyanide wrote:Whoa, that's probably the best time for you to visit!! Congrats, man, that's something you won't forget

definitley. i have tickets for 4 more pacers games this year.

march 26th @ bulls
march 31st vs. Heat
april 6th vs. Cavs
april 15th vs. Sixers.

and i bought the most expensive tickets you can buy for his last trip to chicago coming up in only 1 week. i cant wait.

by **Strike Freedom** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:14 pm

watch the Pacers vs Heat game.. n tell us ..how they're gonna be beaten by Heat..

heh.. jk, :lol:

by **Fresh8** on Sun Mar 20, 2005 8:07 pm

Man... ur lucky- getting tickets to games... how cheap are the cheap tickets man? I'm intrigued!

by **Indy** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:36 am

Sit wrote:Man... ur lucky- getting tickets to games... how cheap are the cheap tickets man? I'm intrigued!

i have been to 8 pacers games so far this year, so by the end of the year i will have been to a total of 12. 5 less then the 17 i went to last year (which included game 2 of the eastern conference finals, the one with the tayshon prince block on reggie at the end :cry:

)

the cheapest tickets you can get in indiana that are worth getting are $35.

but i usually but the 50-75 dollar tickets, because i work and i have a pretty fair share amount of money to my name. and what i like to spend that money on is pacers games and traveling mostly.

by **Fresh8** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:06 am

That's great cause I thought it'd be much more expensive than that!

by **Indy** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:42 am

Sit wrote:That's great cause I thought it'd be much more expensive than that!

really? cuz in indiana tickets are more expensive then almost anywhere else.

in chicago you can get tickets for 15 dollars.

by **cyanide** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:57 am

That's actually cheap. I thought it would be a lot more. I think the Edmonton Oilers hockey games here are at $60 Cdn minimum and average at $95 per game.

by **Indy** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:58 am

but remember, chicago bulls ticket prices were set with the way the bulls played the last 6 years.

by **cyanide** on Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:53 pm

But the Bulls are actually playing well these days

by **Indy** on Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:25 am

cyanide wrote:But the Bulls are actually playing well these days

but like i said...

the ticket prices were set before that.

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