Dave Is An Idiot

is 29 for his last 82 from the field (over his last 6 games).

Look no further for your explanation for our awful results during this stretch.

I appreciate he is doing other things, but his poor shooting is absolutely killing this team. Blake and Webster throwing up bricks hasn't helped, but it really starts with Roy.  He's just not getting it done right now.

because I, too, am an idiot and missed nearly all of the second, all of the third, and half of the fourth...  

However, I did see Travis clobbered by someone under the basket in the first quarter and he came up hopping mad.  He got hit in the head AFTER a foul was called (perp got a technical which JJack MADE) and Travis actually started after whoever (I've forgotten who) but then channelled his anger and took it out on the basket.  It was amazing.

Joel started, Raef came off the bench in the 1st and immediately got a rebound, but I didn't see him do anything else,... but as I said, I missed most of the game.

1. Outlaw came into the game with two very nice lay ups in a row. He attacked the basket and got results. On his third try towards the rim Foster bodied him then 2 seconds after the whistle fouled him again. Travis went crashing into the stands then went after Foster. Nothing happened confrontation wise but travis then went into another zone. He hit three consecutive beautiful jumpers. then in typical travis fashion made a nice hustle play on a steal then threw the ball to the point guard for a back court violation. Great followed by bonehead. He hustled the entire night and got a lot of playing time. Mike and mike were impressed.
   
2. Brandon missed open shots, but drove to the rim a good number of times 80% of which he passed out to a teammate for a open shot. Even tho he had 8 assists (a couple of which were to LmA for dunks) he had little help from the outside. Soooo many missed shots from outside. In the third quarter we lost the game by taking so many 3's most of them wide open and most of them missed. Roy was also hacked a lot with no call. Brandon just did not finish at the rim as he has in the past.
   
3. Joel did start but he dident do much. he looked slow and got butchered by foster a couple times when he should have dunked it on him. We played small ball a lot tonight and raef played in the first half instead of frye. Pacers had a huge run in the 3rd when we were not hitting shots or going inside.
   
4. We lost because of the third quarter. Missed tons of open shots. and tinsley decided to show up in the 4th. the effort was there. but we did not play an entire game. and i always stay up late on game night to read your recap.

For some reason, defensive stops in the 4th quarter are impossible to come by.  Even when we force a bad shot against the shot clock, the rebound takes some crazy carom and finds itself in the hands of the opposing team.  More often than not, however, the opposing team can't seem to miss an 18-footer or gets a free pass to the rim for a layup.  To top it off, our inside guys are so aggressive when trying to block shots that the opposing bigs (Jeff Foster, in tonight's case) get dishes from the penetrating guards for layups.  Somehow, the 4th quarter defense has to DRASTICALLY improve before our boys in black and red will start to finish games.

On another note, I freaking hate Jamaal Tinsley.  He deserves a Mirko CroCop side kick directly to the junk.  Or at least a good nut grab. Anybody have Reggie Evans' phone number?

did not hit a single shot...not that we are expecting many points from him, but there was a few critical points in the game when he had WIDE OPEN shots and had he hit them, it would have been a huge boost for the team and crowd and "CLANG!" right off the back of the rim.

That's what hurt about this loss - we weren't taking those jumpshots outside the arc against the clock.  They were in the flow of the offense and wide open, but they simply did not go in.

Travis was attacking the basket tonight, and he did damage.  I only saw one of the Travis Specials (pull up with both feet on the three point line) tonight, but I saw a lot of him using his greatest strength - jumping ability.  He just elevated in the lane and drained shots.  Granted he had their worst defender on him, but he made them pay for hounding Roy.

Aldridge played great.  He is truly a prolific dunker.  It's nice to see that after last year with nary a dunk.

Once again though, this loss hangs on the missed three pointers.  Our boys need their confidence back.  That 76ers game really killed this season.

Also, the Pacers made ridiculous shots, and when they missed, there were insane bounces to them.  Also, Jeff Foster is a dirty cheater and I hope he gets the clap.

Take away one quarter and you have a W.  They just can't put together 4 quarters right now.  

It seems like guys are missing and starting to pass up shots they should be taking, which leads to more misses because they are giving the ball to guys in spots where they don't normaly shoot.  Jack's extra pass to Travis in the corner for a three when Jack was open for a three from the wing.  Webster caught the ball coming off a screen, jumped as if to shoot a nice, uncontested 12 footer, but passed in the air to Joel on the baseline who tried to dunk but Foster was in perfect position to put it back in his face.
Both of these plays were in the late stages of the game.  They got the shot they wanted and then passed on it for a worse shot.

At the same time, they are looking really good in stretches.  I know that isn't enough to win but it is encouraging for the future.

Travis rocked!!

But our lack of confidence really took center stage, especially in the fourth. Guys were looking tentative when shooting, passing the ball to the not-so-open guy, trying desperation threes (including two airballs in a row). And the free throw shooting . . . Eeks!

The offensive difficulties seemed to sap the defense. When the shots stopped falling, guys started running around like ants with their hands in the air.

This was the fifth game I've been to this year, and the crowd wasn't nearly as energized as the other games. The fans acted like they were expecting a loss.

But I can't say it was a depressing game by any stretch. They're looking better in the losses than they used to.