Another 4th Quarter Collapse Leads To A Loss

Indiana have played the Cavaliers pretty tough the last few seasons. I remember last year they won on a last second tipped in-bounds pass that lead to a layup and free throws to seal the victory. On Friday, it looked like that Pacers were going to cruise to victory with a nice lead after three quarters, but once again the Pacers couldn’t hold a lead in the 4th quarter.

It’s no secret that the Pacers are playing without a few key guys on the team. The section of the team that is hurt the most would be the power forward position. Troy Murphy isn’t 100%, Jeff Foster is still out, and I doubt Jim O’Brien will ever let Josh McRoberts into a game that is within 20 points. The Pacers played with a small lineup, they had Ford, Rush, Jones, Granger, and Hibbert on the court. Murphy had a double-double coming off the bench and once again, Hansbrough had quality minutes on the court. The Pacers just wore down at the end and Lebron put his team on his shoulders and put up 40 points and won the game 105-95.

One thing is really bothering me when I watch the Pacers and it’s not Roy Hibbert getting into foul trouble, but it’s Danny Granger getting into foul trouble. He has had trouble staying on the court during key 4th quarter action. Granger will always be compared to Reggie Miller and that wasn’t a trait that Miller had during his career. He was a nice defensive player, but only managed to get maybe two fouls a game. Granger and Hibbert need to do a better job at picking when to foul and when to go hard, they seem to be getting them too early into games.

The Pacers next game is Sunday against an up-start Charlotte team. It will be a tough game for Indiana, but if Hibbert and Granger can stay on the floor, they could come out with the victory.

Tags: brandon rush, dahntay jones, danny granger, jeff foster, lebron james, roy hibbert, t.j. ford, troy murphy, tyler hansbrough