Hansbrough provided a solid debut for the Pacers
To be honest, I was fully prepared to see the Indiana Pacers lose to the Washington Wizards. The Pacers had been playing injured and poorly, with only one good quarter against the Knicks to prevent a winless season thus far.
Well, as it turned out, the preparation was unnecessary. The Pacers came away with a surprisingly easy 102-86 victory, leading by 12 at the half and 17 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Granger struggled again with his shot (7-21 FG, 3-11 3P) but led the way with 22 points. Dahntay Jones continued his stellar play with 18, 5 and 5, whereas TJ Ford backed up his late-game heroics against the Knicks with 18 points, 10 boards and 4 assists.
The big story though was the sudden debut of rookie Tyler Hansbrough, who racked up 13 points in 14 minutes to go with 5 boards. Hansbrough made it to the free throw line 10 times (converting 7), and his tenacity and relentlessness has gotten Pacers fans all hot under the collar.
It’s just one game so let’s not get carried away, but with Jeff Foster’s career winding down, Hansbrough is just what the Pacers needed. Anyone with eyes can tell he has waaaaay more potential than Foster, for whom no shot is a guarantee. Hansbrough can score, and together with Roy Hibbert, who impressed against the Wizards with yet another double-double (12 points, 11 boards and 5 blocks! – can you imagine the type of numbers he’d put up if he didn’t foul every 2 seconds?), and plus Danny Granger, who, let’s not forget, is only 26, the Pacers are going to have a very solid front court for years to come. What the heck, let’s get carried away!
Oh, and the Pacers’ second round pick, guard AJ Price, scored 6 points against the Wizards (both 3-pointers). He hasn’t gotten much action yet but he has already shown more upside than I could have imagined. If only Brandon Rush (2 points on 1-4 shooting in 15 minutes) can wake up, the Pacers’ future looks pretty darn bright.
That’s enough dreaming for now. Up next, a big game against the Golden State Warriors, though not until Wednesday. The Warriors are currently 1-3 (but will play a couple more before facing the Pacers) and were recently trounced by the Clippers 118-90. Definitely a winnable game for the Pacers, who have a terrific opportunity to climb to 0.500 after 3 disappointing losses to start the season.
