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| 2011/12 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| 32-21 | 12-41 | |
| April 4, 2012 | ||
| Verizon Center | ||
| 7 PM | ||
| CSN | ||
| Starters: | ||
| Darren Collison | PG | John Wall |
| Paul George | SG | Jordan Crawford |
| Danny Granger | SF | Chris Singleton |
| David West | PF | Jan Vesely |
| Roy Hibbert | C | Kevin Seraphin |
| PREGAME READING: Indy Cornrows SB Nation D.C. | SB Nation Indiana | ||
Pregame notes:
- Nene is definitely out tonight. Randy Wittman said Trevor Booker would give it a shot in warmups tonight, but didn't expect him to play. We haven't yet received official starting lineups, so if anything changes, I'll let you know. UPDATE: Craig Stouffer said Booker won't play.
- Wittman discussed our good friend Jordan Crawford's shot selection. "He does play within a structure. It's just a matter of, he's a young kid that has great confidence in himself, and he's doing a better job trying to understand what his shot selection is and what we expect of him. I think he's made progress in that. He's an aggressive kid, and you don't want to take aggression away. You want to coach him to help him understand a good shot and a bad shot. I think he's doing a better job of that." He was answering a question about Crawford playing out of the structure of the offense. I think he's saying that Crawford runs the plays, but takes the shot instead of continuing the play
- Frank Vogel noted how the Pacers beat the Knicks last night by using a small lineup with Danny Granger at power forward and Lou Amundson at center. When I asked him why that lineup worked so well, Vogel said he was trying to match up with the Knicks, who were playing Steve Novak at power forward.
- Wittman was also asked about that small lineup. His response? "If he wants to do that, that'll help us."
- One trend that's developed recently is John Wall playing off the ball. I'm saving most of these quotes for something later, but I'll leave you with this from Wittman. "John's such a unique player, and you want to have some unpredictability with him."
- I've spent a couple games studying Wall's pre-game shooting routine with Sam Cassell. About an hour before every game, Wall and Cassell work on all sorts of different shots, from jumpers at the elbow to floaters in the lane. Tonight, Cassell was giving Wall passes on the move, and Wall needed to dribble once and pull up from 16 feet. The first time Wall moved around the court, he missed every shot. Once Wall got to the left corner, Cassell motioned to him to hold the follow through. On the way back, Wall held it extra long and swished each shot he took. It's all a reminder that the work needed to become a better shooter doesn't just result in overnight improvement. This often takes time.