Posts tagged ‘Flip Murray’

All I have to say about the prospects of drafting Kevin Love is: Please don’t do it.

I understand the guy has some of the most polished offensive post moves and highest basketball IQ in this draft, but I do not like him coming to the Pacers.  Let’s discuss the positives first.  He is by far the best passer of any big man in college this year and in my mind in recent memory.  This is something the Pacers could use to compliment J.O. and to free up Granger and Dunleavy along the perimeter.  He would be the team’s best passer besides Tinsley.  Also, he has some very good low post offensive moves.  We saw at UCLA that he could be the focal point of the offense on the blocks.  This is again something the Pacers need because they have not had a post presence to compliment J.O. since Brad Miller.  Love could be that instant impact low post scoring player to be the third or fourth option offensively and still fill that role well. 

With that being said, I think he would be the wrong selection at #11 no matter who else is available.  Love would fit well into the Pacers plan offensively, except for getting up and down the court consistently.  Where he would not fit in is in what they need most: athleticism and defense.  Love has neither of them.  Not even close to being good at either.  I realize he would help be the compliment offensively to J.O. and Danny but defensively he will be a burden.  No, he will be more than a burden.  He will be target practice.  The Pacers have 1 really good defender in Granger, and 2 solid defenders in J.O. and Jeff Foster, but neither of them are intimidating defensively.  They need someone athletic and quick who can play tough on-the-ball defense or a long, lanky inside presence who will make people think twice about driving to the basket.  Too many times this year did they get beaten off the dribble by quicker, more athletic players, especially guards.  Love would do nothing but be slow on the weak side rotation, get beat off the dribble or get dunked on. 

The Pacers do not really have problems on offense.  They can put up points. We’ve seen that.  They don’t necessarily need another offensive weapon (especially one with a vertical less than mine).  They need someone who can play defense or at least someone quick and athletic who can be taught to play good D.  There defense was so bad this year because the team did not have enough quickness and athleticism to keep up with better offensive players.  All of these players I consider mediocre at best on D: Dunleavy, Murphy, Diener, Daniels, Tinsley, Diogu, Lil Flip (Murray), Williams, Rush, Owens, and Harrison.  That is too many bad defenders to add another one to that list. Kevin Love does fill a couple roles for the Pacers, but no the most pressing ones.  They need to select someone quick (point guard or combo guard) who can keep up with quicker guards the team struggled with last year and also break people down off the dribble offensively.  The other option is a big man that can contribute at the defensive end immediately and will probably be a little bit of a project on the offensive end.

Well as soon as I make the first episode and it goes on the internet, the pacers do exactly what I wanted them to. They signed Flip Murray to a contract for the rest of the year to give them more talent and depth in the point guard position. He is also a better defender than Travis Diener. He is athletic, quick and tall (6′ 3″) for the 1. I like that move especially since it’s hard to tell when Tinsley will be back and if he’ll be fully healthy this season.

They also go out and pick up two wins to end February and begin March. The win against Milwaukee actually impressed me than the one at Toronto. In Toronto they won purely because they shot lights out. They created more chances from the free throw line and shot well from the perimeter. The Pacers just had a shootout with the Raptors, which is not showing any improvement in their key areas, mainly defense. Then cam Milwaukee and hot shooting Michael Redd. Redd did have a good day with 28 points, but he’s going to get his. The Pacers eliminated a lot of the other role players from contributing. The reason I was more impressed with the win over the Bucks is the play on the defensive end. The Pacers made them settled for shots. They constantly played tight on this team with a hand in the face of almost every Buck. They held the Bucks to only 38% from the field and 37% from 3pt land (a shot the Bucks often live and die by). They finally had a break through peformance on the defensive end breaking the streak of giving up over 47% shooting in the last four games. The month of March is looking to be much more forgivable than the 4-9 February was.