Pacers-Wizards Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Nov 18 2012 9:53PM

The Indiana Pacers are still struggling to find their offense without All-Star forward Danny Granger.

The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, are having a difficult time simply winning without franchise point guard John Wall.

The Pacers will try to snap a six-game road losing streak and beat the Wizards for the eighth straight time as they take on the league's lone winless team on Monday night.

With Granger - who averaged a team-high 18.7 points last season - sidelined, Indiana (4-7) has failed to live up to the high expectations after pushing eventual champion Miami to six games in the conference semifinals of the 2012 playoffs.

Most of their issues have come offensively, where the Pacers are looking for any kind of spark after failing to reach 80 points for the third time in eight games in an 88-76 loss at New York on Sunday.

Paul George scored a season-high 20 points and David West added 14, but Indiana managed only 30 first-half points and committed 19 turnovers overall.

The Pacers, who are trying to avoid shooting under 40.0 percent for the fourth time in five games, rank near the bottom of the league in field goal percentage (40.5) and scoring (88.1).

Indiana's offensive shortcomings have overshadowed its strong play defensively. It leads the NBA in points allowed (90.1) and field goal percentage (40.3).

"Our defense, you know, we've been No. 1 in the NBA right now defensively," George said. "We knew we could rely on that, but again, we've got to get more shots, better looks, more attempts and take care of the ball."

George should be able to get some good looks against the Wizards. He scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting in a 89-85 win on Nov. 10.

Gerald Green had 15 points and Roy Hibbert added seven points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for the Pacers, who limited the Wizards to 13 fourth-quarter points in that victory.

Washington's Emeka Okafor and rookie Bradley Beal had 17 points apiece, while A.J. Price totaled 12 points and 14 assists in the first meeting.

Still without Wall and injured starting center Nene, the Wizards (0-8) are trying to avoid a franchise-worst 0-9 start after failing to close out another opponent. Washington managed just 13 points on 4 of 19 shooting in the quarter in a 83-76 loss to Utah and became the second team in NBA history to start 0-8 in back-to-back seasons.

"It's tough," coach Randy Wittman said. "I don't know how else to put it."

Wittman tried to shake things up against the Jazz by putting leading scorer Jordan Crawford and Jan Vesely in the starting lineup in place of Trevor Booker and Beal, the third overall pick who has just 22 points on 7 of 31 shooting over his last three games since his 17-point effort against the Pacers.

Crawford scored 20 points to lead Washington, but the change didn't improve the team's fortunes. The Wizards, last in the NBA at 86.6 points per game, scored just 76 for the second time in three games.

"I've got to help them believe in themselves right now," Wittman said. "We're low on confidence right now from an offensive standpoint."

Wizards fall to 0-9 with 96-89 loss to Pacers

By HOWARD FENDRICH
Posted Nov 19 2012 11:56PM

WASHINGTON (AP) After his Washington Wizards, the only winless team in the NBA, dropped to a franchise-worst 0-9, coach Randy Wittman sat down for his postgame news conference, sighed loudly, took a sip of water and glanced at the stat sheet.

Wittman chose various ways to try to explain the Wizards' problems Monday night during a 96-89 loss to the Indiana Pacers, then tried to stand up - somewhat - for his players.

"I believe these guys can win," Wittman said. "I don't have any doubts. ... I come in here every day, thinking this is the night. I feel good."

Then he chuckled a bit, paused, and delivered the punch line: "I might be dumb."

There were boos from an announced crowd of 14,426 early as Washington fell behind 26-7, and again at the end, when the Pacers took what had become a one-point game and closed with a 10-4 run.

David West scored 13 of his season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, while Roy Hibbert broke out of a slump with 20 points and 12 rebounds after getting a phone call at 11:30 p.m. the night before from Pacers coach Frank Vogel.

"He's always been supportive, and I appreciated the call," said Hibbert, whose mother yelled encouragement from her seat near the court. "He just expressed his support and care for me."

Hibbert, who played college home games for Georgetown at the Wizards' arena, scored in single digits in seven of the season's first 11 games, including only six points on 3-of-10 shooting in Indiana's 88-76 loss at the New York Knicks on Sunday.

"He told me he was going to have a big night," Vogel said.

Still without point guard John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, and starting center Nene - and no one seems to be sure when either injured player will make his 2012-13 debut - the Wizards have eclipsed their then-worst 0-8 start to last season.

"We're a team that plays in spurts, instead of the great teams that play 48 minutes," said guard Jordan Crawford, who scored 11 points on 2-for-12 shooting. "We're going to have work towards playing 48 minutes."

He was part of a starting lineup that shot 8 for 37 (22 percent) and finished with a total of 31 points, only one more than West alone.

"I don't know who to start, who to play, who not to play," Wittman said.

Sounding increasingly exasperated, he continued: "I'm looking down the whole roster, and if I had a cellphone, I'd be calling the waiver wire, trying to find another body. I mean, I'm just searching right now, searching for people to give me consistency."

The Wizards actually earned a standing ovation at the end of the third quarter after whittling a 20-point deficit to 71-67 on Shaun Livingston's jumper entering the fourth.

Washington went on an 18-2 run to close the third, including 16 points in a row, with rookie Bradley Beal scoring nine of his 18.

And when Chris Singleton made a jumper while getting fouled with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game, Washington suddenly was within 86-85. Alas, Singleton failed to convert the three-point play, missing the free throw that would have tied the score, and West's jumper at the other end put the Pacers back up by three.

As West's shot went through the net, Wittman raised his arms then put his hands atop his head in a resigned pose. Moments later, Wittman called time out after West sank yet another jumper to make it 90-85.

And that was pretty much that.

Washington's next chance for its first victory comes Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks.

"I'll toss another group out there and we'll see if we can't find a group that starts off well," Wittman said. "I'm going to keep trying."

Notes: Indiana is 5-7. ... Wizards F Trevor Booker hurt his right knee late in the fourth quarter. Wittman wasn't sure of the severity of the injury. ... Vogel was asked before the game whether he'd considered taking Hibbert out of the starting lineup and using him as a reserve. "No. We think about doing a lot of things to get him going," Vogel replied, "but that's not one of them." Added Vogel: "He knows he's better than he's doing." ... The Pacers outrebounded the Wizards 46-36.

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Notebook: Pacers 96, Wizards 89

Rich Dubroff, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:19 PM - Updated Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:19 PM

THE FACTS: David West scored 13 of his season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter and Roy Hibbert had a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers over the winless Washington Wizards 96-89 on Monday night.

The Pacers led for nearly the entire game, had a 20-point lead with about five minutes to play in the third quarter and almost blew it. They hung on for the win.

Bradley Beal had 17 of his 18 points in the second half to lead the Wizards, who have started the season 0-9. Last season, they began 0-8.

QUOTABLE: "I just want to be aggressive...I've been playing like some crap, and I'm sick and tired of it. It's time for a change." -- Hibbert on his scoring outburst.

THE STAT: Indiana outrebounded Washington 46-36. The Pacers, who lead the NBA in rebounding, had more than their opponents for the 10th time in 12 games.

TURNING POINT: After the Wizards' Chris Singleton failed to convert on a 3-point play that would have tied the score at 86, West hit three jumpers and Hibbert a hook to secure the win.

QUOTABLE II: "I believe, these guys can win. I don't have any doubts of it. I come in here every day thinking 'this is the night, I feel good.' I might be dumb, but I believe in them, I really do. "-- Washington coach Randy Wittman on his team's continuing losses.

HOT: West and Hibbert hit a combined 18-for-24 from the field.

NOT: The five Wizards starters: Trevor Ariza, Jan Vesely, Emeka Okafor, Jordan Crawford and A.J. Price combined to go 8-for-37 from the field.

GOOD MOVE: Indiana coach Frank Vogel called Hibbert Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. to encourage him. "He told me he was going to have a big night," Vogel said. He promised e 20 and 10, and he delivered. He delivered with 20 and 12."

BAD MOVE: Wittman starting the group that quickly put the team in a 26-7 hole. His second unit played much better/

NOTABLE: Hibbert had a great game on the court where he starred for Georgetown. "I said to myself after last night's game that it's going to be a perfect scenario. I'm going to have a good game, and it's going to be on my home court from college," Hibbert said.

IN THE ARENA: Hibbert's parents sat near the Pacers' bench loudly encouraging him. Pacers' PR Director David Bennner suggested to Hibbert that he take the money from his recently signed contract extension and use it to fly his parents to all his games. "I think he would been in trouble if he played soft," Vogel said.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers: Wednesday vs. Hornets, Friday vs. Spurs, Sunday @ Lakers. For the Wizards: Wednesday @ Hawks, Saturday vs. Bobcats, Monday vs. Spurs

• Pacers: Granger, Plumlee
• Wizards: Nene, Wall

• Pacers: George
• Wizards: Livingston

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #7 Kevin Fehr, #10 Ron Garretson, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 14426
• Duration: 2:19