In his second game back Sunday, Danny Granger looked good.
After battling knee issues that kept him out almost all of last season and most of this one, Granger returned the Pacers lineup this weekend. Sunday against the Celtics he looked like the guy the Pacers are hoping he will be off the bench — 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, running to the arc and fearless to take the shot.
There are questions about how Granger will work out over time, legitimate ones. But there seem to be a lot of misconceptions, too. Here are three things people just seem to get wrong.
1) “He can’t play with Paul George.” Granger entered Sunday’s game with 4:58 left in the first quarter (replacing Lance Stephenson) and the Pacers promptly went on an 8-0 run with Granger and George on the floor. So far through two games, they are a +1 together (the obligatory small sample size warning goes here).
But here’s where this old myth they can’t play together falls apart: It assumes that Granger is going to want the ball in his hands to run isolations and create for others. Yes, he used to be the focal point of the offense, but he’s not that guy anymore and he knows it — through two games he is working off the ball, finding his spot at the arc (he’s a career 38.3 percent from three) and fitting in well, thank you very much. He’ll be a volume shooter off the bench now and has accepted that role. He’s not going to take the ball out of George’s hands.
2) “He’s a $14 million expiring contract, the Pacers are going to trade him.” You’re thinking like it’s the old CBA. The value of expiring contracts are down (look at the trade deadline last year) and it’s hard to move a big deal like his. It’s not that the Pacers won’t listen to offers, but Larry Bird said he’s not looking to move him. Indiana wants to make a run at a title and Granger as a shooter off the bench helps them do that, it gives Frank Vogel a rock solid 9 man rotation he can lean on in the playoffs. Why not keep him around, make a title run then let the $14 million come straight off the books? That’s always been the most likely scenario.
3) “Granger can’t play defense like Indiana wants.” He’s actually always been a better defender, especially one-on-one, than he has gotten credit for. He’s solid in his help rotations. Granted, coming off a major knee injury he may not move the same way, but playing with the second unit (and with Roy Hibbert or Ian Mahinmi behind him) he doesn’t have to. Just be solid. Granger can do that.
The bottom line is this: Granger is back and the Pacers just got considerably better. Which is scary for the rest of the league.
Pacers 106, Celtics 79: Indiana’s defense controlled this one, forcing Boston to take midrange jumper after midrange jumper, then contested them. The result was a Celtics team that shot just 38.1 percent for the night. Indiana took control with a 24-5 run in the second quarter and never looked back. It was a laugher. Paul George had 24 points, Lance Stephenson had a triple-double with 12 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Raptors 104, Thunder 98: After a rusty first half — a hangover from the Spurs game — the Thunder seemed to figure it all out in the third and after a 14-0 run were up 11. We knew how this was going to end, right? Wrong. The Thunder went back to sloppy play, John Salmons had 9 points in the fourth (14 for the game) and the Raptors closed the game on a 6-0 run to win. Kyle Lowry had 22 points to lead the Raptors. Look at it this way, the Raptors shot 39.6 percent on the night, the Thunder 36.8 percent. It wasn’t pretty.
Clippers 120, Timberwolves 116 (OT): Minnesota keeps losing games like this. However, this one really had to sting. The Timberwolves big men dominated the Clippers front line — Kevin Love had 45 points and 19 rebounds, Nikola Pekovic added 34. Yet Minnesota couldn’t shake the Clippers, who got 32 points and 10 rebounds from Blake Griffin. Still, Minnesota was up two and had the ball with 8 seconds. All they had to do was inbound and hit free throws. They inbounded into the backcourt to their best free throw shooter, Kevin Martin, who slipped a little then got stripped by Chris Paul, who fed Jamal Crawford for a layup and we were headed to OT. In the extra period Chris Paul had 9 points, dominated and you see the final score. Minnesota should feel sick about this one.