The Indiana Pacers looked like they might have a chance of upsetting the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon, but it was obviously not meant to be as LeBron James took over in the final stanza to give his Heat the Game 1 victory. The Pacers had their chances, though, and one local writer wasn't afraid to point that fact out in his Monday morning column.
Pacers Lose To Heat, Indianapolis Columnist Calls Out Entire Team
The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz wasn't happy with the Pacers' attitude following the game and, in a surprising move, he decided to go in pretty hard on his home team. Frank Vogel and his Indiana team set up a compelling narrative -- and his team stuck to it following the Game 1 loss -- but Kravitz wasn't having any of it.
After the game, Pacers guard George Hill was checking out the final score sheet, so I asked him if anything jumped out at him that would explain this loss.
"No comment," he said.
Then he commented.
"Y'all know,'' he said, clearly referring to the 38-28 free-throw disparity. "We know. Everybody knows. The world knows. But sometimes it's better left unsaid."
Mr. Hill, Mr. Stern on line 1.
Was there a free-throw-attempt and free-throw-make disparity? Obviously. Are guys like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade going to get calls that Paul George and Darren Collison aren't going to get? Obviously. Did it hurt the Pacers to have so many players in early foul trouble? Obviously.
Deal with it. Losers whine. And then they go home for the summer. Don't be that fan base. Don't be that city.
Kravitz went on to call out the following parties: Danny Granger and Paul George for their lack of scoring, the Pacers big men for not taking advantage of the Chris Bosh injury, George Hill for picking up a charge call, free-throw shooting and rebounding just to make sure the entire team felt the wrath of his column.
It’s an interesting strategy from the home team’s columnist and, even though he made some valid points, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of response he receives for the remainder of the series. If a “no comment” quote generates this type of vitriol, it’ll be interesting to see what happens if the Pacers open their mouths any further.
For more on the Pacers, head over to Indy Cornrows and SB Nation Indiana. For more on the Heat, check out Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay.
See More:
