Roy Hibbert wouldn't speak with the media following his Indiana Pacers' 107-88 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, when the final score didn't indicate the seriousness of the situation. The Pacers center played in nine minutes before being shut down for the game, coach Frank Vogel told the Indianapolis Star, but how it got to that point should be the worrisome part.
Roy Hibbert benched as Pacers fall to Hawks
The Indiana Pacers fell to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday after trailing 55-23 at the half, and while Roy Hibbert’s benching stood out, it’s how he got there that could be more worrisome.
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“I considered resting Roy before tonight’s game because he looks worn down; he’s a 7-2 player that’s played every game this year, which is very rare,” Vogel said. “He looks to me to be worn down. He’s giving good effort, but he looks to me to be worn down.”
Vogel told Hibbert of his second half off in the locker room at halftime, and the Star reports Hibbert was slow to come out of the break to join his teammates on the bench.
Indeed, Hibbert got worn down early on Sunday. Both the style of the Hawks and the matchups made it snowball, but the recurring themes for the Pacers didn’t help their center’s cause.
Indiana players continued taking quick shots, using one pass and then going straight into isolation mode, and that gave Atlanta an easy out and a good reason to push the ball quickly back the other way. Hibbert was walking up the court just a minute and a half into the game. He struggled to make shots as well and went 0-for-5 before Vogel pulled him for good with his Pacers trailing 42-15 just more than three minutes into the second quarter.
Most of all, Atlanta posed an unfavorable matchup for the big man.
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Hibbert made the effort to get back in transition early, but he was all but phased out in the halfcourt. Indiana had him defending Paul Millsap rather than center Pero Antic, who is more apt to shoot three-pointers. Millsap, who has played small forward before, hit his own three early on and pulled Hibbert out of the lane to take away his biggest strength.
Hibbert has appeared in all 78 games for the Pacers and averages 30 minutes per outing. Over his last 10 games, his field goal shooting has slipped to just 33 percent, and he’s only grabbing 3.9 boards per game. The worry over his fatigue is a serious thing.
But there are problems in Indiana beyond Hibbert’s benching.
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