NBA Playoffs 2012: Full Game 1 Grades and Analysis for Magic and Pacers

The NBA playoffs are in full swing and we are now three games in. The Orlando Magic have shocked everyone and taken Game 1 with the score of 81-77.

When it was clear Dwight Howard would miss the playoffs, many said that the Pacers had a bye week, but this is not the case. The Magic used great defense and a good offensive game plan to win this game and they are not going to lay down to the Pacers. Indiana clearly did not expect this type of competition and they need to adjust quickly.

The Magic used strong runs in the second and fourth quarters to take this game and Indiana did not make a shot in the last four minutes of the game. The offensive cold streaks were the biggest reason the Pacers lost.

They also shot 59 percent from the free-throw line, which is never a good thing for any team.

Now let's get into the game grades:

Indiana Pacers:

Danny Granger:

Okay performance by Granger tonight. He led the Pacers in minutes and was second in points with 17. He stretched the floor and was the primary ball-handler for large portions of the game. He played well on defense and grabbed seven rebounds in the game.

He did, however, force quite a few shots and should have passed out of a few opportunities. Overall, he did not perform as well as he should have and really needs to improve his shot selection and spread the ball more.

Grade: B-

David West:

Best offensive player for the Pacers tonight and played solid defense as well. He led the team with 19 points in the game, but did not have enough opportunities on offense. West is the only player on the team who shot above 50 percent in the game and the Pacers should look to get him more involved in the next game.

Grade: A

Roy Hibbert:

Hibbert played a simply amazing game on defense, with nine blocks and two steals in the game. He also added 13 rebounds to stuff the stat sheet, but struggled on offense. He shot 3-11, and while he definitely had a mismatch, he just could not take advantage of it. This hurt the Pacers down the stretch and if he had really taken advantage of Davis on offense, the game would have turned out differently.

Grade: B-

Paul George:

Terrible game by George. On defense, he was consistently burned by Jason Richardson and allowed him to nail five threes in the game. He seemed scared for the majority of the game on offense and would not pull the trigger on open shots. George shot 4-11 and had three fouls.

He needs to improve on both ends of the floor and really take advantage of his size, which he just did not do in this game.

Grade: C-

George Hill:

Played an okay game considering he did not receive many good minutes. Had 11 points and three assists in 25 minutes of action. He also added a block and a steal on defense, but overall just could not keep up with Jameer Nelson.

Grade: C+

Darren Collison:

The leader in minutes off the bench. Collison led the team in assists with five and played suffocating defense. He was hustling and earned his minutes. He shot just 1-7, but did not have many plays run for him.

Grade: B+ 

Rest of the Bench:

The rest of the bench was hot and cold and Hansbrough had seven points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action. He was on the floor a whole lot on both ends, but only had a couple of fouls called for all his trouble. Barbosa had the ball in his hands a lot, but did not make a significant impact on either end. Overall, the Pacers showed their depth, but the players they put in underperformed.

Grade: C-

Coaching:

First half was rough for Vogel, but he kept his team in the game. The last few minutes saw some terrible play-calling and the team looked disoriented. The Pacers were down at halftime and came out with great energy in the third. Vogel is a good coach, but it did not show in this game.

Grade: C-

Orlando Magic:

Hedo Turkoglu:

Hedo played a solid game, and while he did not stuff the stat sheet, he showed great hustle and did not allow himself to get burned on defense. Did not force bad shots and spread the ball around.

Grade: B

Ryan Anderson:

Only made one three in the game, but helped grab a few boards and stretched the floor. When you're a great shooter, you do not need to be lighting it up for the team to fear you and the Pacers respected Anderson's stroke.

Grade: C+

Glen Davis:

Played 40 minutes (game-high) and managed to be energetic throughout. He grabbed 13 boards, but did struggle with Hibbert's length on the offensive end. Davis had three blocks in the game and, while outmatched, still put in 16 points.

On defense, he managed to slow down Hibbert (surprisingly) and simply outmuscled him in this game. I give him the game MVP.

Grade: A

Jason Richardson:

Clutch. Richardson made five threes in the game and all of them came in critical moments. He gave the Magic the lead when the half ended and game them the lead at the end of the game.

Richardson did not see many minutes, but was the designated three-point marksman when he did play. He was burning Paul George and made him run a whole lot on defense.

Grade: A

Jameer Nelson:

Nelson was the primary ball-handler and was one assist short of a double-double. He consistently penetrated the whole night and was good on defense as well. Nelson made his living on the pick-and-roll and it worked. Very solid performance by Nelson today.

Grade: A

JJ Redick:

Redick saw 20 minutes and played his role very well. He finished with six points and three assists and, while he was not a game-changer, he played his part.

Grade: B+

Bench:

Earl Clark was probably the most surprising player in this game. He finished with six points, four blocks and nine rebounds. He played with great energy and clearly wants minutes. He is hungry and eager to please.

Duhon was shut down by Collison, who played him very rough. Richardson also did pretty well and did not hurt the team in any way.

Grade: B+

Coaching:

Van Gundy abandoned the three-ball for a large portion of the second half, but came back to it late in the game and it worked. His game plan was clearly to pound the ball down low and really challenge the Pacers in the paint. It worked, but it did allow for nine blocks by Hibbert.

Overall, he was consistent the whole game (save for the three-point shooting).

Grade: A

Overall, this was a surprising game to me and I am amazed the Magic pulled it out. Should be a great series.

Thank you for reading and comment with your thoughts!