The Indiana Pacers Are Shooting Terribly in Fourth Quarters

The Indiana Pacers shot 38.1% from the field in their last two fourth quarters, but they aren’t much better on the season as a whole either.

The last two games for the Indiana Pacers ended in defeat, and looking at their fourth quarter shooting reveals part of the reason why.

The Pacers shot a woeful 38.1% (14 of 44) in their losses to the Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans, and an outstandingly bad 6.7% (1 of 15) from 3-point range.

Their 21 points against New Orleans isn’t so bad, but only scoring 10 in Miami is something you usually only see in the five minutes periods of overtime.

Needless to say, this is a problem.

Part of the blame in those two games falls on Paul George as he has shot 4 for 12 (33.3%) in the fourth quarters, while Aaron Brooks was 2 of 7 (28.6%) and Jeff Teague shot 1 of 6 (16.7%). The other Pacers didn’t fare any better as C.J. Miles (0 of 4), Thaddeus Young (0 of 3) and Glenn Robinson III (0 of 1) combined to make absolutely zero of their eight attempts.

On the bright side, Myles Turner has carried his weight by shooting 5 of 8 (62.5%) and Al Jefferson was 2 of 3 (33.3%).

So are the Pacers coming full circle and giving up games in the fourth quarter constantly — like they did just a few season ago?

The Indiana Pacers aren’t always that bad, but…

There is some good news to be found mixed in with some of these terrible stats. When you look at the individual numbers, at least the Pacers have some hope of fixing the problem.

We mentioned before that Paul George is more clutch than ever this season, and it holds up as he is shooting 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Comparing him to the NBA’s most used scorers in the fourth quarter, that’s 11th by field goal percentage. One issue, however, is PG is only shooting 29.2% on 3-pointers in the fourth.

Myles Turner is shooting 51.1% in fourth quarters, but he is only taking two attempts per a game, so for one reason or another (and something worth looking at in another post), the Pacers aren’t ready to let him close out games.

C.J. Miles, however, is shooting better from 3-point range at 42.4% compared to his overall field goal percentage of 41.2%. Monta Ellis is also a reliable closer as he shoots 54.3% in the fourth.

The Pacers’ bigger problem comes from their other closers because as a team Indiana ranks 28th in the NBA in fourth quarter field goal percentage at 41.9%.

Jeff Teague is shooting 40% in fourth quarters and like George isn’t so great on 3-point attempts, as he is shooting 28.6%.

The bench players who typically are in at the start of the fourth are part of the problem as well.

Rodney Stuckey is shooting 38.1% while Aaron Brooks shoots 24.3% Al Jefferson may shoot 48.8% in fourth quarters, but like Turner he is only taking two shots on average.

With the starters or bench players, missing all those 3-pointers adds up after a while as Indiana is shooting 28% on 3-pointers this season in the fourth, the third worst in the NBA.

Part of the problem comes back to the fact the Pacers have plenty scorers, but not shooters. It doesn’t help that no one makes it to the line very often in the closing periods either. Much like the playoff axiom, you don’t get the calls as often when it matters. It is simply harder to rely on getting calls when driving to the lane in the fourth for the Pacers.

Until Indiana starts making shots or finds a player who can, this problem won’t fix itself anytime soon. And that means they’ll be losing winnable games more and more games in the fourth quarter.

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