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Murray adds experience, depth
By Conrad Brunner | March 3, 2008
A backcourt in need of experience and depth gained both with Saturday's signing of Ronald "Flip" Murray.
The Pacers are the fifth team in six NBA seasons for Murray, who'll be in uniform tonight against the Milwaukee franchise that originally drafted him No. 42 overall in 2002. He has career averages of 9.2 points and 2.3 assists and should slot in behind Travis Diener in the point-guard rotation.
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"He's put up numbers on the board," Coach Jim O'Brien told The Indianapolis Star. "We need a little more depth. We're happy to give him a chance to earn minutes and I think he will. I think him being here over the last month and a half of the regular season will help us."
Murray was waived by Detroit after the Pistons acquired guard Juan Dixon just before the NBA trading deadline. The Clippers, who bought out veteran Sam Cassell's contract to allow him to sign with a contender, had expected to sign Murray but he opted instead to join the Pacers. In 19 games with the Pistons, Murray averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 assists. He averaged a career-high 13.5 points with Cleveland in 2005-06 and 12.4 with Seattle in 2003-04.
The Pacers' most experience point guard, Jamaal Tinsley, has missed the last 10 games with a left knee injury and 20 overall this season. Diener, in his third season, has done a solid job filling in as the starter but the backup slot has been problematic, with both Marquis Daniels and Andre Owens struggling with consistency.
Indiana (23-36) is coming off its second-highest offensive output of the season in a 122-111 victory in Toronto Friday night, but the Pacers have dropped three of four. The Pacers stand 11th in the East, 3½ games out of eighth place.
The Bucks (22-37) are one game behind the Pacers but have dropped 17 of 24, including a 96-94 loss to the Spurs Saturday night.
KEY TO THE GAME
The Pacers' three biggest problems this season – finishing games, dealing with explosive perimeter scorers and erratic bench production – cropped up in the only other meeting with the Bucks this year. Michael Redd scored 37, the Bucks outscored the Pacers 30-19 in the fourth quarter and Indiana's bench combined for eight points on 4-of-21 shooting in a 104-92 loss. The biggest issue was and is trying to find a way to keep Redd from winning the game by himself.
TRENDS
Marquis Daniels has averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last three games. … Diener is coming off his first career double-double (10 points, 10 assists) in Toronto and has 72 assists against 10 turnovers in the last 12 games. … Mike Dunleavy has averaged 26.2 points in the last five. … When Dunleavy scores at least 30, the Pacers are 4-1. … Stephen Graham, who scored a career-high 16 in Toronto, has totaled 58 points (on .611 shooting) in 74 minutes of playing time this season, which equates to 37.6 points per 48 minutes. … Troy Murphy has averaged 16.0 points on .600 shooting in the last six. … When Kareem Rush scores at least 20 points, the Pacers are 5-1. … The Pacers are 14-5 when scoring at least 110 points. … In the last two games, the Pacers have outscored opponents 59-35 from the free-throw line.
SERIES
The Bucks' Jan. 24 victory marked Diener's first career start for the Pacers and he had 15 points and nine assists in front of his hometown fans. Milwaukee leads the overall series 81-64 but the Pacers are 44-31 at home, including the last four in a row.
INJURIES
Pacers - G Jamaal Tinsley (sore L knee) and F-C Jermaine O'Neal (bone bruise, L knee) are out.
Bucks - None reported.
