| PACERS | vs. | BOBCATS |
 T.J. Ford |
Point Guard |
 Raymond Felton |
 Mike Dunleavy |
Shooting Guard |
 Stephen Jackson |
 Brandon Rush |
Small Forward |
 Gerald Wallace |
 Troy Murphy |
Power Forward |
 Boris Diaw |
 Roy Hibbert |
Center |  Tyson Chandler |
 Tyler Hansbrough |
Sixth Man |
 Ronald Murray |
 Jim O'Brien |
Coach |  Larry Brown |
By Conrad Brunner | Dec. 15, 2009
Among all the variables, 3-point shooting was supposed to be a given for the 2009-10 Indiana Pacers. This was, after all, the team that had for the previous two seasons rewritten the franchise record book in terms of attempts, makes and percentage.
Not only were their best shooters coming back, they would be joined by another long-range gunner with Mike Dunleavy's return to health.
And yet, the Pacers enter Wednesday night's game with the Charlotte Bobcats as one of the least effective 3-point shooting teams in the league, ranking 23rd with a percentage of .312 – which would stand as the lowest since 1986-87.
The way things are going, Slick Leonard's 3-point catch-phrase "Boom Baby" is going to become an endangered species. What gives?
"Any time shots are challenged is a bad shot," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "Murph (Troy Murphy) hasn't taken a challenged three all year. Brandon (Rush) doesn't take challenged threes. Mike Dunleavy doesn't take challenged threes. T.J. (Ford) is a mid-30 percent 3-point shooter and he doesn't take challenged threes.
"We're just (missing), for whatever reason and I can't put my finger on it – it's not because of a lack of practice because we practice shooting constantly. We practice it early. On a typical day, we have all the young guys out here shooting for a half-hour before practice. We spend 15 minutes shooting as a team. We shoot afterwards. I just have to trust the shots will fall."
In their eight victories, the Pacers have shot 54-of-141 (.383) from the 3-point line.
In their 14 losses, they've shot 86-of-308 (.279).
Coincidence? Hardly.
"I mean, it's huge," said Murphy. "If we're not making threes, then we're S.O.L. It's a big problem for us because we take a lot of them and if we don't make a large percentage of them, a lot of times they're long rebounds and it's a run-out the other way. It's very critical for us."
Of the top eight 3-point shooters on the team, only Dunleavy is currently making a higher percentage (.381) than his career average (.361).
"Sometimes you just don't shoot it as well but we're not moving and running the floor like we're capable of and like we need to in order to open things up," Dunleavy said. "We're at a point where we've got some guys on the team that just don't quite understand spacing yet and they will, they'll get it as they get used to playing in the system. We're going to keep shooting. We're going to stick with it. But for the time being it's not as big of a weapon as it once was and it needs to be."
TRENDS
Dunleavy has averaged 21.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the last three games, shooting 20-of-36 (.556) overall and 8-of-13 (.615) from the 3-point line. … Dunleavy has made his last 17 free throw attempts. … Ford had a season-high seven assists in Orlando Monday and also made his first 3-pointer of the season, snapping a streak of 25 consecutive misses dating back to last season. … Tyler Hansbrough has averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds on 23-of-58 shooting (.397) in the last four. … Dahntay Jones has shot 41-of-108 (.380) in the last 10 and missed his last nine 3-point attempts. … Murphy has averaged 16.0 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 35-of-65 (.538) overall and 13-of-30 (.433) from the 3-point line in the last six. … Earl Watson is 4-of-7 from the 3-point line in the last two after missing 22 of his previous 24.KEY MATCHUP
Dunleavy has quickly established himself as the central figure in the offense and his return to the lineup gives the Pacers much more punch with the starters. He's matched up against a guy he was once traded for, Stephen Jackson, who has found new life with the Bobcats after escaping Golden State. Jackson plays 40 minutes a game and has taken an aggressive role.SERIES
The Pacers managed just 88 points and had more turnovers (18) than assists (15) in a 104-88 loss to the Bobcats on Nov. 22 in Charlotte. The Pacers lead the all-time series 10-9 and are 6-3 at home.INJURIES
Pacers -- Jeff Foster (back) is day-to-day; Danny Granger (foot) and Travis Diener (toe) are out.Bobcats -- None listed.
