It’s hard to explain how we’re supposed to feel after giving up 47 points in the fourth quarter. Harder still when you remember they led by as many as 22 in that same period and still walked off with a loss
to the Hawks. It does not feel good. A team that has to scrap, claw, and fight for every win will always feel this one in the ribs. We need some distance from it. We need to see what the ripple effects are before we really know what it means.
Maybe this is something the team grows from. Maybe they walk into the next game with a clearer sense of how every possession matters in the fourth quarter. The numbers tell the story. 5 turnovers in the fourth, all live ball situations, all turned into points. 10 points handed away. Turnovers like that will bury you.
Still, there were things worth holding onto. This group stays relentless. They had a mental lapse. That happens across the league every night. It does not excuse anything, but it is part of the landscape. What mattered, even in the middle of the collapse, was the way they kept playing with the kind of hustle we expect.
I think back to last season through 14 games. That team sat at 9 wins and 5 losses, a game better than where they are now. I remember the feeling after those wins. It was relief. This year, the way they win and the way they lose tracks in the same direction. It is consistent. The effort shows up every night.
Is this the start of a trend? Time will tell. The schedule stiffens from now through Christmas. So I’ll tell you what I really think about losing in this fashion in a month, when the picture sharpens and the emotions settle.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
That shellacking of the Pacers sent everyone wobbling out of the arena like they had their inner ears scrambled. We witnessed numbers that belonged in a fever dream. Absurd. Truly absurd. Floating above the madness was that wild +52 in the 26 minutes Oso Ighodaro prowled the floor. That was enough to shove him into the Bright Side Baller standings for the first time.
It was not a stroll for Oso. He survived by 4 votes out of 346. 40.5% edging out Dillon Brooks at 39.3%. Oso has officially entered the room.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 14 against the Hawks. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
34 points (14-of-25, 3-of-7 3PT, 3-of-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 fouls, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, -2 +/-
Devin Booker
27 points (10-of-23, 0-of-6 3PT, 7-of-7 FT), 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 fouls, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, 1 block, -17 +/-
Collin Gillespie
15 points (5-of-13, 1-of-3 3PT, 4-of-4 FT), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 fouls, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 18 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
14 points (6-of-9, 1-of-2 3PT, 1-of-1 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 14 +/-
Ryan Dunn
12 points (4-of-9, 2-of-4 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 fouls, 2 steals, 1 turnover, -24 +/-
Mark Williams
8 points (4-of-5, 0-of-0 3PT, 0-of-0 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers, -15 +/-
Time to click the little round circle next to the guy who earned the Bright Side Baller for this one.
