Roy Hibbert has been a dominant force in the paint on both ends of the floor for the Indiana Pacers against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In fact, it could be strongly argued that he has been the single most important presence for his team: his ability to intimidate or erase shots on a regular basis completely changes how the Heat attack the basket, and no one on Miami’s roster seems to have an answer when he’s on the attack. In five games so far, Hibbert has averaged a robust 22.6 points on 55 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 1.2 rebounds – the statistics of a definitive All-Star.
The results for him in Game 5 on Thursday, from a personal standpoint, was mostly no different: he scored 22 points on an efficient eight-of-14 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots. This fact, however, did not stop him from blaming himself (along with the rest of his team) for not playing better:
It was certainly a tough loss to handle, and the Pacers could definitely have played better. George Hill and Lance Stephenson, in particular, had trouble getting anything going on the offensive end, combining for five points on two-of-11 shooting, six assists and six turnovers. That kind of production won’t get it done against the Heat on the road, especially when LeBron James is hell bent on getting his team on the right track.
Still, taking responsibility and blame for the loss – despite it not really being his fault – shows a sense of growth and leadership from Hibbert, who has really come into his own as one of the better centers in the league with a countless number of dominant performances in this postseason.
Tweet of the Night: Wesley Matthews addresses arthroscopic debridement of his elbow (sort of)