It wasn’t exactly a perfect night for Danny Granger, playing his first game of the season for the Pacers after working his way back from a severe knee injury.
Granger missed his first eight shots of the game, but playing against a woeful Pistons team that Indiana had just beaten by 32 the night before, the team wasn’t exactly looking for any additional contributions. He finally got one to go early in the fourth that pushed his team’s lead to 20 once the shot went down.
From Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star:He lingered behind everybody else, took in a long pass from Paul George and made a 15-foot jumper with 9:25 left in the game.
As they’ve done all season, the Pacers erupted off the bench in excitement. Granger’s teammates mobbed him like he made a game-winning shot as he walked off the court during the next timeout.
“I knew I was going to hear it from the guys cause I had missed so many shots,” Granger said laughing. “I was 0-for-8 at that point. I just couldn’t get it going. I was just happy to score at that point.”
Granger could be a huge boost for the Pacers if he can regain the form he had before the injury, when he consistently showed his ability to score, and often times did so when his team needed him the most.
There will be an adjustment period for the Pacers, who have played well to this point in the season without him. But as he regains his conditioning and his confidence, Granger should bolster Indiana in plenty of time for the team’s run into the postseason.
