The Official Site of TJ Ford

Tue, Nov 10th 2009, 11:50

Ford snaps out of slump quickly

There he sat, at the end of the bench during crunch time. It was the final month of last season all over again for Indiana Pacers point guard T.J. Ford.

It wasn’t how this season was supposed to start, watching his backup play the key parts of the first three games.

But it all changed in a three-minute stretch at the end of the Pacers’ game with the Knicks on Wednesday in New York. Ford came off the bench after Danny Granger fouled out and scored eight points down the stretch, securing the Pacers’ first victory after opening the season with three losses.

His hot streak was huge. It got the Pacers a victory, which led to another one Friday night against Washington. In those few brief minutes, Ford transformed into the player many envisioned — and has stayed there.

Ford is averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the past two games heading into Wednesday’s home game against Golden State.

“You have to understand, this is the first time I’ve struggled like this at the beginning of the season,” Ford said. “Normally, the beginning of the season is a time I put up big numbers. It’s a matter of understanding it’s a long season. You just continue to believe in yourself and know that nobody else is going to help you get out of a struggle but yourself.”

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