Things, to put it kindly, aren’t looking that good for the Indiana Pacers right now.
They had spent virtually the entire season atop the Eastern Conference, well on their way to fulfilling a stated goal of claiming homecourt advantage throughout the East playoffs — particularly for a potential Game 7 against the defending champion Miami Heat.
But over the last several weeks, the Pacers have plummeted, going 9-10 since March 1 including losses in six of their last nine heading into Friday’s game in Toronto. In the process, the Pacers have lost their grip on the top spot in the East to the Heat, and their chances of claiming the No. 1 seed could evaporate for good if they lose in Miami next week.
Not surprisingly, this has led to some friction in the locker room and on the floor, with players getting into arguments about why things are going wrong and how to fix it. That has led many to question whether the Pacers will make it back to a Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Heat after all, something that had been considered to be set in stone since early December.
Despite all the hand-wringing, it says here the Pacers don’t have that much to worry about, and they’ll still be standing there waiting for the Eastern Conference finals.
Here’s four reasons why:
There’s a lack of competition in the East
This is the biggest reason why the Pacers have time to sort things out. Who else besides the Pacers and Heat is making it to the Eastern Conference Finals? It wasn’t until February that more than three were consistently over .500, and there will be at least one, if not two, teams in the East playoffs with a losing record.
If the standings hold, Indiana will play Charlotte in the first round and either Toronto or Washington in the second. While first-year coach Steve Clifford has done a terrific job with the Bobcats, they simply don’t have the firepower outside of Al Jefferson to give Indiana much trouble.
Toronto and Washington have talent, but also haven’t been through a playoff run before. The institutional knowledge the Pacers have built up over the past few seasons should be enough to carry them through to face the Heat.
They’re still playing great defense
As they have ascended to a title contender over the past few years, the Pacers have built their reputation on having arguably the best defense in the NBA. With massive center Roy Hibbert manning the paint and long, physical players such as George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George and David West around him, Indiana poses problems for any opposing offense.
Even during their recent struggles, that hasn’t changed. Since March 1, the Pacers have the sixth best defense in the league, allowing 101.6 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. That isn’t as good as their insane defense to that point — they were allowing 94.2 points per 100 possessions, more than three points ahead of the second-place Bulls – but it’s still more than respectable.
Their style is suited to playoffs
The old adage that the game gets more physical and slows down once the playoffs arrive still holds true. In the postseason, referees are loathe to insert themselves into games, and would rather give the benefit of the doubt on a no-call than to put stars in foul trouble in the games that matter most.
This benefits a team like the Pacers more than most, as Indiana plays like the Knicks and Heat teams of the 1990s did, with a grind-it-out, first-team-to-90-points-wins style. Though the Pacers made moves to improve their bench this offseason, if they can keep their starting five on the floor and out of foul trouble, that will only help their chances.
There’s still time
And: The Pacers still have time to sort things out. Yes, things are ugly in Indianapolis at the moment, and it could take the some time to get over slipping to the No. 2 seed, if that’s where they end up.
But if the Pacers can simply unwind the offensive struggles they’ve had over the past few weeks and just return to where they were earlier in the regular season – a solid, but unspectacular offense – they should be just fine, to the dismay of Eastern Conference tournament teams hoping for them to fall off the deep end.
Hawks GM Ferry not getting fair shake
Hawks general manager Danny Ferry caught some heat this week for his comments about Atlanta spiraling downward of the final few weeks of the season to the point where they may miss the playoffs.
“Throughout the year, I felt we’ve been on a good path,” Ferry told USA Today. “When healthy, we’ve been a very good team. I like the way we play. It’s system-based. I like our players. There’s some substance to them. With the way we’re set up from a salary cap standpoint and a roster standpoint that good things can continue to unfold.
“We’re not focused on trying to be the eighth seed in the playoffs because that’s not our goal. We’re trying to build something that’s good, sustainable and the components are in place for us to do so.”
The line, “We’re not focused on trying to be the eighth seed because that’s not our goal” is the one that has attracted attention. Readers lashed out at Ferry unnecessarily, without thinking about what he said.
It shouldn’t be a team’s goal to finish in eighth place, especially when doing so in the Eastern Conference can be accomplished without a winning record. Ferry wasn’t saying he didn’t want the Hawks to make the playoffs – something he was forced to clarify later. He was saying the goal for Atlanta is to become a championship contender, which the Hawks – with a core of Al Horford and Paul Millsap plus cap space and plenty of draft picks in upcoming years – are well-positioned to do.
Just press play with Popovich’s Spurs
You want to know why the Spurs have been great for virtually the last 20 years in a row, and why they are the favorites to win the title this year after coming so close last June?
Because just minutes after San Antonio lost a 19-game winning streak in Oklahoma City on Thursday night – a game in which ace sixth man Manu Ginobili was given the night off to rest – coach Gregg Popovich had the Spurs watching film from the game.
Yes, having players like Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and David Robinson is a huge reason why the Spurs have become the NBA’s model franchise. But the way Popovich has been able to get every player on the roster over the years to buy into his approach is an equally big reason.
Commish makes another good call
As part of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s push for transparency, the league is now announcing whenever an incorrect call is made that influences the outcome of a game. This happened this week when the league announced Jermaine O’Neal had goaltended a shot by the Mavericks’ Monta Ellis late in overtime – it was ruled a block – that led to Stephen Curry hitting a game-winning 3 for the Warriors. Both teams are fighting for playoff spots in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
Since taking over for David Stern on Feb. 1, Silver has said several variations of the same thing on several occasions: “If people can’t trust me, how are they going to trust the product?”
While this undoubtedly wasn’t much consolation to Dallas – especially if it’s the reason the Mavericks wind up missing the playoffs – this is a good step in the direction of trying to provide as much trust in himself, the process and the product as possible.
Center of attention in Milwaukee
Things just keep getting worse for Larry Sanders.
The Bucks forward was hit with a five-game suspension Friday for violating the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Policy. Like with J.R. Smith last summer, a five-game suspension for violating the policy means the player tested positive for marijuana.
The 2013-14 season has been an unmitigated disaster for Sanders, who has only played in 23 games after signing a four-year, $44 million contract extension in August – one that doesn’t even begin until next season.
Sanders missed 25 games after tearing a ligament in his thumb in a nightclub altercation, and later was lost for the rest of the season because of a fractured orbital bone he suffered in early February. He also had been cited twice for cruelty to animals in January for keeping his two German shepherd puppies outside without proper shelter, food and water.
Sanders’ plight is a microcosm for everything that has gone wrong in Milwaukee this season. It had appeared that Sanders was beginning to turn the corner last season when he blossomed into an impact defender and helped lead the Bucks to the playoffs while finishing third in voting for the league’s most improved player award.
He’s issued two public apologies this season – first for the nightclub melee, now for this – while only participating in three Bucks wins.
Sanders has a lot of work to do next season to repair the damage he’s done to his reputation. If he can, a nucleus of Sanders, John Henson, Giannis Antetokounmpo and, at worst, one of the top four picks in this year’s draft gives the Bucks something to build around. But after the way this season has gone, that’s no sure thing.