[valentine]

Im curious about this series. The Pacers have had a poor run leading to the play-offs yet still got the #1 seed, and the Hawks just aren’t a very talented team. 

Can the Pacers just flick the switch and return to their dominant ways…or is this team in freefall?

If they self-destruct, the Hawks could pull off possibly the biggest upset in NBA history.

 

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 Mutombo’s Hawks

Baron’s Warriors

Billups’ Pistons in 04

To answer your question, yes I think the Pacers will put it together for atleast the 1st round.

 

 

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 Mutombo’s Hawks

Baron’s Warriors

Billups’ Pistons in 04

To answer your question, yes I think the Pacers will put it together for atleast the 1st round.

 

 

 

[festar35Participant]

The amount of times that the opposing Point Guard has abused the Pacers this season is nuts. George Hill needs to be more aggressive offensively in order to put pressure on that guard at the other end.

Too many times he just goes through the motions and doesn’t challenge the opposing PG defensively, Teague can just come in and attack offensively as he isn’t being worked at the other end.

I will admit that I am not a fan of George Hill in all honesty, to me he is a good 6th man nothing more and nothing less.

I really feel that what Indiana also needs to be effective in the offensive scheme they run is a low post scorer, I mean a 15-17ppg low post scorer. Hibbert isn’t that guy and West is aging faster than I thought he would.

[festar35Participant]

The amount of times that the opposing Point Guard has abused the Pacers this season is nuts. George Hill needs to be more aggressive offensively in order to put pressure on that guard at the other end.

Too many times he just goes through the motions and doesn’t challenge the opposing PG defensively, Teague can just come in and attack offensively as he isn’t being worked at the other end.

I will admit that I am not a fan of George Hill in all honesty, to me he is a good 6th man nothing more and nothing less.

I really feel that what Indiana also needs to be effective in the offensive scheme they run is a low post scorer, I mean a 15-17ppg low post scorer. Hibbert isn’t that guy and West is aging faster than I thought he would.

[BasketBalAllanParticipant]

All I can say is that it will be bad in that locker room in about 20 minutes.

 

I think there is just too much tension on that team for them to put together a serious playoff run this year. 

 

 

[BasketBalAllanParticipant]

All I can say is that it will be bad in that locker room in about 20 minutes.

 

I think there is just too much tension on that team for them to put together a serious playoff run this year. 

 

 

[festar35Participant]

If Indiana fails to at least get to the ECF I can see Larry making some “BIG” changes.

[festar35Participant]

If Indiana fails to at least get to the ECF I can see Larry making some “BIG” changes.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

 Wow… I’m officially down on the Pacers. Atlanta played great defense, but I didn’t see Vogel making the right adjustments offensively. I hope they improve because it’s going to be a sweep the way they played today.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

 Wow… I’m officially down on the Pacers. Atlanta played great defense, but I didn’t see Vogel making the right adjustments offensively. I hope they improve because it’s going to be a sweep the way they played today.

[Rip255]

I don’t want to get too deep here because its easy to kick a dog when they’re down..but I blame the psychological make-up of 3 guys on the team and the overall state of the locker room. 

Lance Stephenson plays with great heart, but also great selfishness. Roy Hibbert looks like he doesn’t even like basketball. He plays with no emotion, no energy and only plays dominant defense when he wants to. Paul George’s game totally changed when he started getting superstar hype. 

I also think they lose a high-character guy in Danny Granger and replaced him with Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner who understandably have little commitment to the team as "rental" players. 

The rest of the team isn’t strong enough (Mahinmi, Hill, Scola etc) to overcome the problems.  

 

 

 

 

[Rip255]

I don’t want to get too deep here because its easy to kick a dog when they’re down..but I blame the psychological make-up of 3 guys on the team and the overall state of the locker room. 

Lance Stephenson plays with great heart, but also great selfishness. Roy Hibbert looks like he doesn’t even like basketball. He plays with no emotion, no energy and only plays dominant defense when he wants to. Paul George’s game totally changed when he started getting superstar hype. 

I also think they lose a high-character guy in Danny Granger and replaced him with Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner who understandably have little commitment to the team as "rental" players. 

The rest of the team isn’t strong enough (Mahinmi, Hill, Scola etc) to overcome the problems.  

 

 

 

 

[festar35Participant]

100% agree with you, I have faith that Paul George will go away and work again in the summer and that this season will be a humbling experience for him.

My big concern is the lack of a complementary player to George as Stephenson plays very similar. I still maintain a guy like Afflalo or even Knight would be a good fit.

[festar35Participant]

100% agree with you, I have faith that Paul George will go away and work again in the summer and that this season will be a humbling experience for him.

My big concern is the lack of a complementary player to George as Stephenson plays very similar. I still maintain a guy like Afflalo or even Knight would be a good fit.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

The ability of Atlanta to spread the floor with shooters at all five spots has messed with Indiana’s defense tonight. Yes, they fouled too much, but Atlanta pulled the big men away to put more pressure on guys to be individual defenders as opposed to team defenders. This is the reason the league likes 7-game series. Vogel and the Pacers have the time to adjust. Yes, if Indiana plays this series in the high 90s and 100s, they could very well lose the series. It is not how they are built to win, and certainly not when they only have three guys in double digits. Also, if the Clippers frontcourt gets outplayed by a Bogut-less Warriors frontcourt, they can lose too an d all the improvement Griffin showed this regular season will be forgotten. Even after today, these aren’t the likely scenarios.  It has been a fun first day (in a NCAA format this is bracket busting stuff), but there is a lot of time and plenty of games for the Pacers and Clippers to make up for it.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

The ability of Atlanta to spread the floor with shooters at all five spots has messed with Indiana’s defense tonight. Yes, they fouled too much, but Atlanta pulled the big men away to put more pressure on guys to be individual defenders as opposed to team defenders. This is the reason the league likes 7-game series. Vogel and the Pacers have the time to adjust. Yes, if Indiana plays this series in the high 90s and 100s, they could very well lose the series. It is not how they are built to win, and certainly not when they only have three guys in double digits. Also, if the Clippers frontcourt gets outplayed by a Bogut-less Warriors frontcourt, they can lose too an d all the improvement Griffin showed this regular season will be forgotten. Even after today, these aren’t the likely scenarios.  It has been a fun first day (in a NCAA format this is bracket busting stuff), but there is a lot of time and plenty of games for the Pacers and Clippers to make up for it.

[festar35Participant]

I like the idea of smash mouth, but you are right Vogel frequently doesn’t make the right adjustments when things aren’t working out well.

I really feel to get the most out of Paul George they need some legit shooters on the roster along with another guy who can put up 18-20ppg a game. I would love a scoring point guard in Indiana, like Bledsoe would be awesome.

[festar35Participant]

I like the idea of smash mouth, but you are right Vogel frequently doesn’t make the right adjustments when things aren’t working out well.

I really feel to get the most out of Paul George they need some legit shooters on the roster along with another guy who can put up 18-20ppg a game. I would love a scoring point guard in Indiana, like Bledsoe would be awesome.

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Pacers rely hugely on their defensive strength and frontcourt size to win games. The Pacers have a very much team effort but after Paul George don’t really have a volume scorer and they have one of the lowest assist rates in the NBA.

So if the opposition can get to say 95 to 100 points they have a great chance of beating the Pacers especially if their own defence holds up. Also the Pacers could be vulnerable if an opposition star has a 30 points plus game as they need a lot of team scoring to counter it.

I agree it would be a huge shock if Atlanta minus Al Horford dumped the Pacers out but I recall GSW dumping top seed Dallas back in 2007 I think and Memphis as 8th seed dumping the top seed Spurs a few years ago.

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Pacers rely hugely on their defensive strength and frontcourt size to win games. The Pacers have a very much team effort but after Paul George don’t really have a volume scorer and they have one of the lowest assist rates in the NBA.

So if the opposition can get to say 95 to 100 points they have a great chance of beating the Pacers especially if their own defence holds up. Also the Pacers could be vulnerable if an opposition star has a 30 points plus game as they need a lot of team scoring to counter it.

I agree it would be a huge shock if Atlanta minus Al Horford dumped the Pacers out but I recall GSW dumping top seed Dallas back in 2007 I think and Memphis as 8th seed dumping the top seed Spurs a few years ago.

 

 

[thricethefunParticipant]

Chicago and Washington have to be feeling really good about their draw right about now.

[thricethefunParticipant]

Chicago and Washington have to be feeling really good about their draw right about now.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

The packers defense made Jeff Teague look like.an all nba 1st team player tonight…

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

The packers defense made Jeff Teague look like.an all nba 1st team player tonight…

[Ghost01Participant]

 There is no doubt Indy could rebound, but good god. That was boarderline embarrassing.

Sure we saw it in 07 and 11 where an 8 downed a 1. But that was in the West with a truly quality basketball team doing it. Atlanta is a losing team, but oddly do create bad matchups for Indiana. The fact the score of this game at one point was 94-74 is a joke.

Indiana has a few fundamental problems…

Since Paul George stopped being that "3rd in the MVP voting" guy from the first half, this team went backwards. Offensively he’s basically a glorified Rudy Gay. Takes tons of shots and doesn’t shoot a high percentage.

Secondly, Hibbert has become a legitimate bum. He can’t rebound, his offensive game is non-existent, and that guy who nearly swung the East finals a year ago is gone.

Stephenson hasn’t been as good since the All Star break, West is clearly a step behind where he was a year ago, and Hill remains to be mediocre at best.

And the legitimate decrease in production from that 5 is the key to the Pacers’ fall. Because we know their bench blows, which is ironic because of how good DJ Augustin and Gerald Green were this year. I’m not by any stretch of the imagination writing them off in this series, but this is a flawed team that in the West would be roadkill in the first round. 

[Ghost01Participant]

 There is no doubt Indy could rebound, but good god. That was boarderline embarrassing.

Sure we saw it in 07 and 11 where an 8 downed a 1. But that was in the West with a truly quality basketball team doing it. Atlanta is a losing team, but oddly do create bad matchups for Indiana. The fact the score of this game at one point was 94-74 is a joke.

Indiana has a few fundamental problems…

Since Paul George stopped being that "3rd in the MVP voting" guy from the first half, this team went backwards. Offensively he’s basically a glorified Rudy Gay. Takes tons of shots and doesn’t shoot a high percentage.

Secondly, Hibbert has become a legitimate bum. He can’t rebound, his offensive game is non-existent, and that guy who nearly swung the East finals a year ago is gone.

Stephenson hasn’t been as good since the All Star break, West is clearly a step behind where he was a year ago, and Hill remains to be mediocre at best.

And the legitimate decrease in production from that 5 is the key to the Pacers’ fall. Because we know their bench blows, which is ironic because of how good DJ Augustin and Gerald Green were this year. I’m not by any stretch of the imagination writing them off in this series, but this is a flawed team that in the West would be roadkill in the first round. 

[Land of GrantParticipant]

Nets gonna be feeling pretty down that they deliberately lost to get out of the Pacers bracket, so they could play the Raptors.

I agree that Hibbert is just a lame duck, the only thing he does well is stand in front of the hoop and put his hands up. He shot 44% this year, with 6 rebounds. It’s like my grandma reanimated as a 7’2 black dude.

But guys, remember, Paul George is an offseason warrior, and he’s gonna watch a ton of film and come back even better than he was at the start of the year.

 

 

 

[Land of GrantParticipant]

Nets gonna be feeling pretty down that they deliberately lost to get out of the Pacers bracket, so they could play the Raptors.

I agree that Hibbert is just a lame duck, the only thing he does well is stand in front of the hoop and put his hands up. He shot 44% this year, with 6 rebounds. It’s like my grandma reanimated as a 7’2 black dude.

But guys, remember, Paul George is an offseason warrior, and he’s gonna watch a ton of film and come back even better than he was at the start of the year.

 

 

 

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Been preaching it forever, whenever Jeff Teague decides to play at an high level his team always win for the most part,he cant be checked when being aggressive.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Been preaching it forever, whenever Jeff Teague decides to play at an high level his team always win for the most part,he cant be checked when being aggressive.

[HitsterParticipant]

 Washington with their depth, scoring and experience and Chicago with their hard nosed Thibs driven team ethic must feel that if they can get past each other then they have a legit shot at Conference Finals. Also Miami must be more confident and maybe think they can have an easier play off run than they anticipated.

[HitsterParticipant]

 Washington with their depth, scoring and experience and Chicago with their hard nosed Thibs driven team ethic must feel that if they can get past each other then they have a legit shot at Conference Finals. Also Miami must be more confident and maybe think they can have an easier play off run than they anticipated.

[halfdecayedParticipant]

where is indianabasketball to tell us how the pacers are still winning the finals

[halfdecayedParticipant]

where is indianabasketball to tell us how the pacers are still winning the finals

[theatlfanParticipant]

One thing about Atlanta that I’m not seeing here is that we should get some credit for being a better team than our record suggests. The problem is that we were racked by injuries this year. Sure, you have to play through this and the games you play while you have guys sidelined count (etc), but no one is saying that MIA isn’t a championship contender because they only won 54 games which would only put them in a 3-way tie for 4-6 in the West. Instead, the talk is about Wade sitting 1/3 of the season and as long as they’re in the playoff with a healthy Wade, the regular season doesn’t matter. When fully healthy, ATL was 34-14 (on track for 58 Ws) – if every rotation regular was healthy except for Horford, then the record was 16-7 (57 Ws) which includes a streak of 15-4 in the last 19 games… IND won 56 games and garnered the 1 seed. It’s been a frustrating season for us as seemingly the entire roster has missed some time which, in turn, has caused the sub-.500 record that many look at to determine the strength of the club. But when we’re healthy, then we’re a team that can give anyone fits – even if we’re only as healthy as we are now.

Note that I’m not trying to say that we should be a 1 seed or that IND hasn’t had some struggles down the stretch or even that IND isn’t talented enough to bet (or anyone) if they get it together – just that we should be getting a little more respect than the posts I’m seeing here. We’re a team that others shouldn’t be looking forward to facing, especially if you’re scuffling a bit.

 

[theatlfanParticipant]

One thing about Atlanta that I’m not seeing here is that we should get some credit for being a better team than our record suggests. The problem is that we were racked by injuries this year. Sure, you have to play through this and the games you play while you have guys sidelined count (etc), but no one is saying that MIA isn’t a championship contender because they only won 54 games which would only put them in a 3-way tie for 4-6 in the West. Instead, the talk is about Wade sitting 1/3 of the season and as long as they’re in the playoff with a healthy Wade, the regular season doesn’t matter. When fully healthy, ATL was 34-14 (on track for 58 Ws) – if every rotation regular was healthy except for Horford, then the record was 16-7 (57 Ws) which includes a streak of 15-4 in the last 19 games… IND won 56 games and garnered the 1 seed. It’s been a frustrating season for us as seemingly the entire roster has missed some time which, in turn, has caused the sub-.500 record that many look at to determine the strength of the club. But when we’re healthy, then we’re a team that can give anyone fits – even if we’re only as healthy as we are now.

Note that I’m not trying to say that we should be a 1 seed or that IND hasn’t had some struggles down the stretch or even that IND isn’t talented enough to bet (or anyone) if they get it together – just that we should be getting a little more respect than the posts I’m seeing here. We’re a team that others shouldn’t be looking forward to facing, especially if you’re scuffling a bit.

 

[Author]

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