daschysta wrote:ECF fodder maybe, but that also means 28 other teams in the league have it worse. Pacers are 2nd in the East, they are likely to be the favorite in a second round series if they have HCA. Pacers have a good shot against any team in the East except Miami. They are 6-1 against MIA/CHI/NYK afterall and haven't even had Granger for a single second yet this year, which is changing either tomorrow night or on tuesday evening.
Regular season means nothing. They honestly only have to worry about NYK and MIA, but that's the problem. They're probably gonna face one of the two in the 2nd round. Healthy Miami will embarrass them, no matter what the regular season says. That's a 5 game series, because they have enough trouble scoring on a good day. A Miami defense that's motivated is gonna make that team look bad. NY can take them handily if they start playing some defense again. NY can turn to Melo in crunch time. Who's Indy turning to?
Their brand if physical defense works great in the regular season, when no one really cares. They also benefit from being an disrespected team. Teams don't get up to play the Pacers. Maybe Chicago, but they have more of a rivalry than other teams. They talk trash and try to act tough, but they are the epitome of 2nd round fodder in the playoffs. Then again, they might get by the Knicks and then end up getting curbstomped in the ECF.
It all comes down to their offense IMO. They are not a good offensive team, and have no go to guy. There is no one healthy or injured on that roster than you can rely on to get buckets when the chips are down. That's a reason most of us don't take the Clips or Grizz seriously, because it's clear that when rotations tighten and star power come to the fore, that Indy is 3rd or 4th best in the East in that department. They're lucky Rose is injured, because no one would even give a **** about them. Chicago would be winning that division easily. PEACE.
