For those who aren’t avid fans of it, watching regular season NBA basketball can be deceptive in terms of the barrage of three point shot attempts and the lack of fundamental defensive effort.
If one didn’t know any better, they’d think the playground approach to the game is really what the playoffs will be all about and as a result, they look forward to a series of high scoring track meets that hopefully produce the type of highlight reel they’re currently accustomed to viewing.
However, the reality of the playoffs is that you separate those who crash the boards on both ends of the floor and vigorously defend the opposition from the vast number who don’t.
If you can’t do both at a high level then your off-season will start a bit earlier than planned, which brings us to the Indiana Pacers.
Currently, the Blue and Gold are ranked 28th in team rebounding, which obviously needs no further explanation as to the glaring nature of such a deficiency.
To compound matters further, the Pacers are ranked 18th in terms of points allowed to the opposition and have great difficulty protecting the paint.
The combination of the two doesn’t lend to a winning formula, and despite a record of 45-31 as we go to print, Indiana is indeed vulnerable in these playoffs despite maintaining the fourth seed in the Conference, which provides the obvious luxury of a home court advantage for them in the initial round of play.
To be balanced about it all is not gloom and doom for you Pacers fans, as your team currently is third best in field goal percentage at 49% and also averages nearly 30 assists a contest, which is also third in the National Basketball Association.
While Head Coach Rick Carlisle has done a phenomenal job with a roster that lacks the type of physical presence needed to win a championship, he also knows how the playoffs become a game of half-court sets, making the requirement of defense and rebounding even more crucial.
Last year’s run to the Eastern Conference undoubtedly was magical for the fan base, but the Pacers were fortunate to have played Milwaukee and then New York at a time in which they were both simply attempting to even maintain their competitive nature with a plethora of injured players.
The question that remains is can Indiana increase their defensive intensity and at the very least hold their own on the boards?
Can they prevent a cavalcade of second and third opportunity points, especially in the paint?
If the regular season is any barometer, then the outlook isn’t good, and the actual likelihood of advancing past the second round seems rather unlikely to me.
As this regular season draws to an end, the Pacers will literally have to reinvent themselves and that’s realistically not going to occur in the post-season, as generally one’s weaknesses are exposed in the playoff format.
Be it rebounding by committee or demonstrating the necessary defensive presence we haven’t seen this year out of them, the Pacers clearly know who they
are and what they can and can’t do in the upcoming playoffs. Teams generally don’t sneak up on a superior opponent, and they most likely won’t, but here’s hoping they can at least give those who’ve supported them faithfully this year a little more than what playoff tickets cost.
Danny Bridges, who thinks the Pacers cannot afford to take the Detroit Pistons lightly, can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
