Indianapolis, Indiana. After not showing up at all at home for their game with Philadelphia, the Pacers get rewarded with the Hawks coming in to “I” town. The Pacers shouldn’t even be in the playoffs! After having a defense that was rated number one for some time this year, the Pacers have played heartless basketball. So I now wonder what kind of Pacers team we will see in the playoffs for game one. This is a series that the Pacers should absolutely dominate, but when you take a look at the Pacers’ work ethic, you don’t see a team that has won the Central Division this year. They haven’t been dominant all year! In fact, they haven’t won the Central Division title since 1995! The Pacers need to get a spine and they need to get it quickly! I have never been more frustrated with them all year long. The Pacers need to look for a defensive specialist in the draft. I hate to say this, Pacer fans, but we might be sitting through another Miami Heat celebration. Of course I’d like to see Indiana win the championship, but you can’t win it without defense. In the Philadelphia game, case in point. Philadelphia wasn’t going to the playoffs, but for whatever reason the bench sounded awful. Usually I can tell how a game sounds by Slick Leonard’s reaction. If Slick Leonard is really into the game, he will say “Boom Baby” or “Come on Defense” and he will start coaching from the booth. I could tell Philadelphia was in the game from the get go. It seemed like the Pacers came out with no game what so ever!
So here are some of my points for this series with the Hawks. Point number one, Tyler needs to step up when he is called upon. Point number two, the rest of the bench has to play almost flawless basketball. Point number three, the starters need to come out with a fire lit under their behinds! The Pacers have to take it to the Hawks! We need Paul George to play like a new Reggie Miller, and I know he can play like that.
