With the Orlando Magic's 102-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, the Indiana Pacers have officially discovered who their first-round opponent will be. With news of Dwight Howard's season-ending back surgery, they also discovered that their opponents have become quite one-dimensional.
Or have they?
All of your questions and more will be answered in the forthcoming slides.
Superstars Who Must Shine
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Roy Hibbert
In 2011, Roy Hibbert averaged just 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while the Pacers fell four games to one to the Chicago Bulls. It's worth noting, however, that the one game that the Pacers managed to win came when Hibbert scored 16 points and hauled in 10 rebounds, his only double-double of the series.
In 2012, the Pacers are set to face the Orlando Magic. With Dwight Howard's absence, it's hard to imagine the Pacers won't dump the ball down low and let Hibbert expose the undersized reserves-turned-starters. If Hibbert fails to take advantage of this opportunity, the Pacers could fall victim to an unexpected upset.
Danny Granger
Should the Magic go with an undersized lineup to spread the floor and combat the Pacers' front-court heavy unit, Granger could potentially find himself matched up against Jason Richardson. With Richardson posting career playoff averages of 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, this makes his job that much more difficult.
Even if the Magic do not run their undersized unit, Hedo Turkoglu is far from an easy opponent to handle. Turk puts up mediocre points, but does everything to go with it. His rebounding, passing, defending and three-point shooting is evidence of such.
If the Pacers expect to move on, Granger must duplicate his scoring success from a year ago when he averaged 21.6 points in five games against the Bulls. With that being said, he allowed Luol Deng to score 18.6 points per game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists.
Improvements must be made.
Role Player Who Must Emerge
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Leandro Barbosa
The Indiana Pacers made a quiet but franchise-altering trade when they brought in Leandro Barbosa, a player with more playoff experience than anyone currently on the Pacers roster. With that being said, Barbosa has averaged just 10.2 points on 42.3 percent shooting.
Not what the Pacers traded for.
For the Pacers to win their first-round series and make a deep playoff run, Barbosa must play better tahn this. His speed and quickness is still blazing, despite his age, making him a perfect fit alongside fellow burner Darren Collison. The question is, how efficient will he be?
Since joining the Pacers, Barbosa has averaged just 8.9 points on 39.9 percent shooting from the floor. He is, however, shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. Paired with his ability to come up with steals, Barbosa becomes the most important role player on the Indiana Pacers.
Honorable Mention: Paul George
Don't forget about second-year shooting guard Paul George, who scored 6.0 points per game on just 30.3 percent shooting against the Bulls one year ago.
Offensive Strategy to Watch
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Attack the Post
For the season, All-Star center Roy Hibbert is averaging 10.4 shot attempts per game. In the Pacers' first round matchup against the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic, expect that number to be upwards of 15 per contest.
As it currently stands, the Orlando Magic are going to alternate 6'9" Glen Davis with the inexperienced 6'10" Daniel Orton. Hibbert, who stands at 7'2", has a major size advantage over both men. He also has more experience at the 5, as Davis is an undersized 4 and Orton has only recently begun to see consistent playing time.
For the Pacers to be able to create opportunities for their perimeter players, they must start by giving Hibbert the ball down low and letting him go to work. Another player to watch in a similar situation is the underperforming David West.
Defensive Strategy to Watch
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Undersized Yet Adequate
Don't be shocked to see the Indiana Pacers run a lineup that sees both Darren Collison and George Hill on the floor at the same time. The reason of such a lineup won't be to offer both the playing time they deserve, however, but do adjust to Ryan Anderson's ability to shoot the 3, something their 4's may not be able to handle.
The change would enable the Pacers to place Paul George or Danny Granger on Anderson, as they both have adequate size and athletic ability to defend him. They also have the physicality and quickness on offense to create separation against one of the less talented defenders on the Magic's roster.
This also creates opportunities for Hill to utilize his quickness against Jason Richardson, whose age has slowed him down in terms of his explosiveness. Just don't let Richardson get hot from the perimeter because he won't hit two or three from distance. He'll hit six or seven.
Biggest Hurdle in the 1st Round
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As outlined in a previous article, the Indiana Pacers are currently on pace to play in a hard-fought, unexpectedly difficult playoff series. While injuries to Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson could hurt the Magic, a team doesn't make the playoffs and get blown out every game.
Not very often, at least.
Don't overlook the Magic, folks, as they're poised for an upset. Versatility is key as almost all of their players have well-rounded skill sets.
Last-Second NBA Playoffs Prediction
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A lot of people are jumping on the Indiana Pacers' bandwagon, and rightfully so. They're as deep as any team in the NBA and have two legitimate star players in Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert. Most important of all, however, is that they do not rely on any individual. This is a team, to the truest sense of the word.
Should the Pacers advance past the first round, which I've predicted they will, their opponent will either be the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks. Neither matchup is too favorable, which is why the Pacers will go down with glory on their side.
A 4-3 series loss in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals is nothing to hang your head about.
Indiana Pacers 4 - 2 Orlando Magic
Playoffs Fate: Eastern Conference Semifinals Loss
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