The series isn’t overâ€"Indiana still needs one more win to move on to the next round of the NBA playoffs. But it’s not too early to ask the question.
How good are the Pacers?
The Miami Heat have to be wondering. The Heat are one win away from moving on themselves, and it would be a titanic upset if they don’t get that one win Sunday afternoon in New York against the Knicks. Next up: the winner of the Pacers’ series against Orlando.
So far, the Heat look unbeatable. The Pacers, meanwhile, have spent this entire series looking beatable against a team that doesn’t have Dwight Howard, and a team that has displayed a maddening ability to fall behind big.
If you were the next opponent for these Pacersâ€"especially after walking through your own first round so easilyâ€"how worried would you be?
In the Pacers’ defense, of course, they did hang on to beat the Magic in Orlando in overtime Saturday, 101-99, and position themselves to clinch the series at home Tuesday night. During the series, they’ve taken a double-digit lead in Game 1, handled the Magic easily in Game 2, gone to Orlando and crushed them even worse in Game 3, and marched to a 19-point lead with eight minutes left Saturday.
However … they collapsed at the end of Game 1, then did it again Saturday, when they suddenly were unable to do any of the things they had to build that big lead. Were it not for a semi-desperate foul by Jameer Nelson on a George Hill drive with 2.2 seconds to go in overtimeâ€"and Hill’s ensuing free throwsâ€"they might still be playing in Amway Center right now.
Oh, and worth mentioning as well: If it were not for Hill, period, this might be down to a best-of-three headed back to Indianapolis. His only two baskets of regulation came in the middle of Orlando’s late stampede. Then, in the extra period, he put Indiana ahead three different times, including the last time on those free throws.
So that either means the Pacers can count on even the smallest offensive contributors when the situation calls for it … or that the usual offensive forces (on this day, Danny Granger, David West and Roy Hibbert) can’t necessarily be counted on.
Hibbert fouled out late in regulation with a double-double; West (26 points), who carried the Pacers throughout the third-quarter run that built their big lead, couldn’t get the same shots in the fourth, and Granger (21 points) could barely even get a shot from anywhere on the floor from midway through the fourth until the end.
As for Indiana’s last possession of regulationâ€"a near-turnover and a forced 25-footer by Hill that sailed wide left for a shot-clock violationâ€"it still wasn’t as bad as the two late ones in Game 1 that cost the Pacers a win.
The Magic do deserve a lot of credit for showing resiliency just when it seems they have none, in the series and in specific games. Stan Van Gundy once again pushed every button within reach, and it bought his team five minutes it probably shouldn’t have had. Not that it cheered him up much.
“Look, it’s tough for me right now, because I’m frustrated. It’s just the way I am," he told reporters afterward. “It’s hard for me to come up here and be real positive. You know that about me. But I’m proud of these guys for what they gave … You’re not gonna get a lot of bad from me today."
Not much bad from Pacers coach Frank Vogel, either, because the Pacers did win, despite momentum nearly overtaking his team and hijacking the series. Plus, he knew what was giving his team’s chances a huge helping hand.
“Dwightâ€"he would have made a tremendous difference," he said, answering the obvious question. “I don’t know how else to put it, other than he’s the best center in the world."
Which brings it all back to the original question: How good are these guys?
Despite their 3-1 lead, and despite finishing with the East’s third-best record, the Pacers look extremely vulnerable against a team whose centerpiece is on the opposite coast rehabbing his back (and giving impromptu interviews to TMZ).
Should the Heat be worried?
Would you be?
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