Recent Loss Could Start Slippery Slope

The Indiana Pacers are fighting for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and their most recent defeat could start a trend of losing at the worst time.

The Indiana Pacers squared off against an Eastern Conference rival fighting them for the last playoff spot in the East, the Chicago Bulls, and it was a heartbreaker for the Pacers. It was another game that came down to the wire, but ultimately ended with the Pacers taking the loss. This is a trend that the Pacers have become quite familiar with.

They have played four games against the Bulls this season, with three of those games coming down to the last moments of the game–all three ending as Bulls’ wins.

Paul George was pretty frustrated with how the game ended. “The same game, losing the same way, it’s frustrating,” George told reporters, via Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. He should be upset with how the team as a whole performed in the three tight games against the Bulls, but he can’t be upset with his own play.

He dropped 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and also had four steals. Obviously, he would trade an average solo performance if the team was able to get a win, but he can at least take away his positive play moving forward.

The biggest moment in the game against the Bulls, came with only six seconds left. Bulls’ guard, Jimmy Butler, pulled up from the mid range and nailed, what would be the game winning bucket.

It’s a sight that the Pacers have become way too aquatinted with, they battle all game, PG13 plays well, and they can’t get it done down the stretch. If they want to do some damage in the playoffs, well that is if they make it in first, then they will need to gain a killer instinct and finish out tough games, both on the road and at home.

On the bright side, specifically coming from this game, Ty Lawson played well. He scored eight points, which is the highest total in his six games as a Pacer. This is a great sign for not only Lawson, but the Pacers as well. It was starting to look like a big mistake brining in Lawson late in the season, but he is starting to fit well in the Pacers’ lineup.

Another note of positivity that should give the Pacers confidence moving forward is their remaining schedule. They have eight games remaining and half of them are at home. Even better news, six of these eight games are against teams that have a record below the .500 mark.

Those other two games though, come against the two toughest teams in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors. These will be two very tough battles against two solid playoff teams, but it will be a great test to see just how playoff ready the Pacers actually are.

If they can get two wins from these two games, it would be the boost that the Pacers need going into the post-season.

As great as the remaining schedule favors the Pacers, they will still need to be careful. In the last eight games, the Pacers’ had a really favorable schedule, seven of these games were home and the opponent s, besides a few, were very poor. They managed to go 4-4, which they would want to do much better, given such an easy stretch of games.

No matter how easy a stretch may seem on paper, the Pacers still need to go out every game and fight for their playoff lives.