NBA Playoffs 2013: Indiana Pacers Playoff Profile
By Chris Lee
First-time All-Star Paul George leads the Indiana Pacers into the 2013 NBA playoffs. Photo Credit: IsoSports, Flickr.com
The Indiana Pacers have had quite the nice season despite only having small forward Danny Granger for five games due to left knee surgery.
Introduction
The Indiana Pacers followed up a solid 2012 playoff run with another solid season. In the 2012 playoffs, the Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic without Dwight Howard in five games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pacers then went on to lose to the Miami Heat in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals .
The Pacers franchise began its professional basketball life as one of the 11 original members of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967. All three of the Pacers basketball championships came as a member of the ABA in 1970, 1972 and 1973. The closest the Pacers have come in the modern era was in the 2003-04 season, in which, the Pacers went to the Eastern Conference finals and lost in six games to the Detroit Pistons. The Jermaine O’Neal and Metta World Peace-led Pacers went 61-21 in the regular season and won the Eastern Conference central division. The Pacers also lost in their only appearance in the NBA Finals, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
Coach Frank Vogel has guided this Pacers team to become the No. 1 team in the NBA in rebounds with 45.9 per game. Vogel has also crafted the Pacers into one of the better defensive teams in the league as the Pacers are No. 2 in points allowed, only giving up 90.5 points per game.
Current Vitals
The Indiana Pacers enter the 2013 NBA playoffs with a 49-31 record with one game remaining on its schedule. The Pacers will only play 81 games after its game against the Celtics was cancelled due to the tragedy at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15.
The Pacers have clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and won the central division title over the Chicago Bulls by 5.5 games.
Team Leaders
Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George leads the team in points (17.4) and steals (1.8).
The 7’3″ center Roy Hibbert leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 rebounds per game and is current No. 4 in the NBA in blocks, averaging 2.6 rejections per game.
Point guard George Hill leads the Pacers in assists with 4.7 per game.
Emotional Leader
The emotional leader for the Pacers is starting power forward David West. West is No. 2 on the Pacers in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (7.7), while also having the highest player efficiency rating (PER) on the team with a 20.2 mark. West has also showed the ability to rise to the occasion during last year’s playoffs averaging 15.3 points per game, while during the regular season West averaged 12 points per game for the Pacers.
Player to Watch: Paul George
Paul George has been fantastic all season for the Pacers. In addition to leading the Pacers in scoring and steals, George is No. 2 on the team in assists with 4.1 per game and is No. 3 in rebounds averaging 7.6 per game. Coming into the season, things looked ominous for the Pacers, with starting small forward Danny Granger only playing in five games due to left knee surgery that was completed on April 4. However, Granger’s season ended on March 3 after re-aggravating the injury to his left knee. Granger missed the entire first half of the NBA season due to patellar tendinosis in his left knee. Despite losing a talented scorer in Granger, George has stepped up for the Pacer this season and will be the go to scorer for the Pacers in the playoffs.
George was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time in his career this year and could very well win the Most Improved Player Award this season.
First-Round Matchup
The No. 3 seed Indiana Pacers will take on the either the Chicago Bulls or the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks are tied with the Bulls for the No. 5 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, with Chicago holding the tiebreaker. The Pacers won the season series over the Bulls 3-1, while the Hawks and Pacers split the season series 2-2. The Hawks won the first two games this season, while the Pacers won the last two games of the series.
Prediction
How the Pacers do against the Bulls and in the playoff depends on if Chicago point guard Derrick Rose plays. If Rose can play and is anywhere close to 100 percent then the Bulls have the matchups to beat the Pacers. However, if Rose doesn’t play or is ineffective then the Bulls could possibly find themselves in a rematch against the Miami Heat, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If the Pacers play the Hawks expect a much easier series for the Pacers. The Pacers have the size to defend both Atlanta power forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford.