Can The Indiana Pacers Make The Playoffs In 2014-15?

By Mark Vandeusen | Oct 7, 2014

Nov 22, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Indiana Pacers power forward David West (left) and point guard George Hill (right) tie up the ball against Boston Celtics shooting guard Jordan Crawford (bottom) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

A season ago the Indiana Pacers had the best record in the Eastern Conference at 56-26. This year will be a different story.

The Pacers lost two of the top three scorers from the team that fell to the Miami Heat in the East Finals–Paul George to a broken leg, and Lance Stephenson to the Charlotte Hornets via free agency. George recently generated a bit of buzz during the team’s media day by saying there was a chance he could return to action by the time the playoffs role around next spring.

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Unfortunately for George and his Indiana teammates, the Pacers will have to qualify for the postseason first.

In 2013-14 Indiana held their opponents to just 42 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest mark in the NBA. The Pacers also had the league’s second-best overall scoring defense, allowing only 92.3 points per game. If Indiana is to make the playoffs this year, its defense will likely have to carry the team.

With Roy Hibbert at center anchoring the middle and Ian Mahinmi backing him up, the Pacers will continue to have a solid shot-blocking presence down low. David West and Luis Scola both return at power forward, as well as the 6’9″, 255-pound Lavoy Allen, who can clog the paint when necessary. Indiana should be able to play the same high level of interior defense that it did last season.

However, baskets are going to be extremely difficult to come by for the Pacers in 2014-15.

David West was the second leading scorer on last year’s club at 14.0 points per game. That average may go up, but West is 34 years old and his numbers have been declining ever since his career-best season in 2008-09. Can he really be the one to carry the club’s load on offense? Similarly Scola once averaged 18.3 PPG for the Houston Rockets–but that was four years ago and he’s just as old as West is.

It’s a bit of a scary proposition to think that George Hill and Rodney Stuckey may be the best available scoring options in crunch time.

George was the clear-cut No. 1 option on this team, and when he came out of the game Stephenson regularly took over as the go-to guy. Who on the current Pacers roster will be able to create their own shots off the dribble? It’s a bit of a scary proposition to think that George Hill and Rodney Stuckey may be the best available scoring options in crunch time.

Stuckey is in line to earn Stephenson’s starting spot at shooting guard, but he’ll be hard pressed to replace his production. In addition to averaging 13.8 points, Stephenson also led the Pacers in both rebounds (7.2) and assists (4.6) per game in 2013-14. As glaring a drop-off as that will be, the gap between Chris Copeland at small forward instead of Paul George is probably even greater.

While the East is definitely the weaker of the two conferences, reaching its postseason can still be a daunting task.

Now that LeBron James is a Cleveland Cavalier, there will be one less playoff spot up for grabs. Last year’s eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks look to improve with the return of Al Horford, as should the seventh-seeded Hornets with the addition of Stephenson. To qualify for the postseason Indiana will most likely have to beat out the Brooklyn Nets and Carmelo Anthony‘s New York Knicks in order to avoid the lottery.

Could it happen? Yes. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

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