Indiana Pacers: Can They Reach The East Playoffs?
By Shane Young
The Remaining Schedule
Life doesn’t normally get easier as you go. Usually, it gets tougher, with more pressure being placed on your back as you get older.
However, as this season grows older for the Pacers, the load of tension and hassle they’ve dealt with will only diminish. For Frank Vogel, the road only gets easier in the last 31 games, and April will indeed be his best friend:
* ( ) indicates how many total games are in that particular month
Consider this team extremely lucky, and graced by the hands of God. To close out a season, April doesn’t get much easier than that, and many teams across the league would be jealous beyond belief.
Phoenix faces a hellish April, where it will play six games against playoff caliber opponents. The only game Phoenix has in April that doesn’t feature a team in playoff contention is a home meeting vs. Utah. On top of traveling to Golden State AND Atlanta (82-18 combined record!), the Suns will be placed against Dallas, New Orleans, San Antonio, and the Clippers to finish off the year.
Indiana’s April consists of just Boston, Miami, Charlotte, New York, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Washington, and Memphis. Over half of them are very winnable games, if their minds are all on the same goal.
The comparison to Phoenix isn’t relevant for the playoff push, obviously, but it does speak loudly to the conference disparity. For that, the Pacers should realize every day how fortunate they are for playing in the East.
Out of the five teams fighting for the last spot (Detroit, Indiana, Boston, Miami, Brooklyn), the Pacers are slightly ahead of the Heat and Pistons for the easiest April schedule.
Whether the players want to believe it or not, this grueling February stretch — opponent winning percentage of .534 — could very well make or break Indiana’s chances.
If this team can’t surprise people and kick it into gear to close out the month, expect Larry Bird to pull the plug.
The playoffs are something the players and organization want this season. It’s just not something they necessarily need, when looking at the future. Take the draft pick.