Indiana Pacers: Why coaching will be the catalyst moving forward
The Indiana Pacers may have built a strong playoff team, but execution from the sidelines will be the biggest difference-maker heading into the end of this season.
It’s obvious at this point in the season that the Indiana Pacers, despite low expectations at first, are indeed built for the playoffs. They work hard, they don’t give up on plays and best of all, they play defense.
All that sounds great, and has been great for the fanbase, but is that enough?
With losses coming recently to the bottom-feeding Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, it’s a great time to point out that this type of praiseworthy play is only valuable if the Pacers continue to win all of the winnable games, not just some of them.
For instance, in most people’s eyes, the Hawks have earned the shameful title of worst team in the league not even a few weeks after the All-Star break. So logically, it follows that they shouldn’t be able to scout and outsmart the Indiana Pacers after getting manhandled by the same squad just a week before, right?
Wrong.
They are still an NBA team, and if the Pacers (or any team for that matter) slips mentally, they are liable to make you pay.
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Furthermore, the Hawks did exactly what the Pacers need to do: adjust. Without adjustments, any group of able-bodied NBA pros can outsmart (nearly) any team. That is exactly what happened in both the Mavericks and Hawks games.
Look, the Indiana Pacers have earned their spot as a top dog in the East against everyone’s predictions. They have shown they have the talent and intensity to hang with nearly anyone.
The big difference-maker in winning a playoff series, as Gregg Popovich knows all too well, is scouting and adjusting throughout a string of games against the same opponent. That means the job isn’t just on the players, but on the coaching staff.
Of course, head coach Nate McMillan has done a wonderful job so far, but if he and his staff want to keep their foot on the gas pedal, they will need to prove they can execute adjustments. Thankfully, McMillan has plenty of players with the right kind of versatility to do that. Multi-positional players such as Lance Stephenson, Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, and to lesser degrees, Domantas Sabonis and Bojan Bogdanovic, can certainly be used advantageously in a series situation.
McMillan’s big opportunity to prove himself will come in late March when the Pacers play the Golden State Warriors twice in a 10-day span. The opportunity to adjust and not let either of those games get out of hand is certainly there.
Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Pacers have some other tough opponents to play, including the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks two times apiece. Look for them to prove what they can do as far as adjusting between each of those sets of games.
On the flip side, they also have a slew of those winnable games, including tilts against the Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings. In a way, those games are just as important for their momentum.
Finally, the Pacers will have to duke it out with other teams that are vying for playoff footing, such as the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers. Those will be especially long nights as the likelihood of a first round matchup is there, and many of those teams have players in desperation mode for some playoff success.
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The waters ahead might be bumpy, but the Pacers are a sturdy ship. Now they just need to make sure their captain is ready to lead a playoff voyage.