Pacers not looking like a playoff team entering final two weeks of the season

This was supposed to be when the Pacers put their foot on the gas and left nothing to chance.

This was supposed to be when the Pacers came together with a full roster healthy and available.

This was supposed to be when the Pacers took advantage of what the gracious schedule makers laid out for them — 11 of their final 16 games at home, and only five against playoff teams.

The disappointing and unforeseen performances continued for the Pacers Thursday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with the Orlando Magic, a team the Pacers have beaten in each of the last seven tries, in town for their final visit of the season.

Despite already having their postseason hopes squashed, it was the Magic — and not the Pacers — playing with urgency and like a team fired up for a strong finish to the season.

The Magic (32-43) outplayed and outscored the Pacers (39-36) in all four quarters, led by as many as 21, and had five players in double figures en route to a 114-94 win. It was their first victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in four years.

[Victor Oladipo always grateful of fan support in Indy]

Lavoy Allen added 12 & 11 in 24 minutes off the bench. [Photo: Frank McGrath/PS&E]

Compounded with the loss, the Chicago Bulls won in Houston. Therefore, with seven games to play, the Pacers currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are just a game ahead of the Bulls, who won here on Tuesday. (Chicago owns the tiebreaker, by the way.)

“We don’t look like a team that don’t want to go home early, that don’t want to have a long summer,” said C.J. Miles, who contributed nine points and three rebounds.

There have been several issues impacting the team. Lack of success in overtime (1-7). Defensive breakdowns. Stagnant offense. Miscommunication. And then again on Thursday, playing against stretch lineups.

“It’s a tough coverage in today’s NBA,” Paul George said.

Several numbers told the story in this one. The Pacers are 0-15 this season when allowing 110 or more points (and they gave up 114), 1-16 when their opponent shoots at least 50 percent (53.3 percent in this one), and 6-27 when trailing at the end of three quarters.

George had a good all-around effort, finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists. Lavoy Allen was effective in his 24 minutes. he posted his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

But getting strong play and consistent effort as a whole hasn’t been easy for this team.

“At this point, every guy has to give everything we have,” George said. “I just think we’re not giving that extra effort at times. … It hurts, because I feel this is a really good ball club that we have and we keep losing games.”

[VIDEO: Paul George, C.J. Miles after loss to Magic]

Yes they have.

Their closing schedule set up so nicely. They just completed a two-week period of playing eight of nine at home and they lost four of those eight games. Most notably, the final two against non-playoff teams — Chicago and Orlando.

Losers in three of their last four games, forget thinking about playoffs and seeding. This team needs to win again — and win fast. With just seven games left on the 2015-16 regular-season slate, the Pacers picked a terrible time have the screws come lose.

“We got to play better,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “We got to do everything better.

“We got to figure out what pieces fit with each other. We got to make some adjustments to the rotation that we’re using.”

Vogel and his staff can spend the next two days sorting through data and watching film. It’s clear that this team is off and something is needed. Vogel needs to do something to change the Pacers’ season.

And maybe that means they should go back to playing small-ball lineups that were successful in the early months of the season. Remember how the team went 11-2 in November?

The Pacers are sputtering to the finish line. C.J. Miles will try to steer the Pacers back down the straightaway. [Photo: Frank McGrath/PS&E]

But they should cautiously consider that. It’s not wise to teeter-totter with what how you’re trying to play. That’s dangerous

C.J. Miles selflessly was the power forward then. His body is beat up and with Solomon Hill comfortable with his role, he could handle it if called upon. Miles wants the team to be able adapt based on the way a game is going.

“Whatever it is, it’s got to be hard,” Miles said of any potential lineup changes. “It’s got to be like you want to win. That’s the biggest thing at the end of the day. (There’s) going to be mistakes. We just got to outplay people, that’s what it comes down to.”

When asked what he was feeling now — frustrated, disappointed, etc. — coach Vogel used a word you wouldn’t expect.

“Motivated,” he said, “because we have aspirations to have a strong finish with this club.”

The Pacers are on the road for their next two against two of the worst teams in the league, Philadelphia and New York. At the current state of the team, be careful prematurely checking those off as wins.

“We got to act that we want to be in the playoffs,” Miles, unofficially the team spokesman, puts it best. “Plain and simple. If you want to be in the playoffs, play like you want to be in the playoffs. Play like you in the playoffs right now.”

Notes:

• Rodney Stuckey landed on his left wrist after heavy contact at the rim in the second quarter. He went back to the locker room, accompanied by the team doctor, and got X-rays. It was ruled a sprained left wrist, an injury he had back in Nov. 2014, and he was not seen in the locker room afterwards.
• Ty Lawson got an X-ray on his right ankle after the game. He said it was just a check up to be sure, and it was “all good.”
• After tallying 24 points and grabbing 16 boards on his birthday (March 24), Myles Turner’s offensive production has leveled off. He hasn’t reached double figures in four straight games, including one doughnut, and he’s managed just 20 points total on 8-of-31 shooting over that four-game stretch. Three of those games were Pacers losses.
• If the playoffs started today, the No. 8 Pacers would face No. 1 Cleveland in round one. The Cavaliers won the three meetings this season, but each game was decided by five points or less. Their final meeting is set for next Wednesday, April 6th, in Indianapolis and it’ll air nationally on ESPN.