Five games to go. That is it for the Indiana Pacers. Three on the road, including the regular-season finale at Memphis on April 15th, and two home games.
The Pacers (34-43) have eyed the postseason since training camp at the end of September. Currently in ninth behind Boston and two games out of the final spot in the East (Boston has the tiebreaker), they’re going to need to take care of their business the rest of the way AND get some help.
“We still have life,” said coach Frank Vogel before the team caught their flight Tuesday afternoon to New York.
“It’s been a season of being down but not out and hopefully that’s what we’re looking at right now. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, we need some help around the league and some teams ahead of us taking some losses, but we got to take care of our business.”
Defensively, that’s done by locking in on their man, communicating, stringing together stops, and keep opponents below 100 points. Offensively, team president Larry Bird said “If we move the basketball, we’ll make the playoffs. As simple as that.”
Paul George injected a boost of life into the team by playing in his first game of the year Sunday. He scored 13 points in nearly 15 minutes just eight months after fracturing his right leg.
“I feel like I’m officially part of this team again,” George said on Tuesday. He was so thrilled to be back that he didn’t care who he was paired with on the floor.
“I would have played with the training staff,” he said smiling. “Just happy to be back on the court.”
George was a little sore after his first game, but that was to be expected. Having the day off Monday helped. He said he felt like a rookie out there and that it would take him some time to get into game shape. There’s nothing that can be done to simulate game speed. While George is not under any minute restriction, coach Vogel expects to keep him to about 15 minutes per game, at least for this week.
George had a better-than-expected game debut on Sunday, moving freely and willing to take contact. Coach Vogel was most impressed with what he did on defense.
“What he does on the defensive end is special, always has been, and I was surprised with what he did,” Vogel said.
The Pacers should earn their 35th win of the season Wednesday in Madison Square Garden against the lowly Knicks — the NBA’s worst team at 15-62. And for the sixth and final time of this season, the Pacers will be wearing their Flo-Jo uniforms.
“We got to win out,” George added. “We got to treat every game like it’s a playoff game.”
Coach Vogel has led the team to the postseason in each of his four seasons and guys like George and George Hill don’t know what it’s like to play in the league and not compete in postseason competition. It’s been a roller coster season for them, featuring unpredictable injuries.
But if — and that’s a big if — they can qualify for the playoffs, the team is intrigued by the possibilities.
“It’s scary to think what can happen if we can extend the season and keep playing,” said second-year wing Solomon Hill.
Injury Update
George Hill was not at practice on Tuesday due to personal reasons. Vogel, however, does anticipate him being available against the Knicks Wednesday night.
Hill’s backup, C.J. Watson, continues to nurse a sore right elbow. That’s his shooting elbow, too.
And, it’s the same injury that flared up last year at this time and kept him out for almost 20 games. Sometimes Watson, who sat out Sunday’s win over Miami, gets a tingling feeling and other times he loses power with that elbow, which makes shooting and passing accurately very difficult.
Watson wasn’t sure if rest is the simple remedy. He plans to be evaluated by Dan Dyrek, the Pacers’ Physical Therapist Consultant who’s based out of Boston, in New York.
Should Hill and and Watson both be available for Wednesday — and no other injuries flare up — Wednesday’s game, No. 78, will be the first time all season that the Pacers have had all 15 players available.