Light practice on Tuesday for the Pacers, who’ve dropped their last six contests.
12 days ago, the conversation surrounding the Pacers was much different than it is today.
They had won seven in a row and the thought of Paul George returning was peaking interest both inside and out of the locker room. The Pacers certainly benefitted by a favorable schedule during that stretch, playing six of seven games at home and against just three playoff teams.
The schedule, though has flipped — and so has their results.
When the Pacers take the floor in Washington D.C. Wednesday night, they’ll face another playoff team capable of having a player or two go off, and try to avoid their third slump of seven or more games this season.
“I think we’re playing hard but I don’t think we’re playing to our ability,” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel following a light practice Tuesday afternoon. All of the key players, with the exception of second-year wing player Solomon Hill, had the day off.
They practice helped eight key guys rest and heal up, and it allowed the other seven players, including Paul George, time on the practice court to break a sweat, find a rhythm, and be in the thick of things.
“Just in case they might be needed,” Hill said, noting how some of his teammates are dealing with bumps and bruises.
Rodney Stuckey was one of those held out. He’s got a nagging left calf strain, which he first suffered two weeks ago in a loss to Boston. When I approached him in the locker room Monday night after the Pacers’ lost to Houston, he wasn’t his usual outward self and had no interest in talking.
“I’m hurt, man,” he said as he grabbed items for his locker before heading out. “When I get healthy, I’ll be out there to play.”
The Pacers have allowed nearly 107 points per game during their six-game losing streak. That’s where the issues have started; guys have not guarded their man well enough one-on-one. Then, coach Vogel believes that it has carried over to the offensive end and hurt with their shot making.
Above all, they can’t afford to stumble out of the gates.
“We got to make sure we don’t fall behind,” said Vogel. “There’s a lot of things out there we know we can do better that will lead to winning basketball.”
“We just have to find a different way to come out and throw the first punch,” Hill added.
The Pacers boarded their plane before 3:00 p.m. Tuesday en route to Our Nation’s Capitol. They’re on the road for four of their next five games and six of nine. Only two, maybe three of those opponents are not playoff-caliber teams, so the Pacers must elevate their play. That’s on every guy.
Despite their skid, the Pacers are amazingly still very much in the playoff picture. At 30-40 with 12 games left, they are 10th in the Eastern Conference behind Boston and Charlotte and one game out of eighth place.
“For us to play the way we played the last few games and for us to only be a game out of it,” C.J. Miles said, “I mean … that’s encouraging. Because the way we played to get to the point where we were up and about to take the sixth seed, we know that’s not that far from us.”
The turnaround, however, must come soon. They can’t afford to slip up further, especially so late in the season. The worst thing for this franchise would be to play hard all year, compete, and just miss the playoffs. The players know that and can use being in the Eastern Conference as a lifeline to keep after it.
“You’re in the East,” Solomon Hill said, not sugarcoating the situation. “… Six (losses) in a row and we’re only what, a game back out of eighth. We have to just pick it up. We have a lot of key games coming up against those teams that are around us.”
“I think it’s important for our guys to understand that we’re right there,” Vogel stressed. “Typically if you lose six in a row at this point in the season that could be a death sentence. But I don’t believe it is with this group.
“We just have to focus on getting one win.”
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