The Pacers may have clinched a playoff spot but that doesn’t mean they’re going to take it easy over the final two games. With seeding still in play, the team held a typical morning shootaround to prepare for tonight’s game against the New York Knicks (7:00 p.m. ET).
Frank Vogel has guided the Pacers to the postseason in five of his six seasons as head coach.
“We’re playing to win tonight,” head coach Frank Vogel sternly said after shootaround.
That includes Pacers swingman Paul George, who has played in every single game this season.
“Yeah, I’ll be out there,” he said Tuesday morning.
See Also: George voted binaural recipient of the Mel Daniels Award
The Eastern Conference playoff seeds are finally taking shape. Although it took them 81 games games to do so, Cleveland finally secured the No. 1 spot Monday by beating Atlanta. Toronto will be the No. 2 seed.
Then, spots three, four, five, and six are in a tight cluster with just one game of separation. Those four teams are Atlanta, Miami, Boston, and Charlotte.
And then, there is Indiana and Detroit, each 43-37 with two to play. Because the Pacers have the tiebreaker over the Pistons, all they need to do is finish no worse than Pistons over the final two games.
The Pistons host Miami tonight and then conclude the season on Wednesday in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, who’ll likely rest key players. Meantime, the Pacers host 32-49 Knicks Tuesday and then play their regular season finale Wednesday in Milwaukee (33-48).
“We want to keep pushing,” said veteran Rodney Stuckey. “We feel like we’re that 7-seed. That’s our mindset. Seven seed or it’s a bust.”
[Stuckey back in the playoffs for the first time in seven years]
The Pacers seem to be building some momentum here late in the season, winners in four of the previous five games. How much momentum, though?
It’s unclear, considering they’ve gotten wins over Philadelphia, New York, and Brooklyn. Cleveland, who they beat last Wednesday, was their only opponent during that stretch with a winning record. And LeBron James was held out.
“You have to balance everything,” Vogel said on building momentum going into the playoffs. “You have to balance guys being health, being fresh, and being sharp.”
C.J. Miles has the only injury of note, a sore shoulder. He’s questionable for tonight’s game.
The Pacers went 1-3 against both the Cavaliers and Raptors this season. They know they’ll begin a series against one of them this weekend. The NBA Playoffs officially begin on Saturday.
This weekend, Stuckey will play in his first postseason game since 2009.
“Toronto’s a great team, but we feel like we match up with them well,” Stuckey said on Sunday. “They have some great players but we also have great players. … We definitely see that we can match up with them pretty well.
“We don’t want to see Cleveland in the first round,” Stuckey added with a laugh.
Cleveland is the favorite out of the East because they have James, plus two three-time All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Toronto is thirsty for playoff success. Thousands of rowdy fans, even without tickets, gathered outside the Air Canada Centre last postseason. For whatever it’s worth, the Raptors have participated in postseason play seven other times in franchise history and just once — in 2001 — did they get out of Round 1.
Stat of note: George is in his first full year back from that horrific leg injury. Still, he’s first on the team in scoring at 23.2 points per game, which ranks 10th in the league.
George has put together one of the best scoring seasons in franchise history. He’ll finish with the third-most points in a single season by a Pacer. Heading into Tuesday’s game, he’s not alone in third — tied with Reggie Miller (1990-91) with 1,855 points.
Top single-season point totals:
Billy Knight, (1976-77): 2,075
Reggie Miller, (1989-90): 2,016
Reggie Miller (1990-91), Paul George (2015-16): 1,855