If you allow your eyes to scan down the list of Eastern Conference teams, you might be surprised to find the Indiana Pacers sitting in the seventh seed, and just 3.5 games back of the sixth seed. Regardless of how mediocre the bottom tier of the East is, imagining the Pacers anywhere near the playoffs, after witnessing their collapse during the second half of the 2013-2014 season, then the loss of Paul George and George Hill, was unthinkable.
Yet now, riding a seven game winning street and the possibility of George's return to lineup ahead of the playoffs looking more realistic than ever, the Pacers have morphed into the Oklahoma City Thunder of the East, that low seed absolutely no one is trying to go seven games with in the first round of the playoffs.
Hill's return from injury in February injected the Pacers with renewed energy, while bench guys like C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey have lit up opposing teams' second units. And while NBA fans in the Hoosier state have been salivating over George's return from a devastating leg injury in August ever since he was cleared for full contact practice, George's recent comments have slowed everyone's roll.
"Part of me is (thinking), they're playing so well, they've come together, to shake up the chemistry and add another body, another player in there ... I don't want to be that guy that destroys what these guys have going," George told the Indy Star on Friday.
He continued:
"It's different if this was the beginning of the year and we were still trying to find our way. But these guys are playing at the top of their game right now and the last thing I want to do is slow them down."
If George were to return at some point this season, the Pacers plan would be to work him in off the bench slowly to get him up to game speed. And though George's concerns are valid, it's hard to see the Pacers making any sort of dent in the playoffs without their best player. Fortunately, PG hasn't completely ruled sitting the rest of the season out yet.
"On the other hand, there's a part of me that's like, 'I can definitely help.' It's a difficult point in my role right now, but we'll take it day-to-day."
The playoffs are a month away. Buckle up.
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[Via Indy Star]
