"What's wrong with the Pacers?" That's been the question of the 2014 playoffs. They became an unexpected thorn in the sides of the Miami Heat during the 2012 playoffs. The Pacers showed the maturity of a veteran team and played with tremendous confidence and chemistry. There was no pressure two years ago because there were no expectations.
The Pacers were still the underdogs in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat. They pushed Miami to seven games and fell just short of the Finals. Once again, they were unencumbered with the pressure of expectation and played valiantly.
Jump cut to the 2013-14 season. The Pacers confidently declared they would earn the top seed and capture home court advantage for the 2014 playoffs. They were open about wanting the Heat's crown, and for most of the regular season, there were many who thought they would take it.
Is it Paul George's fault?
George spent the last two seasons as one of the rising stars in the NBA. His playoff production, especially against LeBron James and the Heat, had him in top five conversations. He was well-mannered, good looking and composed for his age. Praise was heaped, endorsements were signed and big things were expected.
Maybe it was youth or maybe it was the pressure, but George began making bad decisions off the court. It began with impregnating a stripper while dating the daughter of Doc Rivers. The incident was compounded by the stripper's claim that George offered her $1 million to get an abortion. Not long after, George had nude photos of himself leaked on the internet as the apparent "victim" of a catfish scheme.
George was/is the team leader as their best player. He built his reputation with poise in crunch time, but damaged it with impetuous acts off the court. George's production has been pretty good in the playoffs, more than most of his teammates can say, but his clean image was tarnished. As a team leader he is responsible for more than what he does on the stat sheet. If rumors are to be believed, he played a big part in teammate Roy Hibbert's production drop off.
The 7'2" gentle giant is a mismatch nightmare for the Heat. He always saves his best games for Miami and is the biggest weapon the Pacers had against the defending champs. The Pacers slide at the end of the season and struggles in the playoffs can be directly related to Hibbert's stat line. He has had six scoreless games in the playoffs and looked broken as a player. He is a seven foot all-star who wasn't scoring and worse yet, wasn't rebounding.
The only glimpse of what might have caused such a change in his play and demeanor came from an internet rumor that claimed George slept with one of Hibbert's side girls. Whether there's any truth to it or not, he certainly looked like someone who had their feelings hurt by a friend.
Hibbert's poor play picked up in their second round series against the Washington Wizards and carried into the Eastern Conference Finals. He had a very favorable +/- in the first three games against the Heat before tossing up a goose egg last night. Without a dominant Hibbert, the Pacers cannot win against the Heat.
It takes about one look to see the wildness in Stephenson's eyes and they do not deceive. He is the definition of volatile using raw emotion as his greatest blessing and curse. He can be the Pacers most productive player in one game and the reason they lose the next. His ascension as a player seems to have divided the locker room. His teammates get frustrated with his mouth, his antics and his selfish play.
His mouth has been his main detriment against the Heat. He began the series by stating he planned on running Dwayne Wade enough to make his knee "flare up." Stephenson is a good young player but targeting Wade is ill advised.
When some suggested he shouldn't give the Heat bulletin board material, he went a step further by saying he had exposed a weakness in James' game by baiting him into trash talking. Those comments were followed by James' best game of the playoffs and Stephenson's worst.
Stephenson actually did an interview where he described the difference between "Good Lance" and "Bad Lance." Last night, "Bad Lance" made an appearance both on and off the court.
Bird was responsible for shaping the ascent of the Pacers through keen drafting and savvy free agent signings. This season he made some trade deadline moves that seemed to change team chemistry. He parted ways with long time Pacer favorite Danny Granger in favor of volume shooter Evan Turner to bolster bench scoring. He also signed notoriously bad teammate Andrew Bynum who was cut at the beginning of the playoffs. Coincidence or not, team chemistry became miserable almost immediately after making these moves. Turner and Stephenson had a fist fight the day of their first playoff game (a loss).
There's other blame to go around. Some may point to Frank Vogel not being able to reach his players. I would say the resilience the Pacers showed with adversity in the first two rounds should be credited to Vogel, so it's hard for me to buy into that. Still, he is the coach and some of his substitutions have been baffling.
But, this series isn't about substitutions. This series is about, "what's wrong with the Pacers?" Now down 3-1, the Pacers season appears to be over. They're not going to beat the Heat in three straight games unless they wake up in 2013. The 2013 Pacers were hungry, unflinching and made no excuses when they lost (other than not having home court). Here's what the 2014 Pacers say after a loss:
George flat out blamed the refs.
In a game where the Heat led by 23 in the fourth quarter, George, the Pacers star and leader, blamed the refs. There is no lamer excuse in sports. None. Instead of a focused message of regrouping, the standard line of we are focused on the next game, we'll take it one game at a time, or we believe we can win, George went with the "home cooking" excuse.
After being asked if he regretted giving the Heat bulletin board material, Stephenson had no remorse. He simply doesn't get it and the Pacers will probably let another team inherit Bad Lance.
Hibbert blamed the coach.
With a twist on George's approach, Hibbert blamed Vogel when asked about his lack of production. His reason for not scoring in 21 minutes of play was because of the coach's "game plan." He chose not to take responsibility. He chose to point the finger.
The Pacers are broken. The last two series against the Heat were tense. Miami fans hated the Pacers because they appeared to be a legitimate threat. Most frightening was their composure. Every time the Heat gained momentum, the Pacers had an answer.
Pressure does a funny thing to athletes. Some thrive, some flail and others learn. The Pacers have collapsed. They aren't the team they were for the majority of the season. They aren't the team they were last season. A once likable group of young men on the rise, the Pacers have become a disgraceful bunch of peevish drek.
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