Indiana Pacers: Why They Shouldn’t Make The Playoffs
The Indiana Pacers’ hopes of making the NBA playoffs this year are trending downward, and they’re going down fast.
After staring into the face of a 23-34 record earlier in the year Indiana managed to win their next seven games, with wins coming to the likes of teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls whom are some of the powerhouse teams of the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers were now only four games below .500 at 30-34 and enjoying sitting at the seventh-seed of the Eastern Conference with a little over a month of regular-season action left.
And then that gap between the Pacers’ record and the .500 mark was completely widened.
Well here we are now, with Indiana losing five consecutive games and letting their playoff hopes slip away from their grasp as they sit at a 30-39 record and are currently the ninth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. With MVP candidate James Harden and the Houston Rockets coming to town Monday night, things don’t look to be getting any better for the Pacers.
Most fans want to see the Pacers make the playoffs, and I can’t say I completely disagree with those people.
One of my favorite parts of April in the state of Indiana is Pacers playoff basketball. Nothing is better than attending a game or watching on television and looking in the stands and seeing a sea of gold on the nights where there is a “gold out.” Or the vibe around downtown Indianapolis after a playoff victory when everyone is celebrating.
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While those things are great and are what I love about the NBA playoffs this time of the year, I have to remain logical for what is best for this team in the long-term future.
And that would be the notion that it would be wise for the Pacers to not make the playoffs this season and rather focus on getting a lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft.
After all, the main goal when a team makes the playoffs is to win an NBA championship. I’m as big of a Pacers fan as the next guy but it would be silly to think that this team would be able to compete for a championship this season with the given squad.
Even if Paul George makes his return come playoff time (with recent reports of a return within the next week) he likely wouldn’t be getting a heap of minutes and would not be a major impacting factor for this team to become a powerhouse out of nowhere. Even in the playoffs.
With a lottery selection in the NBA draft the Pacers have the opportunity to get a great, young talent to accompany the team. If they were to be in the lottery, it is likely that they would be drafting in the upper portions of the lottery. It is possible however that they become lucky enough to get a high-selection as some teams have been fortunate enough (2009 Bulls and 2014 Cavaliers) but the odds of that are slim, to none.
I would rather see this Pacers team build for next year and beyond with a good-quality draft pick rather than make the playoffs and come out with a first-round loss (let’s be honest, they wont beat the likes of the Hawks or Cavaliers in a first-round match-up) and a low draft selection.
Given their current record of 30-39, it’s going to be more difficult now for the Pacers to make the playoffs within the next three weeks, which is why they should forget about this season and rather focus on the draft and the future.
At the end of the day though, I am not playing for this team or am a member of the front-office and not making the decisions for the team.
Larry Bird and the rest of the Pacers are fully intent of a playoff berth this year and are looking to make some noise despite their recent struggles. With a healthy Paul George next year and an up-and-coming Solomon Hill, it is safe to say that the Pacers will be in good hands for some time in terms of young talent on the team. Missing out on the playoffs wouldn’t hurt the team dramatically, but they could miss out on another young talent to add to the team.
The Pacers seem to be living in the moment and have their eyes set on the post-season. You can’t knock their “win now, worry about later” mentality that they’ve had all season long.
But they need to be careful because if not, they could be losing out on an impact player come draft day.