Not surprisingly, the Indiana Pacers lost their final two games of the season, the last one being a 94-72 drubbing at the hands of the Magic in Orlando. With the losses, the Pacers finish their season 37-45 and will kick off the 2011 NBA Playoffs against the top seeded and the 62-win Chicago Bulls.
This latest loss drove another reminder into my mind that in all probability the Pacers will be swept and be swept badly. If they find their missing mojo they might be able to get a game, two if the Bulls somehow implode, but an upset in the first round is just not going to happen whichever way I look at it.
Tonight, the Pacers were horrendous, missing shots left, right and center. Danny Granger and Jeff Foster sat out to heal nagging injuries and coach Frank Vogel gave minutes to guys like Solomon Jones (who reminded exactly why he hasn’t played at all) as well as TJ Ford and James Posey.
I can be a huge Danny Granger basher at times, but tonight’s game reminds me why he is still the team’s best player. The rest of the guys simply couldn’t hit a shot, finishing the first half with just 29 points and 30.7% for the entire game. Bricks, airballs, turnovers, giving up wide open threes and drives — you name it and this team did it. Roy Hibbert vs Dwight Howard was a no contest — Hibbert had 5 fouls in 10 minutes, didn’t score and missed all 4 shots.
Not exactly a confidence booster going in against likely MVP Derrick Rose and a team that won 25 games more than the Pacers.
More to come on the 1 vs 8 matchup shortly.
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