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Well that was disappointing.
After teasing us from the brink of elimination with a 6-game winning streak, the Pacers’ Cinderella charge towards the postseason came crashing down to reality tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies.
I knew they were going to be running on fumes after that double-OT win over the Wizards last night, so there was cause for optimism when the team came out of the game on fire and took a 24-22 lead in the first quarter. But in the end, Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies were just too good, and they pulled away comfortably in the second quarter for an easy 95-83 victory.
With Brooklyn winning against Orlando and holding the tiebreaker, it means the Pacers miss the playoffs and will head into the offseason with a lot of uncertainty. The main question will be the status of Paul George, who in a scary moment in the second half was carried off by his teammates back to the locker room. The initial diagnosis is a strained left calf, probably from overcompensation due to the broken right leg, and let’s hope it’s nothing more than that.
It’s a disappointing finish but Pacers fans everywhere should be proud of the effort and guts they put out there, especially towards the end of the season. A 38-44 record is not too bad considering they had Paul George playing just 6 games at 20%-30% of full capacity, starting point guard George Hill missing nearly half the season, starting power forward David West missing 17 games, top backup point guard CJ Watson missing 26 games, and crucial wings Rodney Stuckey and CJ Miles each missing more than 10 games each. Even defensive anchor Hibbert missed 7 games. That’s just brutal.
Besides, missing the playoffs is probably for the best in the grand scheme of things. Did the Pacers stand a chance against Atlanta in the first round? Er…no. They were going to get spanked. Instead, now they will have a fringe lottery pick (though he probably won’t be able to help out much).
Roy Hibbert and David West can choose to become free agents or exercise their one-year player options. Both will likely do so unless West can get a better deal and situation elsewhere. Hibbert, as valuable as he is as a rim protector, is just so useless offensively and so fragile mentally that I’m sure the team will look to use his expiring contract as trade bait.
Other players becoming unrestricted free agents include Chris Copeland, CJ Watson, Luis Scola, Rodney Stuckey, Lavoy Allen, and Donald Sloan. Rookie Shayne Whittington has a qualifying offer. Of those, I wouldn’t mind seeing CJ Watson and Rodney Stuckey come back. Scola…,maybe. Those guys can provide a solid bench for the Pacers in years to come.
Moving forward, the team will need more athleticism and scoring, and the 13-14 million they will have on the books (if Hibbert and West opt in and no unrestricted free agents are re-signed) will need to fill a lot of holes and gaps. Let’s hope Larry Bird can work his magic again and, with a 100% healthy Paul George, take the team back to the playoffs next season and beyond.
But for now, farewell.
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