Indiana Pacers week ahead: A potential playoff preview?
By Tony East
The Indiana Pacers face a tough week ahead against three teams that all made the playoffs last season.
Let’s be frivolous just for fun. Let’s say the Indiana Pacers finish this season as the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, they square off with the 6 seed Miami Heat. The Pacers pull through and win the series.
In round two, the Pacers travel to Boston to play the seconded seeded Celtics. We saw that the Pacers can hang with Boston this weekend, and so in this hypothetical situation, the Pacers pull the upset to advance to the conference finals.
In the 1-4 matchup in the East, the 76ers take down the Raptors in a grueling series, setting up a Sixers-Pacers conference final. The Pacers, with homecourt advantage, take down Philly and make it to the finals, and they find themselves matched up with James Harden and the Houston Rockets, who found a way to get by the Warriors.
That Pacers path to a fake title encompasses games against four consecutive Pacers opponents. We saw Victor Oladipo slay Boston last week, but now the team has to take down Houston, Philadephia, and Miami this week. It will be tough. Let’s look at the week ahead.
Game(s) 11 & 14: Houston Rockets. Monday, 7:00 PM & Sunday, 7:00 PM
The Rockets completely tore apart the Pacers last year, winning by a combined 44 points in two games.
This year, though, the Rockets are different. They lost some solid rotation players are got bitten by the injury bug, the perfect storm of challenges for a team with a handful of new players. Trying to squeeze Carmelo Anthony, James Ennis, and Michael Carter-Williams into the rotation all while last years MVP James Harden is out seems like an impossible task.
But the Rockets have Harden back now, and they have won two straight since his return. And they are still the Houston Rockets. They are chucking over 40 three-point attempts per game and holding opponents to the fewest attempts per game in the league. That is a recipe for success. The Pacers can’t settle for bad midrange shots in this game.
Additionally, they have Chris Paul and Clint Capela, two masters in their role(s). Defending them is insanely hard, and scoring on them is almost as challenging. Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner will have their hands full, and the Pacers guards will need to be on their A-game in both matchups.
In at least Monday’s game, Indianapolis native Eric Gordon is doubtful with an injury. That really hurts the Rockets already very shallow depth. The Pacers bench should have a field day in this one like they did in the preseason. But the second matchup, in Houston and with a healthy Gordon, will be much harder.