[M-EazyParticipant]

Could the Pacers be doing some tanking of their own?  It makes sense once you look at the Eastern Conference standings.  At the 2 seed the Pacers would be matched up against the Bobcats and if they win that series they’d get the winner of Raptors/Wizards.  At 1 seed the Pacers would get an easy first round matchup against Hawks/Knicks but a very tough matchup in 2nd round against Nets/Bulls.  The road to the ECF is a lot easier for the 2 seed and something tells me that the Pacers have discussed this and are out there losing on purpose.

 

This is the only thing that can explain that first half they had against the Hawks.  Plus I don’t care how much struggling has been happening you just don’t sit your starters against an easy opponent a half of a game back from first place.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I highly doubt it.  It would be pretty hard to get an up-and-coming team as good as the Pacers to just flip the off-switch like that.  Plus, even though they may get an easier 2nd round matchup as a result of their losing, they can’t want to play on the road against Miami.  

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 I highly doubt it.  It would be pretty hard to get an up-and-coming team as good as the Pacers to just flip the off-switch like that.  Plus, even though they may get an easier 2nd round matchup as a result of their losing, they can’t want to play on the road against Miami.  

[M-EazyParticipant]

The Pacers could be counting on the Nets/Bulls to push Heat to their limit in a hard fought series vs the Heat coming into the ECF without ever really having to play their hardest yet. 

[M-EazyParticipant]

The Pacers could be counting on the Nets/Bulls to push Heat to their limit in a hard fought series vs the Heat coming into the ECF without ever really having to play their hardest yet. 

[JaeEvolutionParticipant]

The whole mentality of this team for 75% of the season was, "We want #1 seed and game 7 in Indiana." Now Vogel is pulling excuses saying things like our guys are tired, Hibbert is tired and worn down for playing every game. Here’s a stat: Joakim Noah has played all but 2 games this season at 34.9 MPG while doing literally everything on the court at max energy for almost the entire season. I don’t hear Thibs pulling excuses out of his ass about Noah’s durability and you definitely won’t hear Joakim say anything. The psyche of this team just seems shattered to me and I feel like they have almost no chance to turn it around all of a sudden.

[JaeEvolutionParticipant]

The whole mentality of this team for 75% of the season was, "We want #1 seed and game 7 in Indiana." Now Vogel is pulling excuses saying things like our guys are tired, Hibbert is tired and worn down for playing every game. Here’s a stat: Joakim Noah has played all but 2 games this season at 34.9 MPG while doing literally everything on the court at max energy for almost the entire season. I don’t hear Thibs pulling excuses out of his ass about Noah’s durability and you definitely won’t hear Joakim say anything. The psyche of this team just seems shattered to me and I feel like they have almost no chance to turn it around all of a sudden.

[TyroberParticipant]

 They definitely aren’t losing on purpose. I don’t think either team is wild about playing the Bulls or Nets in the second round because those will both be physical draining series, but home court advantage in the conference finals could easily decide the winner of the series. I don’t know what’s up with the Pacers, but they definitely needed home court more than ever right now. 

[TyroberParticipant]

 They definitely aren’t losing on purpose. I don’t think either team is wild about playing the Bulls or Nets in the second round because those will both be physical draining series, but home court advantage in the conference finals could easily decide the winner of the series. I don’t know what’s up with the Pacers, but they definitely needed home court more than ever right now. 

[Ghost01Participant]

 No, no, no, no, no.

The Pacers have made a point that they wanted the 1 seed from the start of the season.

Their offense has been awful, and a few of their players look worn down. This doesn’t mean they have no chance at the playoffs, but this slide is real. You don’t go down 55-23 to Atlanta. That team is actively trying to not win games. 

[Ghost01Participant]

 No, no, no, no, no.

The Pacers have made a point that they wanted the 1 seed from the start of the season.

Their offense has been awful, and a few of their players look worn down. This doesn’t mean they have no chance at the playoffs, but this slide is real. You don’t go down 55-23 to Atlanta. That team is actively trying to not win games. 

[Inside ScoopParticipant]

Love how know one gives the Raptors any respect, except Chris Weber who has Toronto and Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, he has them losing in 6 games. I watch ever game this year and this team has something special going on ever since the Rudy Gay trade, don’t sleep on the Raptors and I agree with Weber Toronto will will win Atlantic Division and make the Eastern Conference Finals!

[Inside ScoopParticipant]

Love how know one gives the Raptors any respect, except Chris Weber who has Toronto and Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, he has them losing in 6 games. I watch ever game this year and this team has something special going on ever since the Rudy Gay trade, don’t sleep on the Raptors and I agree with Weber Toronto will will win Atlantic Division and make the Eastern Conference Finals!

[M-EazyParticipant]

With all the no’s what’s the reasoning behind them benching 5 starters tonight against a very easy opponent?  Especially with this game meaning so much to their 1 seed?

[fito91Participant]

They don’t need their 5 starters to beat the Bucks lol

[fito91Participant]

They don’t need their 5 starters to beat the Bucks lol

[M-EazyParticipant]

With all the no’s what’s the reasoning behind them benching 5 starters tonight against a very easy opponent?  Especially with this game meaning so much to their 1 seed?

[joecheck88Participant]

 The one seed would be tough this year. If the Knicks somehow make the playoffs. That’s a tough 1st round matchup. Not saying the Knicks would win because I don’t and probably done in 5 games but the Knicks will play up especially against Miami. Then you get the Bulls or Nets in the second round. Nets could be the hottest team since the New Year and Chicago is physically gonna wear you down some. 

So I think it a very interesting question. I think you have to consider it a possibility. Especially with the news of them sitting their starters tonight. Yes they do need rest but when do you see stuff like this? Not often. 

Now the difficult part is that players don’t tank. Organizations do. I think Indiana is tired and struggling. Hibbert is a different body type to Noah. A bit taller and more weight. I have no doubt he is tired. He is carrying more weight than Noah. 

So while I don’t think they were tanking, I’m not gonna rule out they’re not thinking about playoff match ups now they are in second. I think they’d be content being second with rested guys and easier series. They know they can win in Miami and don’t think it’s a huge deal to be first.

[joecheck88Participant]

 The one seed would be tough this year. If the Knicks somehow make the playoffs. That’s a tough 1st round matchup. Not saying the Knicks would win because I don’t and probably done in 5 games but the Knicks will play up especially against Miami. Then you get the Bulls or Nets in the second round. Nets could be the hottest team since the New Year and Chicago is physically gonna wear you down some. 

So I think it a very interesting question. I think you have to consider it a possibility. Especially with the news of them sitting their starters tonight. Yes they do need rest but when do you see stuff like this? Not often. 

Now the difficult part is that players don’t tank. Organizations do. I think Indiana is tired and struggling. Hibbert is a different body type to Noah. A bit taller and more weight. I have no doubt he is tired. He is carrying more weight than Noah. 

So while I don’t think they were tanking, I’m not gonna rule out they’re not thinking about playoff match ups now they are in second. I think they’d be content being second with rested guys and easier series. They know they can win in Miami and don’t think it’s a huge deal to be first.

[Jester87Participant]

Nah, they are struggling since after the all star break, no chances they were thinking about seeding or whatever when their disappointing performances began. To put it simple, their offense has been horrible and Hibbert hasn’t been nowhere close to the player he was in the first half of the season. And he started demanding more possessions and touches. With Hibbert not being the same presence their defense has been good but no longer the best in the league by a big margin as it used to be. And at the same time their offense went from average or slightly below average to horrible. They’re not executing well as they did in their first half, spacings are a mess. I think they could still find some way to figure it out again in the playoffs, but they aren’t losing on purpose.

[Jester87Participant]

Nah, they are struggling since after the all star break, no chances they were thinking about seeding or whatever when their disappointing performances began. To put it simple, their offense has been horrible and Hibbert hasn’t been nowhere close to the player he was in the first half of the season. And he started demanding more possessions and touches. With Hibbert not being the same presence their defense has been good but no longer the best in the league by a big margin as it used to be. And at the same time their offense went from average or slightly below average to horrible. They’re not executing well as they did in their first half, spacings are a mess. I think they could still find some way to figure it out again in the playoffs, but they aren’t losing on purpose.

[HaleParticipant]

No, Paul George and Roy Hibbert have just been terrible since 2014 hit.

[HaleParticipant]

No, Paul George and Roy Hibbert have just been terrible since 2014 hit.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

 Why would they want to lose on purpose?  They want to be playing well heading into the playoffs, unlike how they are playing now.  Plus, home court advantage this year is key.  I think it will be the deciding factor to who makes it out of the East.  Losing on purpose….lol, no.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

 Why would they want to lose on purpose?  They want to be playing well heading into the playoffs, unlike how they are playing now.  Plus, home court advantage this year is key.  I think it will be the deciding factor to who makes it out of the East.  Losing on purpose….lol, no.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Pacers starters have played more ‘time on-court’ together this season – precisely 1432 minutes, 21.6 seconds – than has any other five-man unit in the NBA. In fact, only four other teams (the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Mavericks and Warriors) have used a particular five-man unit on-court together for EVEN HALF AS MUCH time as the Pacers’ quintet has logged.

The Pacers aren’t losing purposely… They’re worn down and I think it’s foolish to think resting them at the end of the damn season will make a difference. Frank Vogel has just been completely irresponsible this season with how hard he’s played the starters. 

 

 

[joecheck88Participant]

Couldn’t you say the same about Thibs the past few seasons?  You should play your guys. I agree it has been too much though. I would have no problem with Roy Hibbert sitting out various games throughout the season. Same with David West. Think Paul George and Lance should be good though.  I think the trade for Evan Turner has hurt them too. Didn’t really get the trade for them at all. In theory they should’ve been better but the team lacks outside shooting and gave up arguably their best one. I think it’s a combination of things.  I might play Copeland a little more right now. He’s a good shooter off the bench and can make a play. Think they should experiment going small

[joecheck88Participant]

Couldn’t you say the same about Thibs the past few seasons?  You should play your guys. I agree it has been too much though. I would have no problem with Roy Hibbert sitting out various games throughout the season. Same with David West. Think Paul George and Lance should be good though.  I think the trade for Evan Turner has hurt them too. Didn’t really get the trade for them at all. In theory they should’ve been better but the team lacks outside shooting and gave up arguably their best one. I think it’s a combination of things.  I might play Copeland a little more right now. He’s a good shooter off the bench and can make a play. Think they should experiment going small

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Pacers starters have played more ‘time on-court’ together this season – precisely 1432 minutes, 21.6 seconds – than has any other five-man unit in the NBA. In fact, only four other teams (the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Mavericks and Warriors) have used a particular five-man unit on-court together for EVEN HALF AS MUCH time as the Pacers’ quintet has logged.

The Pacers aren’t losing purposely… They’re worn down and I think it’s foolish to think resting them at the end of the damn season will make a difference. Frank Vogel has just been completely irresponsible this season with how hard he’s played the starters. 

 

 

[Author]

Posts