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The Indiana Pacers are in the midst of a collapse of epic proportions and are showing no signs of coming out of it.
They have hit rock bottom, losing by 19 points to the Atlanta Hawks at home, scoring only 23 points in the first half. Â To make matters worse, Roy Hibbert was benched for the entire second half.
On January 20, The Pacers were the cream of the crop of the Eastern a Conference with a 33-7 record and 4.5 games up on the Miami Heat.
So what happened to the Pacers?
It all starts with Paul George. George’s personal life has been well documented and since those issues came to light, George has averaged 20.2 points on 38.8 percent shooting (35 percent from the 3-point line), 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 turnovers according to The IndyStar. It’s almost as if the MVP-level talent George had to begin the season has disappeared.
The benching of Hibbert also speaks volumes about the state of the team. Hibbert has averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds since the All-Star break.
They haven’t just been losing, they have been losing ugly. Many of there loses have been blow outs and their stars have been playing selfishly.
In the process, they brought on the much scrutinized Andrew Bynum and parted ways with their former franchise player Danny Granger.
The Pacers have essentially self imploded. There has been a lot of finger pointing and blame placed on players. Their defense, which used to be their staple is now non existent and their stars aren’t playing like stars. The team is 13-13 since the All-Star break, prior to the break they were 40-12 and in first place in the East.
Losing eight of their last 10, the Pacers have allowed the Heat to grab the number one seed. Miami is currently ahead by one game. If the Pacers stay in the second seed and move on passed the first round, they will play either the Raptors or Bulls in the second round, assuming
That team also wins in the first round.
One explanation would be that they are bored and uninterested but that shouldn’t be the case as Miami is in first place and giving them plenty to play for with home court advantage in the line.
The best thing that can happen to them is for the playoffs to begin and for them to refocus. Every team would like to be hitting their stride at this point in the season but it seems time is running out for the Pacers to right the ship and stop their downward spiral.
