The extremely strange Pacers continue to confuse the heck out of us. Many thought before the season there was no way this roster would fit together and those doubters continue to be proved correct. They have Paul George, who has been shooting the lights out since early March. But after that the roster is a jumbled mess that never quite looks comfortable playing together. In game 84 of the season, at a crucial moment in a playoff game, after a timeout, you’d think they would be on the same page. But guess what? NOPE.
Kyrie Irving’s uncontested layup was the Pacers’ season in a nutshell
This was such a frustrating play.
This wasn’t even that tricky of a play. Jeff Teague gets caught on a LeBron James screen, and while George sags back, he still lets Kyrie Irving go untouched to the basket. Myles Turner looks confused the entire possession, not sure if he should guard Korver, Love, or maybe even Irving. They were confused in Game 1 as well, many times switching Teague to try and guard James. It’s unbelievably hard to guard a team that has James and four shooters on the court at any time, but the Pacers have looked beyond lost in this series on the defensive end.
The Pacers got down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, made a comeback to get within five late in the fourth quarter, then squandered any chance they had away on this play. Does one play lose a game for you? The answer is still no. But this play, filled with confusion, is exactly how the Pacers have played for 84 games now.
George was spectacular again with 32 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists but the defensive breakdowns from the Pacers are just too much to overcome, especially against an offense like the Cavaliers. For some teams, it would be encouraging to play two close games against the Cavaliers but George’s time in Indy is running out. This team needed to gel much sooner.
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