The Indiana Pacers are the number one seed in the east, but after losing to the Hawks in Game 1 of their playoffs series, rumors had head coach Frank Vogel coaching for his job in the postseason, along with reports of a fight between Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner after his trade to the team and that could leave the future of the guard and franchise star Roy Hibbert in question after he struggled against Atlanta in the first two games.
Reports came out after Game 1 about a fight between the two players in practice and after that, Marc Stein wrote on ESPN.com that Vogel was coaching for his job in this series. What it meant was that since the Pacers are championship contenders and have the number one seed in the east, if Vogel can't get control of the team and win, he likely will be out. On Thursday, general manager Kevin Pritchard refuted that report, but what else would the team say anyway?
Larry Bird could be looking to make a change if things take a bad turn, but it looks like the Pacers have finally gotten their act together and now they have some momentum, heading into Game 3 in Atlanta. The Pacers were one of the best teams in the NBA last season, but after going 40-12 over the first stretch of the season before the All-Star break, the team was only two games over .500 the rest of the way and they had a horrible April before starting the playoffs. The team thought it could get past those struggles, but after losing Game 1 the reports started to come out.
The Hawks are the eighth seed in the east and while they have some talent, they are not as good of a team as the Pacers and if they can win those games in Atlanta, the team will take a 3-1 lead in the series, as it's tied 1-1 now. Expectations have been building all season and after adding Andrew Bynum many felt the team would be unstoppable, but that hasn't turned into anything yet and the decision to trade Danny Granger for Evan Turner so far has been a wash.
According to ESPN.com, Lance Stephenson and Turner got into a "scuffle" in practice last week and while that is common in the NBA, the Pacers are a team in trouble and that is the last thing they need. This follows a previous incident with Lance Stephenson and George Hill, as they weren't at it on the bench during a game and had to be separated and all of this makes it seem like things are not all that great in Indy. It also makes a bit clearer why Roy Hibbert made some comments in March about selfish players and now the team must hope that the win against Atlanta was the start of turning it around.
Paul George snapped out of his funk in the last game and he ended up with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while David West led the way with six assists. The teams play again on Saturday and that will be at Philips Arena in Hotlanta.