The Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are playing on the NBA playoffs schedule on Wednesday night and the Game 2 matchup comes from Bankers Life Fieldhouse starting up at 7 pm ET on TNT and comes streaming online from Overtime and has the Pacers looking to even the series at 1-1 after the Wiz took the first matchup and this is crucial for Indy as they try and stay alive in the postseason.
Roy Hibbert has all but disappeared in the playoffs and he had a terrible Game 1 matchup and did not score or grab a rebound in the game and now the Pacers have to find a way to rebound. The rumors that have been coming out about Hibbert and Paul George can't help matters either and now the team risks going down 2-0 while losing both games at home, as the Wizards have been playing very well this postseason and showed they have the ability to win on the road with players like Bradley Beal and John Wall leading the way.
The Wizards had not been to the playoffs in over five years and had not won a series for even longer than that and now many see them as a sleeper to make it into the eastern conference finals against the Miami Heat. The Atlanta Hawks showed how fractured and weak the Pacers are and now the Wizards are exploiting that as well and as Miami powers through Brooklyn in the other semis, it could be the elder statesman of LeBron James matching up with the young guns in Wall and Beal in the next round.
The Pacers are in trouble heading into Game 2 with the way they played in the first game and while they recovered to win the series against the Hawks, the Wizards are better and they can play big and small against Indiana and that has been one of the major issues in the series. Bradley Beal led the way with 25 points against the Pacers in Game 1, while Wall had nine assists and Marcin Gortat led the way with 15 rebounds and he basically knocked out Hibbert from making any impact at all.
The Pacers have had issues playing consistently on offense and one reason is because the team doesn't have a natural point guard and while George Hill has been solid, he needs to be much better and he added 18 points in the first game and will be relied upon again to lead the way. Paul George struggled as well and he comes in after having five assists, while David West was tops with 12 rebounds in that matchup. Gortat was excellent with 12 points and 15 rebounds in the game and his trade from the Suns earlier in the season is one of the biggest moves of the year for any exec and any team.
The Pacers and Hibbert have a ton riding on this game and it could mean the future for Frank Vogel and his job and for the makeup of this team. Hibbert signed an extension a couple years ago and George has been developing into a great player, but if the number one seed loses here in the second round, there will be some big changes coming up from high for next season.
Check here for the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards live coverage from TNT for the NBA playoffs.