The Indiana Pacers did not end their regular season on a high note despite earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and their start to the postseason started in the same fashion. The top-seeded Pacers blew it in Game 1 getting upset at home by the Atlanta Hawks and will now enter what might be looked at as their most important game of the season. Can Indiana bounce back and even the series before the series shifts back to Atlanta.
The Pacers are 12-14 since the start of March. Their shut-down defense has not been seen since the second half of the season started. Team chemistry is coming into question as Roy Hibbert and George Hill have failed to look like themselves in recent weeks. Hibbert called out teammates as selfish just a few weeks back and severe foul trouble ended any chance the Pacers had at beating the Hawks over the weekend.
Head coach Frank Vogel will attempt to make adjusts prior to Game 2. Paul George has requested that he defend Jeff Teague who torched the Pacers for 53 points in his last two games against the team. Vogel declined to say whether that adjustment would be made, but the Pacers need to find some kind of answer for the point guard who is excelling against his hometown team.
The Hawks simply could not miss in Game 1. Teague was on fire while Kyle Korver handled the outside shot with ease. Atlanta now has the upperhand in the series, something they did not expect heading into the postseason as the No. 8 seed. If Atlanta can win again on Tuesday, they will be the first Hawks team to open the postseason with two straight road wins.
The Pacers are in a must-win situation. The team simply cannot afford to drop another game at home. TNT commentator Charles Barkley blasted the Pacers as "wussies" after they appeared soft in Game 1. Can Indiana prove their recent critics wrong?
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