A 12-13 swoon over the last two months of the regular season saw the Pacers enter the playoffs on something of a downswing. Maybe you heard about it once or twice. Even so, Indiana was expected to take care of the Atlanta Hawks with minimal trouble, while the Washington Wizards were thought to be little more than a stepping stone for the Chicago Bulls entering their first-round matchup.
Of course, neither of those popular predictions ended up panning out. Indiana was forced to go the distance against the Hawks, and looked completely out of sorts for most of the series. Washington, on the other hand, only needed five games to take out the Bulls and have suddenly become favourites to reach the conference final.
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No. 1 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 5 Washington Wizards
101.6 (12) OffRtg 104.8 (10)
98.2 (1) DefRtg 100.4 (4)
45% (8) FG% 44% (12)
36.2% (T-8) 3P% 38.3% (T-2)
Leaders
Paul George, 23.9 (T-8) PPG Bradley Beal, 19.8 (16)
Paul George, 10.7 (6) RPG Marcin Gortat, 9.6 (T-9)
David West, 4.9 (14) APG John Wall, 6.8 (5)
Paul George, 24.58 (6) PER Bradley Beal, 18.91 (28)
Note: Playoff league rankings after first-round in brackets.
What the Pacers have to do to win
Indiana’s two all stars have to play like all stars. Paul George has carried more than his fair share of the load, looking every bit the superstar everyone thought he was in the first half of the season, but Roy Hibbert has been dreadful.
Through the first six games against Atlanta, the big man shot just 30.3 percent from the field and averaged a measly four points and 3.2 rebounds per. Hibbert finally showed signs of life in Game 7—notching 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks—but, given the way Nene torched Joakim Noah on both ends of the floor in the first round, the Pacers are going to need a lot more than that from their seven footer.
What the Wizards have to do to win
Just like they did with the Bulls, Washington will be looking to push the pace of play and force Indiana out of its comfort zone. The Wizards were able to up the tempo against the Bulls thanks to John Wall’s ability to get out in transition and find the likes of Bradley Beal and Trevor Ariza for open threes off his dribble penetration.
Chicago and Indiana buy in to very similar defensive ideals, so there’s no reason to think that Washington’s game plan won’t be just as effective in round two. Not to mention that the Pacers still seem to be trying to work out the kinks in their locker room after a nightmare first round, giving the Wizards a slight psychological advantage.
Marquee matchup: John Wall vs. Pacers’ platoon
George Hill couldn’t keep Jeff Teague in front of him and John Wall is faster, quicker, bigger and stronger than his Hawks counterpart. Hill has no hope. Thus, it’s going to take multiple defenders throwing different looks at Wall for the Pacers to have any hope of containing him.
Expect to see George and Lance Stephenson defending Wall in addition to Hill. Neither of those two is much quicker than Hill, but at least both will have a size and strength advantage on Wall, which should help to slow him down a tad on his drives to the basket. The Bulls couldn’t touch Wall on his way into the paint, so it’s vital for Indiana to at least get a small bump on him on his way through, otherwise he’ll pick the Pacers apart with drive-and-kicks and his explosive finishing ability.
Prediction
The Wizards are playing with remarkable confidence, while the Pacers continues to question themselves. Wall and Bradley Beal are becoming legitimate stars in these playoffs, and the combination of the point man’s penetration and the two guard’s shooting ability is just too difficult to lock down. The Wizards dominated a defensive juggernaut in the first round. There’s no reason to think they can’t do it again. Lady Gaga better reschedule. Wizards in six.
Second-round playoff previews: Pacers (1) vs. Wizards (5) | Heat (2) vs. Nets (6) | Spurs (1) vs. Trail Blazers (5) | Thunder (2) vs. Clippers (3) |