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Indiana Pacers try to stay optimistic with No. 1 seed

Jeff Zillgitt
USA TODAY Sports
Pacers guard George Hill shows his frustration during the

By the end of a long 82-game season — through some outstanding basketball for most of the season and some disconcerting ball in the final six weeks — the Indiana Pacers got what they wanted.

The Pacers are the top seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs and will have home-court advantage for the first three rounds of the 2014 NBA playoffs. That was their stated goal at the start of the season, in the middle of the season and at the end of the season, even as they stumbled to the finish line.

For all their late-season problems — most notably on the defensive end — they still won at least 55 games. When asked to diagnose Indiana's issues, Miami Heat star LeBron James declined to bite.

"Very, very good team," James said after Miami's recent 98-86 win against the Pacers. "Just as tough as they were to us we were tough on them as well. It's two very good teams, and they have their record for a reason. You don't just coast or play bad basketball and win 50-plus games in a season. They're going to be there."

Not everyone is so sure. The Pacers are 11-13 since March 1, and while the Pacers had the league's most efficient defense this season, in the past six weeks, they are allowing 103.2 points per 100 possessions compared to 96.8 for the season. The offensive efficiency has dipped, too, compounding the problem.

Can the Pacers beat the Hawks in the first round? Will they make it out of the second round? Can they beat Miami even with home-court advantage?

Despite the struggle, the Pacers' locker room didn't implode. They bickered publicly and privately. Center Roy Hibbert called some teammates selfish, and a few times, players huddled in the locker room after losses for intense discussions.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said it's normal — and healthy — for players to argue and air grievances. Husbands and wives argue. Siblings argue. So do teammates.

"When you have high-character people, which (Pacers President) Larry Bird built this team on, you overcome all that and stay together," Vogel said. "It's talking and listening. Listening is just as important. Hearing what someone else is saying is important."

It's also possible Bird underestimated the negative impact of bringing in center Andrew Bynum and trading Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers for Evan Turner. It wouldn't be unusual for Hibbert to wonder why Bynum was necessary or for Lance Stephenson to wonder why Turner was acquired when both play the same position. Were the Pacers preparing, perhaps too early, for Stephenson's departure in free agency?

Bird might not like it, but sending out Granger, who is well-liked, and bringing in two new players may have disrupted harmony.

This was Pacers' first major crisis since emerging as a contender in the East, but there is time for Indiana to recover.

Pacers forward David West recalled a troubled locker room with the New Orleans Hornets during the 2008-09 season. The season before, the team had the second-best record in the Western Conference. They beat the Dallas Mavericks in the opening series, then lost in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round after leading 2-0.

New Orleans had a decent 2008-09 but lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets, and the locker room was a mess.

"Guys just weren't getting along and never spoke on it," West said. "It just ended the season early. We weren't able to put things together long enough to keep the season going."

West said that hasn't happened with the Pacers.

"All of us have open communication," he said. "Guys just talk to each other. Whatever issues were going on got aired out. We didn't let them fester and linger. We just cleared the air when we had an opportunity. If you don't deal with it, it will just eat you up.

"It hasn't necessarily showed up in our play but we feel like we've turned the corner in terms of dealing with those issues. But the best way to learn is to through it. We've fought pretty hard all year. We've got good character guys here. It felt like whatever is going on, we could handle it."

Hibbert has been the most outspoken publicly. He has complained about lack of touches in the low post and called players selfish. All-Star Paul George has been more diplomatic, including himself as a partial reason for Indiana's recent issues.

"Everyone has their little spats, but for the most part, we've been great on and off the court," Hibbert said. "We've been grown men about it and just talk about it. I won't go into specifics but we've asked, 'How can we get better? What are some of the problems?' ... We've got guys here who can take constructive criticism."

Vogel said, "Togetherness is something I've talked about since the day I took over as coach. Whether we're strong or struggling, it's something we talk about all the time. I have talked about it. I have addressed it and focused on it, probably more this year than in the past."

Wheezing into playoffs is not new — and the Heat aren't exactly steamrolling. The 2009-10 Boston Celtics were 8-8 in the final month of the season, finishing with the fourth seed in the East. But they reached the NBA Finals.

Vogel pointed out Indiana lost five of seven games at the end of last season and took Miami to seven games in the conference finals.

"I'm not comfortable with where things are," Vogel said. "But I'm not a believer that if you've won 10 straight going into the playoffs, you're going to have playoff success and if you lost 10 straight going into the playoffs, you're going to fail."

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