Indiana Pacers Vs. Washington Wizards Preview: Have The Pacers Turned It Around?
The Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards series will get started on Monday night and The Inquisitr is here to give a first look preview. In one of the strangest implosions in recent NBA history, the Indiana Pacers have been horrendous since the All-Star break. Yet, the Pacers managed to snag the one seed in the seriously horrible Eastern Conference.
Unfortunately, the Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards series may not be as fun as the Pacers would have hoped. After being pushed to the brink of elimination by the lowly Atlanta Hawks, the Pacers were simply fortunate that the Hawks played worse than they did in game seven. As the Pacers gear up for their series with the Wizards, their are still more questions than answers.
The Washington Wizards handled the Chicago Bulls like a veteran playoff team. Severely offensively challenged, the Chicago Bulls only hope was to out hustle the Wizards. But the Wizards were ready and never let off the gas. Even with Nene Hilario’s suspension in game four, the Wizards simply were too offensively potent for the Bulls. Game 5 was a pushover and the Wizards easily cruised to a 4-1 series victory.
Now, as the Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards series gets set to kick off, the Pacers find themselves up against a better version of the pesky Atlanta Hawks. The reason the Pacers struggled so mightily against the Hawks was match up problems. Roy Hibbert and George Hill are the weakest links on the Indiana Pacers roster right now. Washington should easily be able to exploit Hill especially in the backcourt.
John Wall and Bradley Beal both averaged close to 20 points per game in the first round and should be expected to do similar damage against the Pacers. Lance Stephenson will present a problem for the much smaller Beal, but the Wizards have a much deeper bench and the emergence of Trevor Ariza in the 2014 NBA playoffs will spread the floor. Factor in the outstanding play the Wizards are getting from Nene Hilario and this series could get ugly quick.
Of course, the team with the best player always has an advantage and Paul George is easily the best player in this series. If the Indiana Pacers vs. the Washington Wizards series is going past four games, it will be on the offense of George. He practically carried the Pacers to victory in their game seven victory against the Hawks. If George can continue to put pressure on the Wizards defense, the Pacers might be able to get through to the next round.
The Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards winner will most likely get a shot at the defending champion Miami Heat, unless the Heat get trouble from the winner of the Brooklyn and Toronto series.
[Image via Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports]
