NBA

NBA PM: Pacers Put Struggles Behind Them

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Pacers Put Struggles Behind Them

The Indiana Pacers didnโ€™t look like a contender over the final two months of the 2013-14 season. Indiana struggled mightily down the stretch, stalling on the offensive end and dropping nine of 13 games at one point. Even worse, the Pacers seemed to implode, with Roy Hibbert calling his teammates โ€œselfishโ€ and Lance Stephenson and George Hill reportedly having to be separated during a blowout loss.

The stretch was ugly, but the Pacers still managed to finish the season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and they recently picked up an impressive win against the Oklahoma City Thunder to regain some of their confidence heading into the postseason. The Pacers believe that their slump is over, and the message coming out of their locker room is that they have what it takes to hoist the Larry Oโ€™Brien trophy this season, especially now that they have homecourt advantage through the Eastern Conference Finals.

Being the top seed in the conference was a goal for the Pacers all season, and it does give them a significant edge in the playoffs. Last season, Indiana lost a tough Game 7 on the road against the Miami HEAT. They were so close to advancing to the NBA Finals, but couldnโ€™t take down Miami in their building. Now, teams will have to come through their building in the event of a Game 7, which gives them a lot of confidence considering their 35-6 home record was the best in the NBA this season.

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Despite the late-season slump, the Pacers still think this could be their year. When asked if Indiana now has what it takes to win it all, Paul George nodded.

โ€œYeah, I think so,โ€ George said. โ€œWe have another year of experience, you add in some veterans like [Luis] Scola and Rasual [Butler], you add a sharpshooter like [Chris] Copeland, you add some great players like Evan [Turner] and Lavoy [Allen], weโ€™ve assembled a great roster this year. I think Larry [Bird] and the front office did a great job going all-in on this year. โ€ฆ ย [Homecourt advantage] gives us a better opportunity, a better chance. We like our chances being able to play a seven-game series with the advantage being at home. Itโ€™s huge. We understand that weโ€™re going to have to win tough games and win in some tough arenas on the road, but it gives us the great advantage of playing at home in each Eastern round. We have the best record playing at home, and we like our chances playing at home.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s what weโ€™re hoping,โ€ David West added. โ€œWe want to be almost unbeatable in our own building and weโ€™ve been able to do that, for the most part, throughout the year. With the playoffs approaching, we want to keep that going.โ€

โ€œItโ€™ll be good for us, but we have to win on the road too,โ€ Hibbert said. โ€œWeโ€™ve had trouble with that in the latter part of the season, but weโ€™re up for the challenge. Weโ€™ve been tested. In the playoffs, youโ€™re playing the same team a number of times and itโ€™s not like you have back-to-backs or four games in five nights. Itโ€™s going to be a process, itโ€™s going to be a grind, but weโ€™ve been through that so weโ€™re ready.โ€

A number of Pacers players said that the teamโ€™s recent issues were overblown and media-driven. However, they did admit that they were able to learn some things from the struggles.

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โ€œSometimes adversity is just thrown [around] by the media,โ€ Evan Turner said. โ€œWe still have a great team, we still have one of the best home records in the NBA and we still ended up getting first place in the Eastern Conference. Every team hits their hurdles. We just need to stay together and stay focused. โ€ฆ I think we learned that our communication was big, and that our belief in each other was even bigger. Thatโ€™s the biggest thing.โ€

โ€œWe definitely learned to never take anything for granted,โ€ George Hill said. โ€œNo matter how high we get or how low we get, we need to stay together and play every game like itโ€™s our last. Itโ€™s a new season now, weโ€™re 0-0 and itโ€™s first to 16 [wins]. We need to go out there and play each game, and try to be the first team to win 16. Thatโ€™s our goal right now.โ€

โ€œI thought we stayed the course,โ€ West said. โ€œThe NBA has a long season, 82 games is a grind, but I thought we did a good job of staying the course and staying connected. We didnโ€™t get too low, even when things looked really, really bad. I thought we did a great job of pulling for one another and ultimately we were able to win enough games down the stretch to accomplish our goal [of securing the Eastโ€™s top seed].โ€

โ€œWe had our struggles, but we still ended up being the number one seed,โ€ Hibbert said. โ€œWe did what we had to do in the beginning of the season. Every team has their ups and downs, we just had our downs at the end. Now, weโ€™re ready to move on and just play good basketball in the playoffs.โ€

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The Pacers will open the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. George believes that Indianaโ€™s elite defense and ability to take away a teamโ€™s strengths make the Pacers a scary team in the postseason.

โ€œWeโ€™re smart,โ€ George said. โ€œOur IQ as a whole is great. Throughout a series, we do a great job of limiting things that teams like to go do and limiting guys. [Weโ€™re capable of] really just neutralizing them.โ€

With their recent struggles, Indiana is no longer the sexy pick to win it all like they were earlier in the season. However, Indiana is still capable of playing elite basketball, as weโ€™ve seen throughout the course of the season. The players are confident that the dominant, early-season Pacers will show up in the postseason rather than dreadful, late-season Pacers. If thatโ€™s true, this could be the year that Indiana takes down Miami and plays on basketballโ€™s biggest stage in June.

James Has Most Popular Jersey

Miami HEAT forward LeBron James once again tops the NBAโ€™s list of most popular jerseys, where he has reigned as No. 1 since winning his second NBA title.ย  The two-time NBA Finals MVP, who has held the top position six times, is joined by nine players that will compete in the 2014 NBA Playoffs beginning on April 19.ย  The rankings are based on overall retail sales on NBAStore.com since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

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Rounding out the top five are the Oklahoma City Thunderโ€™s Kevin Durant (No. 2), the Los Angeles Lakersโ€™ Kobe Bryant (No. 3), the Chicago Bullsโ€™ Derrick Rose (No. 4) and the Golden State Warriorsโ€™ Stephen Curry (No. 5).ย Bryant and Rose appear in the top five despite only playing in a handful of games due to injuries.

Since winning back-to-back championships in 2013, the HEAT has held the top spot for best-selling team merchandise, followed by the Lakers at No. 2, the Bulls at No. 3, the Thunder at No. 4 and the Knicks at No. 5.

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Here are the lists for most popular jerseys and the most popular team merchandise:

Most Popular Jerseys

1.ย ย ย ย ย  LeBron James, Miami HEAT

2.ย ย ย ย ย  Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

3.ย ย ย ย ย  Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

4.ย ย ย ย ย  Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

5.ย ย ย ย ย  Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

6.ย ย ย ย ย  Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

7.ย ย ย ย ย  Dwyane Wade, Miami HEAT

8.ย ย ย ย ย  Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

9.ย ย ย ย ย  Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

10.ย  James Harden, Houston Rockets

11.ย  Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

12.ย  Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

13.ย  Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

14.ย  Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

15.ย  Paul George, Indiana Pacers

ย Most Popular Team Merchandise

1. Miami HEAT

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Chicago Bulls

4. Oklahoma City Thunder

5. New York Knicks

6. Boston Celtics

7. Brooklyn Nets

8. Golden State Warriors

9. San Antonio Spurs

10. Los Angeles Clippers

Clifford, Joerger Named Coaches of the Month

The Charlotte Bobcatsโ€™ Steve Clifford and the Memphis Grizzliesโ€™ Dave Joerger today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Clifford guided the Bobcats to the leagueโ€™s best record in April at 7-1 (.875). Charlotte notched wins over three playoff teams during the month, beating the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls. The Bobcats were a perfect 3-0 in overtime games in April. Cliffordโ€™s team, which posted a 43-39 record for the year and garnered the seven seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, enters the postseason on a three-game winning streak.

Joerger led the Grizzlies to a 6-2 (.750) mark in April, including a perfect 4-0 record at home. Memphis topped the Miami Heat on April 9, their first of five consecutive wins to finish the season. Included in that streak was a 97-91 win over the Phoenix Suns on April 14, which sewed up the Grizzliesโ€™ playoff berth, and a 106-105 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks on April 16, which vaulted Memphis from the eight seed to the seven seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Atlantaโ€™s Mike Budenholzer, Chicagoโ€™s Tom Thibodeau, Dallasโ€™ Rick Carlisle, New Yorkโ€™s Mike Woodson, Portlandโ€™s Terry Stotts, Torontoโ€™s Dwane Casey and Washingtonโ€™s Randy Wittman.