Insider: Disappointing series ends disappointing season for Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George, after two chaotic turnovers, was given the ball with a chance to extend everything — Sunday’s Game 4, the Indiana Pacers’ playoff series, the team’s season.
George was given the ball by C.J. Miles, the teammate he criticized for not passing him the ball in the final seconds of Game 1 of this first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, George, somehow by turning his back, evaded two Cavaliers to free himself with 4 seconds left for a game-tying 3-pointer.
He took one dribble, set his feet and flicked his right wrist. The shot missed the rim, connecting with the bottom of the backboard. In that moment, the Pacers’ disappointing season ended in like fashion, a 106-102 loss to the Cavaliers.
“I was pleased with the opportunity,” George said of his final shot of the season. “Everybody scrambled away and I had a good look. I had an open look. I may have rushed it. I should have taken my time in that moment. It’s definitely one I wish I could have had back.”
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Once the final buzzer sounded, a number of facts were cemented into basketball history.
The Pacers were swept in a best-of-seven series for the first time. The Cavaliers, the defending champions, won the series by a total margin of 16 points, which tied the smallest margin in a four-game sweep in NBA history. And LeBron James, the player who has tortured Indiana for most of the past decade, won his 21st consecutive game in the first round of the postseason, setting a league record.
“It was a great series,” James said. “Paul George is a hell of a player. ... They gave us a fight every game.”
Next for the Pacers is an offseason that could be the most turbulent in franchise history.
George, with one year left on his contract, could be traded if the Pacers are not convinced he will re-sign to a long-term deal. The team could offer him the league’s new super-max contract — the Pacers could pay George roughly $70 million more than any other team — if he was voted by media members onto an All-NBA team, which will be announced in June.
George declined to answer questions about his future after Sunday’s game. George, along with his teammates, is scheduled to have his exit interviews with team President Larry Bird and coach Nate McMillan on Monday.
George acknowledged that he failed to lead the Pacers when compared to James and the Cavaliers.
“It’s real frustrating to continue losing to the same team or the same person,” George said of losing to James for the fourth time in the playoffs. “It’s real frustrating. It’s what I work hard for in the summers in trying to help lead a team of my own. Ultimately, this is who I’m always going to have to see and face. Again, I came up short. I didn’t do enough.”
What every Pacer agreed on after Sunday’s game was that they did not meet their preseason expectations of being a true contender in the Eastern Conference.
Bird acquired Jeff Teague, an Indianapolis native, in a trade last summer to help the Pacers become a faster and better offensive team. Bird acquired Thaddeus Young in a trade to ensure the roster had a versatile power forward. Bird fired Frank Vogel and hired McMillan in May to give the Pacers a coach who could better hold them accountable.
Yet the Pacers struggled throughout the regular season with their defense, their intensity and their chemistry. They fell to several lottery teams on the road. They followed a seven-game winning streak with a six-game losing streak. Then they set a franchise record of 15 consecutive games alternating wins and losses.
McMillan said his biggest disappointment in the Pacers’ season was that the team didn’t make enough improvement from its first game to its last.
“We’re better than a .500 team,” McMillan said. “I thought we played .500 basketball all season long. We want to learn a lesson from Cleveland in a sense that those guys are conditioned to play this time of the season. To play in those types of games, where they’re emotional and your minutes increase, we have to condition ourselves throughout the season to build up to be able to play like that and not run out of gas. I thought our last two games we kind of ran out of gas.”
As for his future, McMillan said Bird had not given him any indication that he wouldn’t be the Pacers’ coach next season.
“I’m sure when Larry is ready to talk to me, he’ll call me,” McMillan said. “We’ll talk and give our thoughts. I do have a contract for next season.”
Beyond the team’s performance, the biggest storyline throughout the season was George’s struggles with the new responsibility of being the Pacers’ leader. He used several tactics to try to motivate the team: encouragement, criticism, suggesting new strategies to McMillan.
“I can always do things better,” George said. “This is the first time, really, of being in this position. Even last year, George (Hill) and Ian (Mahinmi), those guys took a lot of load off of me as far as rallying the team and keeping guys together and being the voice in the locker room. They're winning players and been in winning programs. For me, I got veterans, but (Hill and Mahinmi) were the guys that had been in that position. This year was kind of hard trying to figure it out how to keep everybody together and stay positive.
"Of course, I could have done a lot of things better this year.”
A 42-40 record in the regular season was enough for the Pacers to reach the postseason, yet forced them into a daunting playoff matchup with the Cavaliers.
George averaged 28 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in the series. He carried the Pacers’ offense and allowed the team to have opportunities to win. In Game 1, George passed out of a trap to an open Miles, who missed a game-winning jumper at the buzzer. The Pacers rallied from an 18-point deficit in Game 2 before falling short. In Game 3, the Pacers surrendered a 26-point lead in the most devastating postseason collapse in franchise history.
Game 4 became about pride for the Pacers. George’s teammates played their best in the series Sunday. Young scored 13 points and collected a team-high 10 rebounds. Myles Turner finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 22 points. Teague, who guaranteed the Pacers would not be swept, had 15 points and 10 assists.
Yet the Pacers’ best overall performance of the series still wasn’t enough.
“We didn’t beat ourselves,” McMillan said. “They had to beat us and they did.”
James, in leading the Cavaliers, was brilliant again with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. He made the game-winning basket, a 3-pointer over Turner, with 1:07 left. In the series, James averaged 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and nine assists.
“It sucks,” Teague said of being eliminated by James. “We were right there every game. Shooting a 3 over a 7-footer (in Turner) is a tough shot. He was able to make a tough shot. He’s been doing it all his career. You've just got to take your hat off to him.”
When George missed his final shot, he clapped his hands in frustration. He looked at the scoreboard, knew the Pacers’ fate and put his head down. Bird, sitting in his second-row seat near the Pacers bench, closed his eyes and bowed his head in disappointment.
A few minutes later, George walked off the court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Ahead of George and the Pacers is an offseason full of uncertainty.
“It was very frustrating, but I guess every year isn’t a golden year,” George said. “It’s going to be some ups and downs in a career and I’ve learned that not every year is going to be special.”
Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.
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