This was supposed to be what the Indiana Pacers always wanted.
One successful South Beach stop could have righted so many of the wrongs Indiana has encountered since its blazing start seemed to burn all bridges to the NBA's championship stage.
Stagnant offense, fractured infrastructure and a chemistry experiment gone wrong—all previous sins could have been forgiven with a single win over the Circle City's bitter rivals.
Think Pacers coach Frank Vogel didn't appreciate the significance of Friday night's contest? You thought wrong.
"The magnitude we're going through now is definitely more than what I've ever gone through from a coaching standpoint," Vogel said before the game, via ESPN.com's Mike Wells.
The coach put every egg within reach into that 48-minute basket. He sat all five of his starters out of Wednesday's last-second win over the cellar-dwelling Milwaukee Bucks, a bold move that seemed to be packed with potential:
"Served the purpose," Vogel said, via NBA.com's Steve Aschburner. "We got the starters the rest that hopefully will help them find their rhythm, an ...
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Article written by Zach Buckley
Indiana Pacers Have No Excuses Left Entering Playoffs
April 12th, 2014 by Zach Buckley Leave a reply »
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