Indiana Pacers unlikely to make playoffs without Paul George
By Josh Hill
The Indiana Pacers lost Paul George this past week to a brutal leg injury that was hard to look and and even harder to imagine happening the way it did.
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But now that the Pacers have decided to press on — unwillingly so — without George in the lineup, the question is how good will the team be this season?
According to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, who is a beat writer for the Miami Heat and may or may not have reason to root against the Pacers anyways, believes that without Paul George in the lineup, the Pacers will not make the playoffs this year.
"What has gotten lost in the concerns about the Pacers’ standing in the East is that Indiana already had lost Lance Stephenson, forced to replace him on the cheap with Rodney Stuckey. Even before George’s injury, Indiana looked like it was going to fall somewhere behind the Bulls, Cavaliers (assuming Kevin Love is in place) and in the pack with the Heat, Wizards and Raptors. Now Indiana could be in a struggle just to make the playoffs, with David West having to do far more at his age than he ever could have imagined."
The Pacers are still a really good team, and seeing them miss the playoffs is rather unlikely. But seeing them make it far in the postseason might be a hard sell to fans who know that this is a superstar driven league and missing said superstar doesn’t increase your chances of winning a title.
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