Column: Pacers use defense to make conference finals

You didn’t expect this, did you, Pacers fans?

With a 106-99 victory against the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Paul George, Roy Hibbert and company advanced to the conference finals for the first time in nine seasons.

It’s a rather shocking revelation, considering the trajectory of the regular season.
Danny Granger, arguably the franchise’s premier player, was active for only five games, placing head coach Frank Vogel and his staff in a rather precarious position.

Questions arose surrounding the team’s scoring punch without Granger, leading to the consensus belief that the Pacers were a season away from contending in the Eastern Conference.

With the Knicks, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls each considered legitimate contenders, the Pacers were shoved aside as a mere afterthought in the rampant playoff discussion.

That attitude allowed the Pacers the luxury of flying under the radar throughout the regular season, as ESPN and the vast majority of media outlets spent countless hours fawning over New York and Miami and the potential of a matchup between the two teams to determine the East’s representative in the Finals.

But that’s exactly what the Pacers required — time outside the spotlight to allow the rotation to gel in the absence of Granger.

It’s a testament to the wise decision-making of the team’s front office management.
Current General Manager and former Director of Player Personnel Kevin Pritchard, along with Vogel, understood that to contend with the likes of Miami and New York, defense would be the foundation upon which the team was built.

That belief paid dividends, as the Pacers finished the regular season as the league’s best rebounding team, at an average of 45.85 boards per game. Add in the team’s second place finish in points per game allowed, and you have a lethal combination capable of knocking off any opponent.

It all begins in the frontcourt with Hibbert, a 7-foot-2-inch, 280-pound center.
His length alone in the post changes shots and alters the offensive strategies of opponents — see the Knicks’ frustration with supposed defensive “no calls” in Hibbert’s favor during the previous round of the playoffs.

The addition of ferocious on-ball defense from Hill and Lance Stephenson in the frontcourt has made life extremely harrowing for opponents, and will be paramount against the Heat’s style of slashing play at the offensive end.

However, containing LeBron James — the key in dethroning the Heat — is the task at hand. Choices must be made surrounding how to defend him, as George, the Pacers’ main scoring threat, would be matched up with James at small forward.

But with the team’s scoring inconsistency, placing George in a position to pick up quick fouls may not be the ideal scenario. This is where switching, a tenet of NBA defense, becomes quintessential.

How effective the Pacers are in that facet of the game will likely determine the trajectory of the series.

If it’s a job well-executed, the Heat may be denied a third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

My Prediction: Heat in 7

­— ckillore@indiana.edu