Nets nab East’s No. 8 spot, but were Pacers the greater success?
Congratulations are due to the Brooklyn Nets, the final team to clinch a berth in the 2015 NBA postseason. After defeating the Orlando Magic 101-88 at Barclays Center and improving their record to 38-44, the Nets watched the Indiana Pacers fall to the Memphis Grizzlies 95-83 at FedEx Forum to draw the teams even in the standings. The Nets held the tiebreaker advantage due to a 2-1 victory in the season series and will now move on to the playoffs for the third time in three seasons in Brooklyn.
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It’s a notable accomplishment for a team that struggled deep into the second half of the season. The Nets were just 25-38 after a March 11 loss to the Miami Heat, apparently out of the playoffs with little reason to think they were on their way back to contention. But a 13-6 finish improved their chances (and momentarily gave them a shot of getting into the No. 6 seed). It was late, though not insignificant, charge back to respectability.
The same general dynamic played out in Wednesday’s win over the Magic. Tied at 75-75 after three, the Nets closed the game on a 20-6 run to avoid handing the Pacers the No. 8 spot without having to win. Joe Johnson hit several key shots in the fourth, but rookie import Bojan Bogdanovic was the star of the night, scoring 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting off the bench. Brooklyn came through when needed, even if beating a 25-win team at home does not exactly constitute covering one’s self in glory.
That result left the Pacers with considerable work to do against a Grizzlies squad that many consider a championship contender. Memphis won the second quarter 32-17 to grab a 54-41 halftime lead and force Indiana into an uphill climb through the second half. Things got especially scary a little more than a minute into the fourth quarter when Paul George, the star whose horrific broken right leg suffered in a Team USA exhibition seemed to end the Pacers season before it even started, went down and had to be carried off the court:
On-lookers could be forgiven for fearing the worst, but it turns out that George was diagnosed with a sore left calf and deemed questionable to return. It’s worth keeping an eye on his status in coming days, although it now seems like a relatively minor ailment heading into a long offseason. George also seemed to be in good spirits after the game:
The Pacers performed well in the minutes following George’s departure and pulled within 79-72 with 6:01 remaining in regulation, but they drew no closer in the final minutes. Guards George Hill (20 points on 9-of-16 FG) and C.J. Miles (26 points on 5-of-12 3FG) scored well, but the Pacers had no answer for Marc Gasol, who scored 33 points (13-of-19 FG) and pulled down 13 boards to lead the Grizzlies to the West’s No. 5 seed and homecourt advantage against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.
It is a disappointing conclusion to the season for the Pacers, but they can be very proud of what they accomplished over 2014-15. After entering the season with little hope of matching two consecutive conference-finals appearances, Indiana bounced back from a 15-30 start to reenter the playoff picture. Their fortunes dwindled a bit after a six-game losing streak in March, but the late return of George and several wins against fellow contenders put them in the No. 8 seed entering the season’s final day.
Despite finishing out of the playoffs, the Pacers will enter the offseason with confidence that George can come back next fall as his old self, a clear sense of identity, and a lottery pick. After an iffy 2014 postseason and last summer’s bad luck, they can hold their heads high and anticipate future success.
Meanwhile, the aging Nets salvaged their season and now must hope they can grab a win or two against the Atlanta Hawks before going on vacation. (Atlanta also has the right to swap draft picks with Brooklyn this June.) Would you rather be the team that needed a playoff berth to save face or the group that knows a brighter future is ready to greet them?
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
