NBA PLAYOFFS FREE LIVE STREAMING! Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers from Bankers LIfe Fieldhouse Saturday at 7:00 PM ET
The Pacers believe things have changed.
Instead of chasing the top seed in the Eastern Conference, all they have to do is protect their home court. Instead of pressing, they've been joking around. And instead of trying debating what went wrong over the second half of the season, the Pacers will finally get a chance to start over when the playoffs open this weekend.
"I think we're a confident group," coach Frank Vogel said Friday. "We all know we've struggled a little, but we're excited about the playoffs and we're excited to get started."
Pacers fans are anxious to see if anything really will be different when the Pacers host Game 1 against Atlanta on Saturday.
Over the season's first half, the top-seeded Pacers went 33-7. Over the second half, they were mostly mediocre and out of sync in going 23-19. But Indiana (56-26) did build a little momentum by winning its last two for its first two-game winning streak in a month.
The key to regaining their early-season form will be getting All-Star center Roy Hibbert back on track. He is shooting just 23.5 percent in April, is 1 of 16 from the field over the last two games and has averaged 3.2 rebounds over the last 13.
To advance, Indiana knows Hibbert must revert to last season's playoff form when he averaged 17.0 points and 9.9 rebounds and helped lead the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals. Hibbert insists he will be that guy when this best-of-seven starts.
"I've been doing this for six years now and it's playoff time," Hibbert said, wiping his brow after practice. "I'm ready to roll."
The eighth-seeded Hawks (38-44) don't intend to make things easy on Hibbert and the Pacers as they try to steal one of the first two games in Indy.
"They have a lot of length down low, so you have to be able to shoot," said Kyle Korver, a longtime problem for the Pacers. "If you don't knock down shots, you're not going to beat this team."
The game is being live streamed on www.nbalivestreamfree.net and on www.espn.com/watchespn
