The Indiana Pacers, now down 2-1 in their series with the Atlanta Hawks after a 98-85 loss in Game 3 in Atlanta Thursday night, have been the talk of the postseason. Even amidst their late-season swoon, many experts had them pegged to dispatch their first round opponent, especially considering that the Hawks finished the year below .500 with a 38-44 record.
The talk, however, hasn’t been flattering, or quite constructive.
Their statistical numbers haven’t been very staggering either, at least not in a good way.
“His stats are TRASH right now” –@michaelsmith reacting to Roy Hibbert’s NEGATIVE 1.1 Player Efficiency Rating in the current postseason.
— Numbers Never Lie (@ESPN_Numbers) April 25, 2014
Through 3 gms vs. the @ATLHawks, Roy Hibbert is 5-for-17 on shots from 8 ft. or less http://t.co/Ae8OHa09l8 #NBAStats pic.twitter.com/RMPEAEpFQK
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) April 25, 2014
A few of the memes circulating the internet have been, perhaps, less forgiving than the stats.
Hibbert is screwed… pic.twitter.com/AwvKQ5Q73N
— Funny Basketball (@BasketballPics) April 25, 2014
Roy Hibbert is going to have all the time in the world to go Gangnam Style in a few days… pic.twitter.com/CA8Flc5uFy
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) April 25, 2014
The 8-seed Hawks are up on the 1-seed Pacers. How’s life, Larry Bird? http://t.co/Tc6rwhzu9u pic.twitter.com/rgL39neECT
— SB Nation (@SBNation) April 25, 2014
If the Pacers, and especially center Roy Hibbert, aren’t able to turn it around, they’ll soon be watching the rest of the playoffs from their homes. That could yield far worse consequences, including the job security of certain individuals, fair or not — *cough, we’re looking at you, Coach Vogel.
Game 4 is Saturday at 2:00 PM.
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Michael writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com. Follow @mbrumagin