The Pacers clinched the fifth seed with last night’s 20-point drubbing of the Warriors and still have a possible — though not probable — chance of opening the playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Now that Kyrie Irving has been officially ruled out for the postseason in the aftermath of left knee surgery, it appears that to the winner of third place will go the spoils.
In that regard, Indiana’s two bad losses immediately following the All-Star break against the Hawks and Mavericks are definitely coming back to haunt. The Pacers would be in a tie for the third seed — in position to trap Cleveland and Philly on the other side of the bracket with Toronto — if both those contests had gone the other way.