The Pacers put up a somewhat unexpected fight in the final quarter of their first-round playoff series with the Cavaliers, but the end result wasn't a surprise at all.
Not for this year's Pacers.
After Paul George missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds, the camera showed an utterly disappointed and exhausted Pacers president Larry Bird, who summed up Indiana's entire season in one perfect moment:
I'm sure a lot of Pacers fans are feeling the same, Larry. Tough losses at home to end the season. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/uPWfCykeS6
— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) April 23, 2017
And again, in super slo-mo.
Sorry Larry, but you sum it up well here.@Reflog_18 pic.twitter.com/jDi70X7jQV
— Michael T. (@Mike_SoCool) April 23, 2017
You said it, Legend.
The Pacers entered the 2016-17 season with lofty expectations (at least internally) after adding Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson in the offseason. Instead the result was a mediocre season in which Indiana had to fight to even make the playoffs.
Their first-round sweep at the hands of the Cavaliers was no surprise, and it raises a lot of offseason questions for the Pacers, namely what to do with star forward Paul George. Given the public discord that went on between George and his teammates throughout the season, it's clear that he's not happy with the direction of the team.
Whether the Pacers trade George or simply change the pieces around him, it's clear that Bird is going to have a lot of work to do this offseason.
