When the Pacers visit the Cavaliers on Monday, they’ll be doing so with one eye on the postseason and the other on the offseason.
What happens next will fall somewhere in between.
It’s been a season of challenges in Indiana, with countless key injuries and reports that most players and some assistants aren’t real thrilled with first-year coach Nate Bjorkgren. But anyone who knows the NBA knows that winning and strong finishes can serve as a cure-all.
Guard Caris LeVert indicated as much after Saturday’s overtime thriller of a home loss to the Wizards. It was a game in which the Pacers blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
But LeVert and his teammates seem to be confident in the short regular-season road ahead.
“Last couple games are going to be tough with our opponents coming up, but I think we’ll be fine with the way we’ve been playing,” LeVert told reporters after erupting for 35 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Interestingly, a Pacers win over the Cavs would eliminate the Raptors from even play-in game contention. Bjorkgren spent three seasons as an assistant under Raptors coach Nick Nurse before taking the Pacers gig.
Whether Bjorkgren remains with the Pacers beyond this season … well, that is something that seems very much up in the air with things still very much on the line.
“This team wants to perform well,” Bjorkgren said. “They really do. They care.”
How much? Well, we’re about to find out.
