After playing just well enough to get past the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the Indiana Pacers continued to show on Monday that their struggles are far from over.
Facing a young and energized Washington Wizards team in the conference semi-finals, the Pacers floundered on both ends of the court and lost 102-96, losing homecourt advantage once again in the process. The Wizards shot a whopping 10-of-16 from the 3-point line, and the Pacers collectively shot 40.7 percent from the field.
Paul George struggled for much of the night, scoring 18 points on just four-of-17 shooting from the field, but it was Roy Hibbert who once again failed to make any kind of contribution on the floor. The All-Star center played just under 18 foul-plagued minutes, failing to score or rebound in the process. Hibbert has seemingly been exposed, and players around the league have noticed his incredible drop in production in the playoffs. Here’s what some of them had to say after the big man’s latest disappearing act:
Me and Roy Hibbert had the same amount of points and rebounds tonight.
— Tracy McGrady (@Real_T_Mac) May 6, 2014
Should Frank Vogel bench Roy H. Based on his production in the playoffs
— TJ Ford (@tj_ford) May 6, 2014
We handed out the blue print
— Jeff Teague (@Teague0) May 6, 2014
Indiana plays to selfish esp when turner is in the game. They don’t hit the open man or create for someone else. Tough to watch
— Sean May (@BigMay42) May 5, 2014
Just don’t know what happen to hibbert game!!
— Kenny Anderson (@chibbs_1) May 5, 2014
Gilbert Arenas, the former superstar of the Wizards, was especially hard on Hibbert on instagram:
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.