The Indiana Pacers leap frogged the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standing for the time being. But, with all five Pacers starters sitting for the teams 104-102 win in Milwaukee it best the question: Are the Pacers emotionally weak?

Eastern Conference
EASTERNWLPCTGBHOMEROADDIVCONFPFPADIFFSTRKL10
1y - Indiana5425.684-34-620-1912-437-1396.892.3+4.5Won 13-7
2y - Miami5325.679 ½31-822-1712-233-15102.897.3+5.4Lost 26-4
3x - Toronto4632.5907 ½25-1421-1811-330-18101.197.8+3.3Won 48-2
4x - Chicago4632.5907 ½25-1421-1810-533-1593.591.6+1.9Won 68-2
5x - Brooklyn4335.55110 ½27-1116-249-625-2398.999.4-0.6Lost 16-4
6x - Charlotte4038.51313 ½23-1617-225-1027-2196.797.1-0.4Won 57-3
7x - Washington4038.51313 ½20-1920-198-629-19100.399.7+0.6Lost 25-5
8Atlanta3543.44918 ½23-1612-277-725-23101.1101.9-0.8Won 14-6

(Courtesy of ESPN)

How The Pacers Return To Form

Multiple sources from around the league have been critical of coach Frank Vogel’s decision to bench his starting five for “rest” in the midst of their race for the number one seed. Most notably D.J. Foster of ESPN thinks it was an attempt by Vogel to send a message to his team.

There's a reason we usually see bold tactics like this happen only in the movies. It's safer and probably smarter to stand idly by, to remain patient, to hope that things will change naturally. If the Pacers kept failing and the mystery remained unsolved, the blame would at least be shared or chalked up as inexplicable. A big part of coaching is self-preservation, especially in the NBA.

But Vogel threw caution to the wind in a way that jeopardized no one but himself. If the Pacers were to lose to the league's worst team because he benched every starter, he would have absorbed all the blame. Can you imagine the scrutiny if Indiana were playing in Miami for a Game 7 instead of at home? Or if it never made it that far? Vogel was plenty aware of what this move could potentially end up meaning, both for his team and his career.

Stan Van Gundy also was critical of the move when speaking to Dan LeBatard on the radio. Van Gundy said he believes the Pacers aren’t a emotionally strong team and the Heat have much thicker skin. He went on to say he believed Vogel benched the starters because if the starting five had played and lost to the Bucks in Milwaukee then moral would have been destroyed and the season would have been over.

Boston Celtics Rebuild Quickest In NBA History?

The Pacers are in the middle of a historic free fall that would be complete if the Heat can pass Indiana for the number one seed. The Pacers have said publicly that they believe they need home court to beat the Heat in a seven game series. The Pacers hold a half game lead on the Heat and the two teams will face-off Friday night in Miami.

Give us a shoutout in the comments below and follow us @SportsWN and @Edler56