The Indiana Pacers pendulum has swung back into negative air, as Roy Hibbert returned to his Round 1 doldrums. He posted zero points in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, while coach Frank Vogel is questioning the team's confidence.
Lance Stephenson's trash talk backfires
"I think anytime you lose three in a row in the playoffs, it shakes your confidence some," Vogel said. "But we can't worry about that. All we've got to worry about is coming back and winning Game 5 and giving us an opportunity to come down here and win one game.
"We've won one game in each playoff series that we've played here the last two years. We should have confidence that we can do that."
Hibbert is averaging 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this series, which are fairly good numbers for him, but in a vital Game 4 he no-showed. In addition, his Heat counterpart Chris Bosh lit up the scoreboard, finishing with 25 points and six rebounds. Bosh nailed 3-of-5 3-pointers in the victory, and shot over 50 percent from the field on the whole.
D-Wade predicted Pacers' struggles?
Another problem for Indiana was Lance Stephenson's mouth. He spouted off about LeBron James' trash talking, insinutating it showed weakness, then scored nine points while James went off for 32 points and 10 boards. Stephenson was chided by teammate Paul George about poking at LeBron, and after the game he admitted he erred.
"I was trying to get into his head," Stephenson said. "I guess he stepped up and got the win. I can take the heat." Before Game 4's stinkbomb, Stephenson had actually played very well. His averages of 17.3 points, seven rebounds and 6.7 assists compared rather favorably to the production of Dwyane Wade, but nobody has been able to match James.
Down 3-1, the Pacers are expressing confidence outwardly against very tall odds. "I think that is when we are at our best, when our back is against the wall," point guard George Hill said. "We are going to be home in front of our fans, and I'm sure they're going to be going crazy."
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