NBA Playoff standings: 'Emotionally fragile' Pacers season on verge of collapse? Starters miss game as game vs. Heat looms [VIDEO]

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
EASTERN		W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	DIFF	STRK	L10
1	y - Indiana	54	25	.684	-	34-6	20-19	12-4	37-13	96.8	92.3	+4.5	Won 1	3-7
2	y - Miami	53	25	.679	½	31-8	22-17	12-2	33-15	102.8	97.3	+5.4	Lost 2	6-4
3	x - Toronto	46	32	.590	7 ½	25-14	21-18	11-3	30-18	101.1	97.8	+3.3	Won 4	8-2
4	x - Chicago	46	32	.590	7 ½	25-14	21-18	10-5	33-15	93.5	91.6	+1.9	Won 6	8-2
5	x - Brooklyn	43	35	.551	10 ½	27-11	16-24	9-6	25-23	98.9	99.4	-0.6	Lost 1	6-4
6	x - Charlotte	40	38	.513	13 ½	23-16	17-22	5-10	27-21	96.7	97.1	-0.4	Won 5	7-3
7	x - Washington	40	38	.513	13 ½	20-19	20-19	8-6	29-19	100.3	99.7	+0.6	Lost 2	5-5
8	Atlanta	35	43	.449	18 ½	23-16	12-27	7-7	25-23	101.1	101.9	-0.8	Won 1	4-6

(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.

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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.

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