The Indiana Pacers can't seem to avoid bad press these days; even after re-establishing themselves as a power and beating up on the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of their first round matchup, chemistry issues are leaking to the media again.
Are the Pacers on upset alert in Round 1?
This time, rumors of a practice fight between guars Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner have shed light on their poor work environment. A witness to the fight told Yahoo! Sports, ""This stuff happens, but the timing wasn't ideal."
The timing being not ideal is a vast understatement. Indiana's mental toughness has been questioned for months, beginning with myriad off-court embarassments for star Paul George, followed by bizarrely poor play out of center Roy Hibbert, and topped by a cratering offense.
Much of the blame for Indiana's downfall has been directed at a mid-season trade for Turner, who replaced veteran leader Danny Granger. Turner hasn't made much of an impact for the Pacers, and this story seems to indicate he's hurt them.
After Game 2, however, Indiana looked to be past the drama. George had a monster game with 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals, and Indiana scored more than 100 points.
Power forward David West seems ready to end the drama talk and look forward. "We've been on the ropes a little bit," West told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday night.
"Every team goes through that. But I thought we did a great job of dealing with whatever issues we had. The great thing about this group has always been that we're very open with one another, always been able to get through the ups and downs of a long NBA season."
Regardless of the issues between Stephenson and Turner, who logged just 11 minutes in Tuesday's win, the key to success is clearly George anyway. His big night was able to mask another poor showing from Hibbert.
"That's why [George] was in the MVP conversation early," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He always does those types of things, guarding the best perimeter player, rebounding the ball, deflecting the ball. His hands were all over the place. It makes him one of the most complete players in the game when he plays like he did tonight."
Can the Pacers heal in time to make a title run? Your thoughts! @SportsWN
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