When the 2014 NBA playoffs begin in just over a week, the Miami Heat will be looking to win its third NBA title in as many years.  The Heat has dominated the landscape of professional basketball over the past few seasons, but last year showed signs of hope that another team could topple Miami and its “Big Three.”

Fast forward to early this season, and things are looking good for the Indiana Pacers.  With Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls sidelined by yet another season-ending knee injury, the Pacers were automatically considered to be Miami’s greatest threat.  Led by Paul George and Roy Hibbert, Indiana started the season 19-3 after an emotional win over the Heat Dec. 10 in Indianapolis.

George was being hyped up as a potential MVP candidate, and Hibbert was thought to be one of the best centers in the game.  By late January, the Pacers were 33-7, leading the Heat by 4.5 games in the Eastern Conference standings. Seemingly nobody could penetrate the suffocating Pacers defense, and times were good.

But then the Pacers got a little greedy.

They signed much-maligned free agent center Andrew Bynum to solidify their front line and back up Hibbert.  Just before the trade deadline, the Pacers made another headline move by trading the aging Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers for emerging star Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen.

Before these moves, the Pacers were rolling, and the additions of Bynum and Turner, which were supposed to push the team to a higher level, did just the opposite.

Just a few weeks after the Turner trade, Indiana suffered its longest losing streak of the season, a four-gamer from March 4-9.  Then, from mid-March to early April, the Pacers suffered six losses in nine games while forgetting how to score the basketball.  In five of those six losses, the Pacers failed to reach 80 points.  Sure, three of those putrid performances came against three of the best defensive teams in the NBA — Memphis, San Antonio and Chicago — but the other two came against Cleveland and Washington, ranked 12th and 15th in points allowed per game, respectively.

Indiana was able to salvage a win over the Detroit Pistons April 2 but then quickly returned to losing form with losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.  In the loss to Atlanta, Hibbert failed to record a point or rebound in nine minutes of play.  After the game, he had no comments for the media.

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Hibbert is not the only one who has been frustrated with the team’s play.  David West made it no secret that the team had hit rock bottom, while George Hill and Lance Stephenson reportedly had to be separated in the locker room following the team’s loss to San Antonio March 31.

Head coach Frank Vogel took matters into his own hands April 9 when he decided to sit all five of his starters against the 14-63 Milwaukee Bucks.  The Pacers would still go on to win the game, 104-102.

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You want to know how bad it is? The Pacers are rewarding fans for scoring 90 points.  Not 100 points like most normal teams, but 90.

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Yeah, it’s that bad.

At 54-25, all is not lost, as the Pacers hold a half game lead over the Heat with three games to play.  The two will face off against each other April 11 in a game that has enormous playoff implications.  Following this game will be matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic.

Heading into the 2013-2014 campaign, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Indiana Pacers would be the only Eastern Conference team that had a chance to knock off the two-time defending champions.  But now, whether or not the Pacers will advance past the first round of the playoffs is the more important question.

Teams like Toronto, Chicago and Brooklyn have been playing their best basketball of late and currently sit 3-5 in the East. As they say, you always want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season, and the Pacers certainly are not.

All year long, the Pacers have been viewed as the underdog that would eventually knock off the Heat.  After taking Miami to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, this was supposed to be the year.

Indiana has three games to get back on track before the playoffs begin.  If not, it could be another team that gets the chance to beat the Heat.