The Wiz Takes The Pope, DC Fan Shows The Love

Medieval

In tonight's early game, the Pacers exerted their defensive will with a 20-6 run to take the lead for good, and won on the road to close out in yet another Leastern Conference game that did its utmost to tell the main prime time audience that the NBA playoffs are nothing special. (To be fair, the game was on ESPN, which also seems to suck the life out of, well, everything.)

John Wall and Bradley Beal couldn't put it in the ocean, the Pacers got some reasonable nights out of David West (29-6-4) and Lance Stephenson (17-8), and if you were impressed by this game, you really need to get out more. The road team won five out of six in this one, which is some kind of weirdness. In this round along, DC Fan went 0-3 in their home games, and just 1-4 for the entire year. But at least Otto Porter can say he got on the floor, so I guess it was a learning experience.

Here's how little this game seemed to matter: as the Wiz fell apart late and the season slipped away, DC Fan stayed, didn't boo, and gave their guys a nice standing ovation send off to golf season. And sure, that's classy and indicative of just how starved this fan base is for any moment of hope, but it also kind of shows just how JV this part of the playoffs is. No one really believes that either of these teams can beat The Great LeBron, who looms over this conference like an occupying army, and makes even deep runs into the post-season seem pointless.

Maybe the Pacers found something in this game, and it's not as if the Indy bigs aren't going to feel downright comfy on the blocks against the Heat's slumming bigs. But unless Paul George can bring major game, and Roy Hibbert rehabs his entire reputation, this isn't going to go in any direction but the one you'd expect.

The loser will not get a standing ovation.