Roy Hibbert: ‘We Don’t Deserve #1 Seed’

For the first time all year, the Pacers are in second place, behind the Heat, in the race for the No. 1 seed. That was their vociferously stated goal from Day One. Now they’ve thrown it away, and they’ve done it at a time when the Heat has had its own struggles.

“Good for them (the Heat),” Roy Hibbert said dourly. “We don’t deserve it. Good for them. Whoever we see in the playoffs, we’ll see, but we’ve got to figure things out … But we don’t deserve the No. 1 seed.”

A slump? A hiccup? No, it’s a whole lot more than that. After Monday night’s 103-77 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Pacers have lost 10 of their past 16 games and six of their past eight. After that 33-7 start, when they were the toast of the NBA and had everybody lauding their selflessness, the Pacers have now gone 19-16. That’s not a slump. That’s a month-and-a-half, two months’ worth of mediocrity. That’s who they are now.

via Bob Kravitz of USA TODAY Sports