Stephenson, Pacers size up playoff run-in with LeBron

The Indiana Pacers are just where they want to be.

Just like the regular season, the team is once again off to the side and stuck with the role of underdog for a fifth postseason run-in with LeBron James. 

“It hasn’t been easy all year for us,” guard Victor Oladipo said. “We have to go in there with that mentality and going out there and winning. That is what we are trying to do. we are not trying to go and make it close, make it fun, we are trying to win.”

James enters the 2018 postseason with a perfect 12 for 12 in first-round playoff series. His winning percentage of .873 in first-round games is No. 1 in NBA history. 

“We can’t create magic here,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “We are going to defend him the way we tried to defend him in the regular season. The last five years he has swept the first round. I told our guys, we will be seeing the best, at their best, right away.”

The number “1” is interesting in this series. The Cavs have been on national television 39 times this year. The Pacers have played in front of a national audience once this season: the Paul George return.

Do you think the man who wears No.1 for the Pacers cares about all of this? Pacers guard Lance Stephenson isn’t into stats this time of year, nor is he looking to make new friends.

“I don’t have friends on the court anyway,” Stephenson said. “Not even with the players that I played with before. I am not friends with them either when I am playing against them. It doesn’t matter. Every game, everybody I play against is my enemy.” 

Three days before Sunday afternoon’s Game 1, the Pacers were not front-page news in Cleveland. The off-the-court noise involving center Tristan Thompson is the top talk around the Cavaliers camp at the moment. Which is perfect, according to Pacers guard Darren Collison.

“This is in our comfort zone. We have been doubted before, all season long, as individuals,” Collison said. “This is nothing new for us.”

Will this time be different? A win in Cleveland before returning to Indy is a must.