Hawks must be totally focused Tuesday . . .

[yardbird]

For the Pacers, Tuesday is the equivalent of a playoff elimination game on their home court. They will throw everything they have at us, because if they lose they are 4 down with 4 to go, and we have the tie breaker in a 3 to 1 season series. That means they are done.

If the Hawks can win this one in Indy, they truly show that they're a force to be reckoned with. Coming on the heels of the big win at Philly Saturday, that makes back to back statement games.

None of us should be overconfident about winning easily Tuesday. For Indiana, it will be war. Post game, will we measure Hawks gonads in inches, yards or somewhere in between?

[WraithSentinel]

I hope we are passed the part whether the Hawks are ready for any team especially one that is playing very well as the Pacers are. The only reason I am putting such importance on this game. It is because of what it will accomplish and it gets the starters some much needed rest. Perhaps then our bench could gain some confidence if the played regular mins in several games.

[yardbird]

Pacers must win or they're out

A loss to Hawks would knock them out of playoff contention

By Mike Wells

A The Indiana Pacers' situation tonight couldn't be simpler.

Beat Atlanta, and the Pacers keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Lose and players can start buying airline tickets to tropical destinations, knowing their vacation starts April 17.

"I like playing meaningful games and this is as meaningful of a game that we have played all year," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "To a little bit of an extent, it's like the NCAA Tournament. It's one and done. You lose this game, and the last four games you're like in the NIT. You don't want to be in the NIT."

The Pacers are three games behind the Hawks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. A victory cuts the Hawks' lead to two, gives the Pacers the tiebreaker and keeps the Hawks' magic number to eliminate the Pacers at three.

A Pacers loss means they can't pass Atlanta and will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, something they haven't done since Reggie Miller's first two seasons in 1987-88 and '88-89.

"Everybody knows what's at stake," Mike Dunleavy said. "For us, it's an elimination game. We lose, we're out. I don't think more needs to be said than that."

The Pacers are peaking for the late run. They've won eight of their past 11 games.

That might not be enough, however, because the Hawks are hot, too. Atlanta, which last made the playoffs in 1999, is 6-1 in its past seven games.

"We've been watching what they've been doing the last couple of weeks," Jeff Foster said. "I think everybody was excited after we won in Milwaukee (on Friday) and we had real optimism Saturday, feeling like we were going to make the playoffs. But then they beat Philly on Saturday and it kind of put a damper back on us. We're in a tough situation. We have to win out and have other teams help us."

The Hawks acquired veteran guard Mike Bibby in February. He gives them an explosive backcourt playing beside Joe Johnson.

"They are in the driver's seat," Jermaine O'Neal said. "Those guys are playing very good basketball, especially since they got Mike Bibby. He's given them a different type of confidence. He's the catalyst that has gotten those guys going."

A victory tonight doesn't necessarily mean the Pacers will catch Atlanta.

The Hawks' four games after tonight are against two teams headed to the draft lottery -- New York and Miami -- and two locked into their playoff position -- Boston and Orlando.

"Listen, man, we know that nobody is going to roll out the red carpet for us to just walk into the playoffs," Hawks forward Josh Smith told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "It's like everything else we do around here; we have to fight for it. And we will do that. We're going to fight Indiana, New York and everybody else we play for just that."