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Hunger Pangs Growing for Pacers

The Pacers are 17-32 following Saturday's loss to Sacramento, and while it's difficult to fall out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference these days, they aren't falling into it, either. They've begun the friendliest scheduling stretch of their season by losing two of three home games, the latest to a team that brought an eight-game losing streak to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and was playing the second half of a back-to-back.

Times are growing increasingly desperate and Reggie Miller isn't walking through that door, as he told a fan on Twitter who asked him to come out of retirement Saturday evening.

That would be Paul George, who continues to tease fans by shooting around before games, looking perfectly healthy as long as he's just walking around and putting up jumpers – or halfcourt heaves, as was the case at the end of his workout on Saturday. Nobody can predict when the right leg George broke on Aug. 1 will be healed well enough for him to play, but nobody is predicting it will heal in time for him to play this season.

How much do the Pacers miss George? Here's one small example: In January of last year, the Pacers beat the Kings 116-92 at The Fieldhouse. George scored 31 points and held Rudy Gay to 12. This year, Gay scored 31 and George scored zero.

The next-best super hero for the Pacers is George Hill, who teases fans with part-time appearances while he nurses the strained groin muscle in his left leg. Hill came off the bench to offer 14 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Kings, but it wasn't enough to dig the Pacers out of another first-half crater.

They trailed by as many as 18 in the first quarter and by 23 in the second. As usually is the case, they fought back, but as usually is the case, they couldn't make the plays necessary to win the game. They got within four points in the final minute, but C.J. Miles missed the eighth of his nine 3-point attempts with 37.9 seconds left, one that could have made it a one-point game.

Darren Collison, the former Pacers point guard, followed with 20-footer that cleared up any final shreds of mystery.

Hill finished the game with a plus-minus rating of +14. C.J. Watson, who starts in his place at point guard, was -18, one of four Pacers starters in the minus category. Hill, by contrast, has been on the plus side in each of the five games he's played since returning – part-time – from his strained groin.

Hill doesn't know when he'll be able to play starter minutes again. The Pacers are off until Wednesday, when they play Detroit at The Fieldhouse. He should be healthier then, but how much healthier?

Hill's 22 minutes, 6 seconds were the most he's played in his second return from injury. He doesn't usually play more than five minutes in a quarter, but coach Frank Vogel cheated a bit and played him a couple of extra minutes in the fourth period when the Pacers were charging. But even in his limited stretches, Hill doesn't feel 100 percent.

“I'm not where I want to be,” he said. “I've never had a groin injury like this. It's my first time having to deal with that.”

Hill feels the limitations in particular moments, such as when he didn't lift as well for a dunk in the second period.

“I'm still trying to get that push in my leg,” he said. “Every once in a while it buckles and I lose that strength in it from the groin popping. Everyone will see when I'm back healthy.”

Make no mistake, the Pacers can and should be playing better than they have been, even without George and with only half of a Hill. Their chemistry is understandably lacking with the injuries that have run through the roster like a flu virus, but that doesn't explain the habit of sluggish starts and lack of execution in crucial moments.

Still, no team gets by for long without its best player, and certainly one like George, an All-Star starter, first-team all-defense member and third-team all-NBA selection. Or, for that matter a player such as Hill. The Pacers are 5-5 with him, and 12-27 without him.

New York, for example, is 0-11 without Carmelo Anthony, but 9-27 with him. The Kings are 2-8 without DeMarcus Cousins, but 15-21 with him. Oklahoma City is 9-16 without Kevin Durant, but 14-8 with him. We could go on, but you get the picture.

Take away a team's best player for an entire season and the starting point guard for most of it, and nearly everyone else on the roster for parts of it, and trouble is guaranteed. The Pacers' best hope for now is to get Hill back as a full-time employee and then hope they can develop some familiarity with one another.

“I still feel like we're in a good position to make a playoff push, especially with a lot of games being at home now,” Hill said. “We just have to figure it out … everyone has to bring more to the table now.”

Quickly, before starvation sets in.

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