The Indiana Pacers (49-32), the Eastern Conference's 3rd seed, will take on the Atlanta Hawks (44-38), the 6th seed, in the first game of the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

The two teams split the 4 regular season meetings this season, with Atlanta winning the first two in November and December and the Pacers winning the last two in February and March. On paper, the Pacers appear to have the stronger lineup. The Hawks rely on their big men Al Horford and Josh Smith, but the Pacers should have enough size to contend with them with Roy Hibbert and David West clogging up the middle. Ian Mahinmi, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Pendergraph provide backup size in the event of foul trouble to the Pacers' starting bigs.

In the backcourt, Jeff Teague is growing into his own, which could present problems for the Pacers especially if George Hill does not return to 100%. The Pacers' starting PG is said to be battling groin and hip problems, which will limit his speed and mobility against the quick Teague.

The Pacers bench remains a big question mark because of its inconsistency, while the Hawks have some names on their roster that could do damage if called upon. It makes me wonder to what extent Pacers coach Frank Vogel will shorten the rotation and give more minutes to his starting unit, which is according to statistics one of the best in the NBA.

Most analysts have the Pacers winning in 5 ot 6 games, with only a handful thinking sweep or a full 7 games. However, only one ESPN analyst, Henry Abbott, picked the Hawks to win in an upset over 7 games.

Personally, I think this will be a hard fought series and the Pacers are by no means a lock to advance to the second round. The Pacers are still regarded as the best defensive team in the league, but they have been horrible lately in shutting down opponents. They head into the playoffs having lost 5 of their last 6 games, with the lone win being a crazy come-from-behind victory against the Cavs in which they were down by more than 20 points.

Vogel admitted to there being problems with the D that needed to be fixed and said that guys were either fatigued or banged up. Well, they had an extra day of rest due to the Boston game being canceled and all starters aside from Lance Stephenson played in the finale, which means a lot of guys have not played a game since the April 14 loss to the Knicks. Perhaps this time off has given them time to rejuvenate and tweak a few things here and there for the playoffs.

Roy Hibbert appears to have found his offensive touch, which is great news, but Paul George appears to be heading in the opposite direction with a string of awful performances. The Pacers will need both of them to be in top form for this series.

It's a curious series because the Pacers have been playing so poorly as of late, even though the Hawks don't exactly appear to be on fire either. That said, it appeared as though the Hawks tanked their last two games of the season so they would face the Pacers instead of the Brooklyn Nets, and keep themselves out of the Miami Heat side of the bracket.

The first two games of the series will be key. Will we see the Pacers team that suffocated opposing offenses for the majority of the season or the terrible swiss-cheese defense we witnessed towards the end of the season? And on the flip side, will the Pacers offense be as good as it had been towards the end of the season or as atrocious as it was when the team was playing its best D?

We will have to wait and see.

For my 2 cents, I am predicting that the Pacers will tough it out in 6.

The NBA has canceled the Pacers' clash with the Celtics on Tuesday night in Boston following the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon today, which has so far killed 3 and left more than a hundred injured.

The game will not be rescheduled given that the Pacers and Celtics are both locked into their respective seeds for the playoffs -- the Pacers at No. 3 and the Celtics at No. 7. This means both teams will finish their season with just 81 games.

For the struggling Pacers, this cancelation gives them the rest they seek, but also takes away an opportunity to get back on track with a strong showing against a veteran team. They will play only one more game in the regular season -- a home game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

I've been too depressed with how the Pacers have been playing to post regularly. The Eastern Conference's 3rd seed has lost four of their last five games, and it would have been five of five but for that miraculous comeback against the Cavs.

On Friday against the Nets, the Pacers dug themselves into a massive 20+ point deficit again before mounting a furious rally that fell short in the final minutes. Final score, 117-109. Tonight, they just weren't good enough against the Knicks, dropping a 90-80 decision on the road.

Despite the horrific losses, the Pacers have wrapped up the 3rd seed thanks to a Toronto victory over Brooklyn, and will most likely face the Chicago Bulls in the first round. Unless Derrick Rose walks through the door, that's looking like a great matchup for the Pacers right now, though with the way they've been struggling it's not a sure thing.

The Pacers are now 49-31 for the season and finish the last two games against the Celtics on the road and the 76ers at home. They don't need either win, and as coach Frank Vogel suggested, they will likely rest key players for the playoffs. Paul George is in a massive slump and a bunch of other guys look visibly fatigued. I hope this is something a few days of rest can solve because right now it's not looking great for a team that looked really dangerous just a couple of weeks ago.

It was not looking good. The Indiana Pacers were headed straight for their third blowout defeat after falling behind by 20 heading in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Tuesday night. Coach Frank Vogel had already been tossed after incurring two technicals and the entire team struggled to contain Kyrie Irving.

But somehow, miraculously, the Pacers fought back. It wasn't pretty, but they dug deep on defense and got a few lucky breaks along the way, arguably thanks to the refs on more than one occasion. George Hill, who went toe-to-tie with Irving for most of the night and finished with 27 points, was huge down the stretch. Paul George, who shot poorly again, finally awoke at the right time and knocked down some big shots to finish with 14, including a huge three-pointer to put the Pacers up by three with 30 seconds to go.

On the next play, Irving drove past Hill and down the lane, drawing contact with Jeff Pendergraph before banking in a tough shot. The original ruling was a charge, and replays showed that Pendergraph tip-toed just outside the restricted area. Pendergraph was fouled and hit one of two free throws to stretch the lead to three, and Wayne Ellington missed a three-pointer before Paul George iced it with two more free thows.

Game over. Pacers escape from grim death to win 99-94 and improve to 49-29 on the season.

In all honesty this was a disgraceful effort for three quarters by the Pacers, and they probably deserved to lose their third in a row. Perhaps this lucky escape will help them realize that the playoffs are just around the corner and it's time to shift it into the next gear. Right now the team looks a little fatigued, but they really don't have any time to rest now with games against the Nets, Knicks, Celtics and 76ers to finish out the season.

A night after superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbook handed their asses to them in Indiana, the Pacers suffered their second straight blowout defeat tonight at the hands of the lowly Washington Wizards, powered by their own superstar John Wall.

Wall had 37 points, including 26 in a blistering first half, but it was the second half when the Wizards blew the game open en route to a 104-85 victory. Barring a collapse by the streaking Knicks, the Pacers look like they will have to settle for the East's third seed, which is really not that big of a deal right now considering they'd probably play the Derrick Rose-less Bulls or the Hawks in the first round. But if they do get through that round, and they absolutely should, the Pacers will have to start round two on the road.

Anyway, Paul George is trending in the wrong direction at this end of the season. He had 2 points and zero FGs on eight attempts tonight. David West had 12, but it seems like he hasn't quite been the same since returning from that sore back-induced six-game hiatus last month. At least Roy Hibbert is playing well. The big fella had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

The 49-29 Pacers absolutely should clinch the Central Division title next game, against the Cavs at home on Tuesday.