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Pacers talk bright outlook for playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – After a rough December and January, things are looking up for the Pacers, who are just a half game back out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

“The confidence we’re playing with as a unit has been great,” said Pacers forward C.J. Miles.  “We’ve been moving the ball really well… We’ve just been helping each other make the right plays.”

“Our whole season has been, ‘we’re going to have a lot of new guys, a lot of guys in and out of the lineup because of our injuries.’  We just had the mindset that we were going to work every day to try and gel to try to come together as a team,” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.  “Both of those things have happened of late.”

Another big reason for their recent success is the emergence of Rodney Stuckey.  He’s had back to back 30 point games, not in a starting role, but coming off the bench.  That was an idea proposed by Stuckey.

“I wanted to be more aggressive.  I thought I could do that with the second unit,” said Stuckey.”

“He sort of approached me and felt he could do some damage in this role,” said Vogel.  “With the starting unit, it’s not so much about starting a game as you have David out there, you have Roy out there, you have George Hill out there, and they’re getting a lot of the play calls.  With the second unit, he’s able to have the ball in his hands more.”

The Pacers play Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.