Pacers face a motivated Wizards team seeking payback

The Indiana Pacers returned to work Tuesday morning as the 8th-seeded playoff team in the Eastern Conference. However, Washington Wizards All-Star John Wall plans to make it his mission to evict his nemesis from the postseason.

"We still got some salt in our mouths from last year," Wall told the Indianapolis Star after his team's morning shoot around.

Last season in the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, the Pacers bounced the rising Wizards out of the playoffs with a 4-2 series win. Though Washington – with its talented, young backcourt of Wall and Bradley Beal and formidable frontcourt with Nene and Marcin Gortat – provided a serious threat in Games 1 and 5, the team lost all three home games to the more experienced Pacers.

Now, with the Wizards sewn up as the 5th seed and the Pacers needing to win their final two regular-season games to gain entry into the postseason, Wall still remembers last spring.

"We feel like we could've won the series. They were a better team at the time and they had experience," Wall said. "We have the opportunity now to not let them get into the playoffs, we'd do it because I've been in that situation before. When you could be spoilers to teams and teams could be spoilers to you."

A loss tonight by Indiana (37-43) has the potential to be destructive to their postseason hopes. While the Pacers own the half-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets and have earned back power of their fate, a loss would give the Pacers and Nets identical records, and since the Nets own the season tiebreaker, they would be move into the 8th seed with only one game remaining in the season (vs. Orlando).

Though the franchise has advanced to the playoffs for the past four seasons and the veteran core – David West, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and Paul George – should now have master's degrees in high-stakes circumstances such as these, Tuesday will break new ground for a handful of younger Pacers.

"It's pretty big. This is probably one of the most important games I've played in, since college at least," said Donald Sloan, who did not play rotational minutes last year through the playoff run but is expected to fill the backup point guard minutes vacated by the injured C.J. Watson.

"I'm excited. Just try to do my part. I think everybody is feeling the emotion that we've got to do everything right to win a game. If not, we're slipping and fall out of the playoff chase," Sloan continued. "I feel it, but these guys have been in situations like this before, intense games and going into a situation where it's a must-win and this will be my first time being a part of it. That's how I'm feeling."

And in regards to Wall's comments? Sloan may be new to the playoff intensity, but said he's ready to face a motivated Wizards team.

"Yeah, take on all challengers," Sloan said. "Throughout (everything) I've been through, I welcome anything, anybody. So, let's go."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.