The Indiana Pacers haven’t had Paul George all season, but with nine games left they did have hope. They began a vital stretch in Brooklyn on Tuesday night that will ultimately feature four games against teams they are battling with for playoff position at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity and seizing control their playoff destiny, the Pacers may have coughed up their season over a single 24-hour period.

They lost 111-106 against the Nets before falling 100-87 to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. The losses leave Indiana in 11th place, 2.5 games back of the Nets for the eighth seed. The Celtics and Charlotte Hornets are also in the way.

“It’s very frustrating. We feel like everything is on the line and we're just giving it away,” Hill said after the Boston loss. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get it done. There’s still a possible way for us to get in, but not by ourselves. It’s everyone else’s fate now. We've got to stay the course and hopefully the basketball gods help us out -- other teams lose that we need to lose and we get a couple more wins. It’s very frustrating.”

It’s not just that Indiana has lost the last two games, but in both they’ve had to fight to remain within striking distance. They ran out of time against the Nets and steam against the Celtics after digging significant holes in both games.

“We scrapped and clawed and tried our best to make it a game, but they made more shots, they made more plays. They were quick to the ball throughout the whole game, not just in the second half,” Frank Vogel said Wednesday night, but the comments very easily could have come the previous night. “They beat us in transition too many times and their style of play won out.”

During Indiana’s recent skid, nine losses in 11 games, Hill has been the lone bright spot. Over his last 10 games, Hill is averaging 22 points, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds on 55.9% shooting. He was pretty good over the entire month of March as well, posting 19.4/4.9/4.2 while making 51.5% of his shots.

“George has moved into a new role, but I haven’t played well enough along with him to give him some support,” said a solemn David West. “He’s battled through some injuries this year, but as a group we haven’t given him the support he’s needed.”

West, hampered by an allergic reaction that has left his eyes bloodshot, has struggled with his shooting touch. After hitting 50.5% in February, he has made 30 of his last 77 attempts (38%).  More surprising than any offensive struggles have been the team’s defensive woes. Since March 12, the Pacers have allowed more than 100 points to nine of 12 opponents. Another one of those teams scored 99.

“We’ve just been too inconsistent and haven’t played well enough,” West admitted. “I think we’ve got like seven games left. We’ve lost to two teams we’re fighting with [for playoff position]. We had an opportunity to take control of our own fate these last couple days and we weren’t able to do it.”

Because of tiebreaker scenarios, the easiest way for the Pacers to sneak into the playoffs is to pass their competition in the standings entirely. They will face the Hornets and Miami Heat at home this weekend, a slate that represents their last chance to get back in the race.

The discussion will end if the Pacers lose against Charlotte and Miami, but over the final two weeks of the season they have the easiest schedule among the four teams fighting for eighth (the Heat, currently in seventh, have a slightly easier path in terms of opponent winning percentage). It’s worth noting that there is a chance that they’ll face diluted lineups in a few of their final games. They host the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder before finishing the season up in Memphis against the Grizzlies on April 15. 

The Wizards and Thunder could be locked into their respective seeds by then, while the Grizzlies may or may not still be fighting to hold onto the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Where those teams stand heading into the final week could play a role in the Pacers’ chances to remain relevant. 

West, who has been the team’s voice of reason and most influential veteran presence since he signed as a free agent following the lockout, said there is no need for any sort of speech or team meeting.

“We’ve never really been that type of team. We’ve always had open communication,” he said. “We said some words right after [Wednesday’s] game, but we’ve never been that type of group. We’re constantly talking. We know exactly what position we’re in; we know where we are. To a man, everybody has to look at themselves and then look at the group. We’ll go from there.”