Pacers coach: Paul George 'still a ways away', won't make March 14 return target

When you have Rodney Stuckey dropping 30-pieces, there's no need to rush Paul George back.

Much as the Indiana Pacers would surely love the boost that a returning George would provide, the team isn't going to rush their star back from the broken leg he suffered in the summer. While George has been progressing, he won't make the March 14 return date he had in mind at All-Star Weekend.

George later backed off that specific date, saying March 1 was his initial goal for full practice and mid-March was his return goal but he really just wanted to get back this season. Head coach Frank Vogel shot down the possibility of George returning anytime in the immediate future on Tuesday.

"Still a ways away," Vogel told reporters. "Not going to play March 14. We're watching him progress."

Vogel has been adamant the team is operating as if George won't return, even though George is eager to be the missing piece of their playoff push.

The reality is the Pacers' playoff push may not have a missing piece. They've won six in a row to shoot to seventh in the Eastern Conference, have a one-game edge on the ninth seed and have anywhere from a 82.8 to 86.1 percent chance of making the playoffs, depending on your preferred playoff modeling system.

Indiana ranks 25th in offensive efficiency, but that ranking has jumped to fourth since Feb. 1, lessening the urgency for George's potential infusion of offensive creation. Getting George back would still raise the team's ceiling appreciably, even if he's not at 100 percent, as the team doesn't have anyone with the two-way capability of the two-time All-Star.

Given how the Pacers are playing and considering George could return in time to shake the rust off for the playoffs, they've become quite a scary first-round match-up for one of the East's top two seeds.