<p>Five seasons toiling in the desert for a losing franchise wasn’t going to inflate T.J. Warren’s basketball reputation nationally.</p><p>However, a recent five-game stretch in the so-called NBA bubble did.</p><p>The Indiana Pacers forward became the talk of the league in the ultra-sanitized world of virtual spectators, averaging 34.8 points and making coach Nate McMillan’s squad must-watch television.</p><p>The 6-foot-8 Warren, traded here 14 months ago from Phoenix — a move that incited more shoulder shrugs and Google searches than high-fives — looks to help lead the Pacers as far as possible in the Eastern Conference playoffs.</p><p>The team’s opening playoff game is against Miami, a team that holds a 3-0 record against the Pacers this season entering this afternoon’s showdown in the regular-season finale.</p><p>Due to circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, no NBA team enjoys a home-court advantage, which means Indiana is as dangerous a ball club as there is right now.</p><p>LeBron’s Lakers, Giannis’ Bucks and Kawhi’s Clippers occupy the majority of headlines, though I suspect none want anything to do with the Pacers right about now.</p><p>Warren immediately served notice he was bubble trouble with a 53-point haymaker to Philadelphia in the first game. The Pacers won, but they were also dealt a blow afterward when starting forward Domantas Sabonis was sent back to Indianapolis to seek medical treatment for plantar fasciitis on his left foot.</p><p>This added to the burden on Warren, who was happy to oblige. He had 34 points against Washington and 32 against Orlando before being held to 16 points in a loss to Phoenix. He bounced back with 39 as Indiana turned more heads with a 116-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the favorites to come out of the west.</p><p>Warren, the 14th selection in the 2014 NBA draft after a two-year stint at North Carolina State, said his play of late is the product of always wanting to be better.</p><p>“I’m really just taking time to myself. Meditating more. There’s a lot of time to myself in my room and am just staying with my rhythm, staying with my routine every day,” Warren said. “It’s just me putting in the time and the work in the offseason.</p><p>“I’ve got a good supporting cast. And the organization welcomed me with open arms bringing me in, so I’m just grateful for everything right now. There’s always room to improve, so I’m never not working.”</p><p>Indiana’s front-office braintrust, led by president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, clearly saw something it liked in Warren’s game that prompted them to make such a move. Warren’s former team, the Suns, was 158 games under .500 in the time he played there, but the dude could flat score points.</p><p>Limited to a dozen points in a loss to Miami earlier this week, Warren sat out Indiana’s 108-104 victory against Houston on Wednesday.</p><p>“T.J. Warren has been playing good basketball this entire restart,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “He’s just playing in the flow of the game. Of course, he’s knocking down his shots and is red-hot, but he’s playing in the flow of the game and not forcing anything.</p><p>“He’s taking shots that he can make. That ball is finding him and he’s knocking it down.”</p><p>The Pacers’ playoff hopes may depend on whether Warren can keep it up.</p><p><em>Mike Beas is a sportswriter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</em></p>
