Pacers are bringing it on the road, unlike last season
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
“Even if they lose a lot of games, they’re going to give max effort every night and be fun to watch.”
This was a common statement among Pacers fans coming into the season. After last year’s underachieving team, fans were ready to get behind a team that played hard every game.
It's refreshing to see Indy playing hard on the road every game. That was a foreign concept to last year's team.
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) November 2, 2017
The Paul George and Jeff Teague crew had their moments, for sure. But almost all of those moments came at home. In the NBA, effort and togetherness matter even more on the road. And that’s what has set this year’s team apart compared to a season ago.
Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Last year’s team= Started the year 0-5 on the road.
This year’s team= Started the year 6-5 on the road.
Last year’s team= Went 0-7 on the second night of a back-to-back on the road.
This year’s team= Already has two wins, and only lost by four in Miami.
Last year’s team= Went 13-28 on the road for the season. Only won two road games in a row twice all season.
This year’s team= Currently on a four-game win streak on the road.
It wasn’t just the number of losses on the road last season, it was also the lack of effort. There were so many games where the Pacers didn’t bother to show up. I can’t even count the number of times Nate McMillan said the words “We just didn’t bring it tonight,” or “We didn’t have enough energy.”
This year’s team has been a complete reversal in that regard.
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
After 11 games away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, you could argue that the Pacers have only been a non-factor in one of them. They got blown out in Detroit and were never that close late in the game.
When they played in Oklahoma City, the final score wasn’t pretty, but it was a single-digit deficit in the 4th quarter.
The Pacers led in Philadelphia and New York in the final three minutes before imploding in both of those games.
The point is, even in the Pacer losses on the road, the effort has been there every night. Despite having a brand new team and having a challenging schedule to start the year, they’ve been in the fight almost every time they’ve laced ’em up.
With a road-heavy schedule, are the Pacers satisfied with their 10-8 start? “No. Not at all,” Victor Oladipo said. “We just getting started.”
It’s still very early in the season and a lot can happen. But the early signs are very encouraging. Maybe it’s time to bring back an old slogan- Passion. Pride. Pacers. It might just fit this group a little better.
Will this year's Pacers be more fun to watch than last year's underachieving team? (Not talking wins here.)
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) August 21, 2017
The Indiana Pacers have 6 road wins this season. Last year's Pacers team didn't win 6 road games until the 41st overall game of the season on January 18, 2017.
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 21, 2017
🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/WvKaxSo9NB
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 21, 2017
