How good are the Pacers, really?
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers were a difficult team to predict heading into the 2015-2016 season. And with two months of the season under their belts, they might still be.
After an 0-3 start, the Pacers got hot in the month of November, putting together an impressive 11-2 record in that month. Things changed in December, however, as the Pacers were just 7-9 in those games.
They’ve been as high as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference at times this season, and at other times have found themselves barely in the playoff picture. The parity of the Eastern Conference has obviously played a key role in that, but who exactly are the Pacers this season?
There have been two key factors when determining the Pacers success or lack thereof this season: the consistency of Paul George, and team defense.
Look at the differences from November to December within those two keys:
-Paul George in November: (29.5 PPG, 48% shooting). -Paul George in December: (21.4 PPG, 37% shooting).
-Pacers defense in November: (Allowed 93.4 PPG- 3rd best in the NBA). -Pacers defense in December: (Allowed 102.7 PPG.)
At the beginning of January, the Pacers find themselves just 1.5 games out of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but also just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 9 seed Detroit Pistons, who the Pacers defeated in their first game of the new calendar year.
The month of January will give a great indication of who the Pacers really are. Nine of their next 11 games are on the road. If they can stay in the mix in the East during this stretch, they’ll have a lot of home games down the stretch to make a strong push. Or, if they resemble the December version of themselves during this time, they may find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture heading into February.
“We’ve been treading water and hanging in there,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, got to buckle down, and start the new year strong.”
After busting out of his slump the last two games, Paul George isn’t afraid of playing away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse: “I love playing at home, but I really love playing on the road,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to go into hostile environments and play.” George is well-aware of the correlation between his play and the team’s success this season: “Whether shots are falling or not, I still work just as hard and put in the same work every day. I knew eventually the shots would start falling again. It’s my job to lead this team.”
As the Pacers continue to search for their identity, one thing is certain: This team will at least have a shot to make some noise this season. I think any Pacer fan would’ve taken this start (19-14) for their team considering the uncertainty coming into the year. Paul George will also have more months like November than December, only adding to the Pacers chances.
This will be an interesting team to watch in 2016. Through the ups and downs of a long season, the blue and gold should bring plenty of excitement along the way. Are they more like the 11-2 November team, or more like the 7-9 December team? The answer, is probably somewhere in the middle, and that should be good enough for a solid year.
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