3 things that matter about the Indiana Pacers schedule this season

The NBA season is still months away, but with the release of the schedule, we learn a little bit about what we should expect for the Indiana Pacers.

The Indiana Pacers can thank the NBA schedule makers now, and not just for their 12 nationally televised games.

When you look at things like strength of schedule, road trips, back-to-backs, the Pacers got a fair shake from the league. The won’t be dealing with a bevy of long road trips nor will they be disadvantaged by those dreaded back-to-backs.

82 games are on the docket, of course, but when it comes down to it, the Indiana Pacers got a schedule that is more in their favor than not. Considering the balance the league shoots for when they make 30 schedules, the Pacers couldn’t have asked for much better.

They may not have the most rest days or the least miles traveled, but let’s look at why the Pacers were blessed with a little luck.

The Pacers have an ‘easy’ schedule

Every team in the NBA faces off at least twice, but that doesn’t mean every schedule is the same as far as difficulty.

Indiana’s schedule is balanced in many ways, but when it comes to strength of schedule, the Pacers have the 25th toughest or the 6th easiest, depending on how you look at it. This is based on the over/unders from Vegas, but it’s a way to gauge things for now.

Another way is Kevin Pelton’s projections, but the result is the same: 25th.

As Jared Dubin points out on Twitter, there aren’t major differences from the toughest to the easiest, but as we’ve seen for Indiana in recent years, just a few games can make the difference between facing the Cleveland Cavaliers (and LeBron James) in the first round or at least getting homecourt advantage.

In theory, the Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, and Toronto Raptors have easier schedules than Indiana, so only so much comfort can be found in this idea of an easy schedule.

But in an 82-game season, it can come down to those marginal advantages. Some of their fellow contenders might have easier schedules, but the Pacers aren’t at any real disadvantage.

The only thing that might cause Indiana trouble is while their pre-All-Star break schedule is one of the easiest in the NBA, but they’ll have the 9th hardest one coming out of the break.

If Indiana wants to contend, they’ll need to bank those ‘easy’ wins before February.

Fatigue isn’t a major factor for the Pacers

With the NBA getting the average down to just over 13 back to backs in a season, the schedule gives Indiana 14 of them. Marginally above average is not enough to see as a real disadvantage for the Pacers.

In fact, Indiana catches 16 of their opponents on the second night of back-to-backs. Their schedule is average as far as difficulty, but they’ll hold a modest advantage overall as far as rest is concerned.

The Pacers worst road trip is on the East Coast, and their West Coast adventures have winnable games regardless of how well rested they are. It should be noted, however, that their second Western Conference road trip is a little tougher as they’ll face the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors over a span of six days in late March.

Indiana being in the middle of the country doesn’t hurt either as they will travel the third-least miles this season. Chartered planes make life easier, but the less time spent traveling means more time resting.

There is a Pacers-76ers rivalry brewing

Indiana and Philadelphia playing four times isn’t a surprise, but with all of them on national television, there’s a good chance both teams are bringing their A-games for every one of them.

Last year, a 16-game winning streak at the end of the regular season propelled them to a third-place finish in the East. Indiana only finished four games behind them and took the season series 2-1.

In the East, the Celtics and Raptors are the established favorites, but a tier below them are the 76ers and the Pacers.

With LeBron James out of the East, the conference is open in a way we haven’t seen in nearly a decade. Both teams know they have a shot at making the Finals if things break their way.

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The teams meet twice before Christmas, both games broadcasted by ESPN, but their matchups in 2019 are likely to carry much more weight. The January 17th matchup on TNT should give us a true taste of what a playoff matchup between the two might look like. But the March 10th game, also on TNT, could end up deciding which team gets homecourt advantage in any potential playoff meetings.

Victor Oladipo is an All-Star and Joel Embiid is one of the most popular players in the league. The series has star power even for casual fans. Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, and Myles Turner can certainly catapult themselves up the player rankings with stellar performances in these games, too.

The meetings also are a culture war as well. Sam Hinke’s Process versus Kevin Pritchard’s Reboot. Philadelphia looked to exploit the system with hyper-tanking while Indiana kept with their resolute plan of always competing.

The success of either won’t be known in full for years to come, but the two teams came together in completely different ways and represent two different trains of thought.

Whichever team comes out on top this season doesn’t require a referendum on either team-building plan. However, whichever team advances further can certainly feel like, even for a moment, that they did it the right way.