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The Indiana Pacers are flying high right now after winning three of their last four games, including Friday night’s upset of the surging Cleveland Cavaliers. That was easily the team’s best win of the season to date, and the Pacers really do look like a new team now that George Hill has returned to action.
Unfortunately, the team is about to run into a rough stretch of schedule.
If you just look at the teams that Indiana will have to face, it seems like it will be difficult for even a more-competitive Pacers team to really make any headway in turning around their record.
Here are the seven games they will play before February concludes.
- @ Charlotte
- vs San Antonio
- @ New Orleans
- @ Philadelphia
- vs Warriors
- @ Oklahoma City
- vs Cleveland
Yikes.
There are three title contenders in that group, a fourth team that employs Kevin Durant, and a fifth that employs Anthony Davis.
Things ease up after that, with the first two games in March coming against the lowly Sixers and Knicks, but how much further in a hole will they be by then? Can the Pacers really claw out even three wins when they have to play the Spurs, Pelicans, Warriors, Thunder, and Cavs as five their next seven opponents?
First off, this stretch shows just how important that win over Cleveland was. That vicotry should give them the confidence that they can compete with anyone. It also helps in that it feels like a “stolen” W that they now have in the win column.
And there is a reason to think that two of these other games will be much more winnable.
For one, Anthony Davis may not play when Indiana heads to New Orleans. He suffered a scary fall last night when he slipped off the rim and landed hard on his shoulder.
Fortunately for Davis — and all those who enjoy watching the MVP candidate — the x-rays on his shoulder came back negative. But Davis has been banged up a fair amount this year, so it stands to reason that the Pelicans won’t rush him back on Wednesday for a game against Indiana as he mends what has been called a sprained shoulder.
The other game that could get easier is Monday’s contest with the Spurs in The Fieldhouse.
San Antonio played the Heat on Friday night then flew to Toronto for a 7:00 pm game this evening for the first night away from home on their famed Rodeo Trip, which features nine straight on the road.
If the Spurs beat the Raptors, will San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich rest some of his marquee players on the second night of a back to back win? Yes, the team takes pride in playing well on the Rodeo trip, and it is just beginning. But the team is rolling, having won 9 of its last 11 games, and Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili aren’t getting any younger. Popovich prioritizes rest and health over seed position, so it stands to reason that he might sit Duncan or others rather than make them play on the second night of a back to back (and a third game in four nights).
If he does and if Davis sits, it might be just the stroke of luck Indiana needs.
If the Pacers can get a win in Charlotte then face undermanned Pelican and Spurs squads before heading to Philadelphia, this difficult stretch of schedule could turn into more of a blip.
The Pacers are 19-32 now.
If they somehow go 4-3 over the next seven then they can enter March at 23-35.
They should be healthier and well rested after that All-Star break.
And then they get this
Why couldn’t they win six of those seven?
Of course, the Pacers still aren’t a good team yet.
They just lost to the Kings at home for crying out loud. But if they get a break here against San Antonio or New Orleans, it isn’t out of the question for them be sitting pretty on the 7 or 8 seed by mid-March.