After a 0-3 start to the season, things are looking up for the Indiana Pacers as they’ve leveled their record to 4-4 and are headed in the right direction.
Thanks to a 4-1 streak that saw victories over the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, the Pacers are starting to look not just like a respectable team, but a good one. Their only loss in the past five games came from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and even in that game the Pacers pushed their opponent to the limit on the road.
Even LeBron James is glad to see Paul George and Indiana returning to form.
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ESPN’s Marc Stein may not be a fan of the Hoosiers uniforms, but seeing Paul George returning to being Paul George helped the Pacers in his power rankings.
"One thing the Pacers can still count on in these uncertain times: Beating Miami at home. Indy has now won eight in a row against the visiting Heat in the regular season after Friday night’s proceedings. I honestly didn’t like the unis from Hoosiers as much as I anticipated — but who cares? Paul George is starting to look like Paul George again."
The return of Paul George seemed to be a reoccurring theme in everyone’s rankings, including John Schuhmann of NBA.com.
"Paul George is clearly back to being Paul George, averaging 31.3 points, 11.0 reboounds and 4.0 over the last three games, with an effective field goal percentage of 58 percent. Weekend performances against Miami and Cleveland were just the second time in his career that he’s scored 30-plus in two straight games. The Pacers haven’t quite turned into the Warriors as a result, but the offense has picked up a bit."
Even with PG getting back to what he does best, CBS Sports’ Matt Moore is still a bit hesitant to buy in just yet.
"I’m still very wary of this being sustainable, but they’ve gotten big wins over the Pistons and Heat this week, then hung with the Cavs on Sunday. Their defense is managing to be top-15 which is a testament to Frank Vogel and the veterans on this squad. I’m not 100 percent sold yet, but Paul George is back to working the court like a dance floor."
Indiana has the Celtics, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls on the slate this week so while they’ve got a chance to move up a little bit more in the rankings, I don’t expect them to take another huge leap.