Indiana Pacers Slide in Power Rankings But Remain in Top 10

A so-so week didn’t take the Indiana Pacers out of the top 10 in this week’s power rankings roundup, but they are trending in the wrong direction.

The Indiana Pacers are still considered a top 10 NBA team according to the major power rankings, but a 1-2 record last week has them headed in the wrong direction.

Indiana’s loss to the Golden State Warriors was expected as they defending champs showed all they need is 5 minutes to ruin your evening. The Pacers bounced back to take down the Miami Heat, proving the designation of being the second-best team in the Eastern Conference is still up for grabs. The win against Miami ended a 3-game losing skid, but they quickly picked up another loss the next night as the Detroit Pistons hammer a sluggish and/or lazy Indiana squad.

All of that made writers drop the Pacers a little bit in the power rankings as they averaged a rank of 7.8 with an average change of 2.2 spots.

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NBA.com’s John Schuhmann rightly is questioning if the Pacers will remain in the top 10 as the starting unit has been outplayed more often that not recently and Indiana has lost four of its last five games.

"Monta Ellis had one of his best performances as a Pacer in an important win over Miami on Friday, but Indy has lost four of their last five games, allowing 114 points per 100 possessions. The starting lineup has been outscored by 29 points in that stretch and has been the seventh worst defensive unit among 34 lineups that have played at least 100 minutes. Their status as a top-10 team on both ends of the floor is shaky."

Part of the reason the starters have been outplayed is their terrible defense during that five-game stretch, something Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated hit on in his rational for dropping the Pacers a few spots.

"Indiana’s defense has slipped of late, allowing 118 points four of the last five games, all losses. Paul George’s hot shooting has largely slowed in that same span. It’s a long haul, and the Pacers’ start still feels tenable, but let’s remember George hasn’t strung together this many games since before his leg injury."

This all may just be reality setting in after such an impressive start to the season, and we already acknowledge this could be a long December for the Pacers with a tough schedule lined up. Now at least they have put one of the tougher parts — A Western Conference road trip — in their rearview mirror.

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They have a chance to get things pointed in the right direction again tonight when they host the Toronto Raptors.