The Indiana Pacers barely moved in the power rankings this week, still on the outside looking in at the top 10.
The Pacers might have earned more respect for going 2-1 over the last week with wins over the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans if they hadn’t dropped their game to the Brooklyn Nets as well.
The Pacers have an average ranking of 11.6 this week, moving an average of 0.2 spots.
It looks near certain that Indiana will hold on for a playoff spot with 3 games separating them from the Washington Wizards in 9th place, but that doesn’t mean the Pacers can relax, even with a favorable schedule ahead. They still have plenty to work on.
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While Ian Mahinmi’s recent games have helped Indiana hold on to their playoff spot, the Ty Lawson Experiment is still in the early stages as he’s only played four games since injuring himself in his Pacers debut. It is too early to make a judgement as we’ve only seen him play around 15 minutes a game, averaging 4.2 points and 2.6 assists.
If the Pacers want to be a threat to anyone other than themselves in the playoffs, they’ll need to get some momentum going in the final nine games of the regular season. The Pacers look liked a team that if the playoffs started today — which would have Indiana playing the Toronto Raptors — they would be looking at a sweep or gentlemen’s sweep at best. There isn’t much reason to have high hopes anyway, but Indiana could desperately use some consistency going into the postseason.