Indiana Pacers Sliding Backwards in Power Rankings
By Ben Gibson
Another batch of power rankings have arrived and the Indiana Pacers find themselves slipping into the middle of the pack.
The Indiana Pacers are sliding down in the power rankings thanks to losses to the Boston Celtics and the previously winless Philadelphia 76ers.
While a win on Monday over the Orlando Magic may give some a reason to be optimistic, the next 10 games include a visit from the Cleveland Cavaliers, two games against the Golden State Warriors, as well as plenty of playoff-caliber teams. It is going to get worse before it gets better for the Pacers.
What do the experts have to say about this the team this week? Let’s take a look.
19. Paul George has been emotional, frustrated and hurt through three weeks, but there’s zero concern about his production. For what it’s worth, Indiana still has more talent to work with than most teams in this tier. (Last Week: 17th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated. JEREMY WOO
MARC STEIN. 19. The Pacers, at 0-5 on the road, are off to their worst start outside city limits since the 1990-91 season, when they dropped their first 11 road games. Larry Bird & Co. can only hope that last week was the low point, after the troubling bookends of an eyebrow-raising Paul George rant about trust and team chemistry and an ankle tweak for PG-13 were sandwiched around the Pacers’ frustration of finding themselves in back-to-back overtime games with the struggling Sixers.<br />(Last week: 13) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine. ESPN
CBS Sports. MATT MOORE. 24. Those of us who chose to believe in the Pacers in preseason are having that Gob Bluth “I’ve made a huge mistake” moment. (Last week: 21) — <a href=. @MattMooreCBS
20. Paul George’s absence against the Celtics on Saturday gave the Pacers their first home loss. They’re still winless on the road because they were the first team to lose to the Sixers (after needing overtime to beat them at home two days earlier). Myles Turner got just six shots and just 15 frontcourt touches in 21 minutes in the Philly loss on Friday. He’s scoring more efficiently (and shooting a league-best 60 percent from mid-range), but his usage rate hasn’t budged much from his rookie year. (Last week: 18) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN
18. Preseason predictions that the Indiana Pacers would be a top-4 seed in the East seemed hasty, and a disheartening third week for Nate McMillan‘s squad has only reinforced concerns about their defense. Indiana ranks 29th in defensive rating, and their offense hasn’t been dynamic enough to make up for it.<br />As if a 22-point loss to the Hornets, an OT loss to the winless Sixers, a narrow OT win over the Sixers and a loss to the shorthanded Celtics weren’t discouraging enough, Paul George‘s eyebrow-raising quote about the team’s lack of chemistry says plenty about the current state of the Pacers. (Last week: 15) — <a href=. @GeraldBourguet. HoopsHabit. GERALD BOURGUET
Next: Kevin Seraphin’s Future in the Rotation
If the Pacers want to climb back to respectability, they can start with finding a way to win when they play the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.