No One Knows How Good or Bad the Indiana Pacers Are
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers are all over the map this week in the power rankings roundup.
Usually, there is some form of consensus when you gather power rankings together. Usually, the experts are roughly on the same page in their assessment of the Indiana Pacers.
This isn’t usually.
In this week’s power rankings roundup, the Pacers are as high as 12th and as low as 19th in the selected power rankings. That averages out to a ranking of 15th.
Indiana’s wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers raised the eyebrows of the experts, but so do the losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State.
This team is confusing right now, to say the least.
16. I didn’t think the Pacers would be struggling quite this much to score the basketball, but they’ve cracked 100 in regulation just six times this season. That said, they’ve won two in a row, but now draw the Blazers, Clippers and Warriors to open a five-game road swing. (Last Week: 17th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated. JEREMY WOO
14. The Pacers aren’t getting any easier to understand, folks. On successive Sundays now, they’ve managed to win in overtime at Oklahoma City and thoroughly shredded the visiting Clippers — achieving both of those momentous victories without Paul George. The only game out of five that PG-13 was healthy enough to play in since Nov. 16, thanks to his recent ankle and back woes, was an 11-point home defeat to Atlanta that prompted him to call for a players-only meeting. #stumped (Last week: 15) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine. ESPN. MARC STEIN
@MattMooreCBS. CBS Sports. MATT MOORE. 19. Well, they’re .500, but … wait, the Pacers are .500? How are the Pacers .500?! Paul George must have had a huge week … wait, Paul George has been out?! (Last week: 21) — <a href=
12. Somehow, the Pacers have won three of their last four games they’ve played without Paul George (who’s out with ankle soreness at least one more game), knocking off the Thunder and Clippers the last two Sundays. With the defense doing most of the work, they got enough offense (37 points on 13-for-19 shooting) from Glenn Robinson III in weekend wins over Brooklyn and L.A. Jeff Teague’s shooting is still erratic, but he’s had seven or more assists in six of his last seven games and the offense has suffered (86 points scored per 100 possessions) with him off the floor in that stretch. (Last week: 15) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN
Forget about that 37-point massacre at the hands of the Warriors. Keeping it around .500 with Paul George still on the mend feels like a decent accomplishment for this Indiana Pacers team, especially now that Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young are starting to look more comfortable in their new uniforms.<br />Another encouraging sign: Al Jefferson, who put in 16-point performances in back-to-back games to close out the week. If he can be that effective in limited minutes off the bench, and if Glenn Robinson III can continue to contribute, the Pacers will have not one, but two scoring punches off the bench they can rely on. (Last week: 13) — <a href=. @GeraldBourguet. HoopsHabit. GERALD BOURGUET. 14
Next: Why Lavoy Allen Has Played in Every Game
The Pacers face the Portland Trail Blazers on the road to start a Western Conference road trip before facing the Clippers and Warriors.