The Indiana Pacers: Are They Good? Do They Know What They Are Doing?? Let’s Find Out!
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers are confusing many NBA experts on exactly how bad or good this team may be.
The Indiana Pacers might be the 12th best team in the NBA. Or the 10th worst — 20th overall, for those not wanting to do the math.
That’s what this week’s batch of power rankings tells us as much like last week, they are all over the place.
With wins over the Los Angeles Clippers on back-to-back Sundays, there are reasons to see the Pacers as one of the better teams in the NBA.
With losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors — in particularly ugly fashion — it is easy to doubt whether this team is even in the middle of the road.
Perhaps that’s why they have an average ranking of 14.8 this week.
This team will continue to frustrate as they still are figuring out the right roles for players like Glenn Robinson III and how to manage the rotations. As long as their in uncertainty, it is hard to find consistency.
JEREMY WOO. 17. Beat the Clippers twice, get blown out by the Blazers, and yeah, nobody else knows what to do with these guys, either. (Last Week: 16th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated
ESPN. MARC STEIN. 12. Before the Pacers can celebrate Larry Bird’s 60th birthday Wednesday, they have to visit Golden State, which won the teams’ first meeting this season by 37 points. Yet you could argue that Bird’s team already scored him a nice present with Sunday night’s comeback from an early double-digit deficit to stun the Clippers. Indiana had seven players in double figures and, in even better news, had all 15 of its players healthy and available for the first time all season, most notably Paul George after PG-13’s recent ankle woes. (Last week: 14) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine
20. The Pacers have played four teams twice — the Clippers, Bulls, Sixers and Nets — and have split with all … except the Clippers who they swept with a win Sunday. They have wins against the Bulls, Cavs and Thunder, and losses against the Sixers, Nets and Suns. There’s no telling what they’re going to turn out as, but this kind of inconsistency is never a good thing. (Last week: 19) — <a href=. @MattMooreCBS. CBS Sports. MATT MOORE
13. The Pacers got thumped in Portland on Wednesday, but got both Paul George and C.J. Miles back in L.A. on Sunday. And they beat the Clippers a second straight week, with Miles giving them 15 good minutes off the bench and George hitting the dagger three with a minute to go. After some early struggles, the bench may be coming around. Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson have combined to average 26.5 points over their last four games, with the Pacers outscoring their opponents by 10.3 points per 100 possessions in their 74 minutes on the floor together. (Last week: 12) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN
HoopsHabit. GERALD BOURGUET. 12. Short week for the Indiana Pacers, who made up for an ugly 22-point loss to Portland by beating the mighty Clippers in their second and final game of the last seven days.<br />Guys like Aaron Brooks, Glenn Robinson III and Rodney Stuckey have been stepping up off the bench, but the most important piece to the puzzle was Paul George returning for Sunday’s game, putting up a well-rounded 16-7-5-3 line in the process. Fingers crossed he stays healthy and we finally get to see what this team can do at full strength. (Last week: 14) — <a href=. @GeraldBourguet
Next: An Easier Road Ahead for the Indiana Pacers
The Pacers face the Phoenix Suns tonight before ending the Western Conference road trip with the Dallas Mavericks. After that, they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.