The Indiana Pacers Are in the Middle of the Power Rankings Again

15. It was an interesting week for the Pacers, a microcosm of their season replete with Paul George frustration, two annoying losses and two somewhat convincing wins. If that sounds like .500 team behavior, bingo. There’s been some progression for Indiana, but never enough to make headway in the standings. Indy’s 13–5 at home, but inconsistent on the road and just 1–6 on the second leg of back to backs. The Pacers have lost to the Sixers, Heat, Suns and Mavericks this season too, which is the difference between eighth place and third place in the East.<p>And hey, they’re still in eighth place in the East with enough talent to in theory hang on. But people thought this was a team that could finish near the top of the conference. I was bullish, too. As it turns out, there was never enough defense here to hold up an offense prone to ball-stopping. The front line relies heavily on Myles Turner and a smattering of undersized offense-first bigs, including a nicely utilitarian player in Thaddeus Young. They have to get George his shots, but Jeff Teague and Monta Ellis need the ball, too. I really don’t know why this seemed like it might work.</p><p>On a bigger level, the Pacers are a case study in the small ball era and stand as evidence that overhauling an offense for the modern game can be really, really difficult. The teams that have done it best have been built from the lead ballhandler on down, with enough shooting and size to prop themselves up on both sides of the ball. You can try to play small and fast on offense, but the ball can’t stick and you need systemic commitment. Indiana’s still dumping it in to Al Jefferson for a good chunk of every game. Paul George looks frustrated and admits he’s frustrated, but it may take an increased willingness to bend from him, too. He’s also been inconsistent. There is talent but not identity, not to mention a new coach after five years of Frank Vogel. It’s going to take team-wide adjustment to make headway. (Last Week: 15th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated. JEREMY WOO

MARC STEIN. 14. Candor from a star player is a journalistic treasure, so it’s been fascinating to listen to Paul George in this early season, speaking his mind on numerous occasions already about the Pacers’ struggles to live up to the lofty preseason billing they received in so many corners. Yet it’s also a touch sad to hear George openly lament the fact that he’s had very little fun lately. He came into the 2016-17 talking about challenging for MVP honors. As recently as Thursday, on the eve of a home win over the Bulls, PG-13 was calling it “one of the most frustrating seasons I’ve been a part of.” How nervous, Pacer People, does that make you? (Last week: 14) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine. ESPN

14. Paul George sounds depressed about his situation. Imagine if they get worse? They have a tissue-soft schedule in January. If the Pacers don’t go over .500 this month, they need to consider major changes. (Last week: 18) — <a href=. @MattMooreCBS. CBS Sports. MATT MOORE

15. Paul George and Nate McMillan complained about free throws (and got fined for it) after the Pacers got just 10 in Monday’s loss in Chicago. But rebounds have been a bigger problem than free throws. The Pacers rank 28th in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage and allowed the Bulls and Magic to total 40 second chance points over the weekend. But they got two wins and climbed into playoff position by breaking out of their offensive funk, with Jeff Teague recording 26 total assists in the two games. (Last week: 15) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN

HoopsHabit. GERALD BOURGUET. 15. Here’s hoping Paul George is finding basketball fun again, because his Indiana Pacers went 2-0 after his incendiary comments about his team’s start to 2016-17.<br />Glenn Robinson III is doing his part in a starting role, Thaddeus Young is more than holding his own from three-point range and bench contributors like C.J. Miles and Aaron Brooks are starting to step up more consistently. Could the Pacers be ready to turn this thing around? (Last week: 19) — <a href=. @GeraldBourguet