8p9s Roundtable: Resetting Expectations for the Indiana Pacers at the Halfway Point

The Indiana Pacers haven’t been the top 4 team some expected them to be this season. Is it time to reset expectations?

When the season began, the 8 Points, 9 Seconds staff (and some experts) had high hopes for the Indiana Pacers.

So far, they haven’t lived up to those expectations.

Blame it on anything you want. The defense, booing, Paul George, the Pacers not playing well on the road, but it has forced some of us to recalibrate expectations for this season.

So what do we expect at this point, and who are the MVP, LVP, biggest surprises and biggest disappointments? Let’s take a look.

That’s a four or five game drop as the staff average was 48 wins when we picked in the preseason, projecting the team as a top 4 seed in the playoffs and top two in the division.

Will Furr adjusted his expectations thanks to the Pacers underperforming to the point they’d have to finish the season winning 64.5% of their games to reach his original number of 48.”

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“I originally said 48. The Pacers would have to go 27-15 the rest of the season, and that feels very unlikely,” Furr said. Maybe the starting unit continues to gel and someone — anyone — on the bench finds their way, but it seems doubtful. I’m going to bump down to 44, and that still feels depressingly optimistic.”

In the division and in the conference, tough competition makes it harder for the Pacers to finish second, but there is still faith. Not that there still isn’t skepticism.

“Same situation as their record. They’re not good enough to challenge the elite and not bad enough to fall below average,” Ryan Barth said. “The Greek Freak is starting to scare me too. Cavs, Bucks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons for me.”

The staff still expects to see them in the playoffs.

“Yes. They better. Otherwise, there’s going to a lot of uneasiness going into ‘Paul George’s expiring contract’ year,” Jacky Neal said.

Before the season we also asked who would be the biggest surprise, as well as disappointment.

It wasn’t a surprise that Glenn Robinson III and Thaddeus Young have been the biggest surprises so far, but Kevin Seraphin and Al Jefferson also made that list.

“Glenn Robinson III. I always envisioned Glenn as a future starter for the Pacers. Did I think it would happen this season? Not at all. He’s fitting in nicely as the starting two and is improving after every single game,” Padmore said. (Though it should be noted his answer came before Monday’s switch.

“Thad Young, specifically his three-point shooting. We knew he could score a bit, rebound a bit, and be a net-positive to a team. However, we didn’t expect him to be shooting 41% from deep. He has been a surprisingly stretchy stretch-4,” Neal said.

Ryan Eggers had similar feelings.

“I’ll stick with Thad Young. His D hasn’t always been fantastic this year, but he does a ton for this team on the offensive end. He can abuse bad defenders, whether smaller or larger and slower, and he never seems to miss around the bucket,” Eggers said.

Though Barth’s low expectations for Kevin Seraphin led to him being a surprised.

“At the beginning of the season, it was very likely he’d fail to even make the team. Now he’s producing off the bench and giving the team a much needed jolt that Lavoy Allen was never capable of providing,” Barth said.

As far as disappointments, Monta Ellis earned the most votes while Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson also received votes.

“Monta Ellis. To be fair, his role has changed dramatically from the time the team signed him as a free agent. He was brought in to be a scorer alongside Paul George last season, but is now adjusting to being a 6th man. He is scoring at the lowest rate since his rookie season,” — Jacky Neal

“C.J. Miles was my original guess. It wasn’t his play I was worried about, but his health, and he’s been pretty healthy this year (which is good, because the Pacers need every minute they can get out of him),” Furr said before picking his disappointment.

“The new pick has to be either Monta Ellis or Lavoy Allen — both have been terrible for the Pacers this year. Not a lot was expected of Allen this year, so I have to go with Monta Ellis. Ellis is dead last among rotation players in 3 pt shooting and offensive rating, and the starting lineup’s net rating only became positive after he went to the bench. Ellis has said he’s fine with coming off the bench, which is important — but he’s yet to even help the bench unit.”

Neal offered some nuance in his selection of Ellis.

“Monta Ellis. To be fair, his role has changed dramatically from the time the team signed him as a free agent. He was brought in to be a scorer alongside Paul George last season, but is now adjusting to being a 6th man. He is scoring at the lowest rate since his rookie season,” Neal said.

Injuries played a role in Stuckey getting a vote for Barth.

“Rodney Stuckey. He’s played well when he’s been healthy, but that has become a rare sight these days. His ability to attack the basket always earns him several trips to the free throw line as well as (insert injury here),” Barth said.

Somewhat surprisingly, Al Jefferson got two votes, including one from Padmore.

“Al Jefferson. I already knew his defense was poor, but he’s had so many moments defensively where it’s hard to watch. He makes up for it (a bit) with his sweet post moves. A 3-year deal could be too lengthy,” Padmore said.

Who has been the Indiana Pacers most valuable player?

Paul George got seven of the eight votes, with Barth giving the only non-PG vote to Myles Turner.

“Myles Turner. This man gives the Pacers hope. If he maintains his rise as a dominant frontcourt mate with Paul George, the Pacers just might find their Big 3 in the coming years (assuming PG signs that healthy extension),” Barth said.

Padmore, Furr, and Neal explained why they picked Paul George, even if his numbers are slightly down.

“In my opinion, Paul is having a disappointing season. I was expecting an MVP season. That doesn’t mean he’s not their best player, though. He’s still leading the team in scoring and taking over games down the stretch,” Padmore said.

“Monta Ellis. We all expected his age and poor defense to catch up to him, but wearing a mask as a facilitator on the 2nd unit? That’s quite a fall.” — Ryan Barth

“This “down year” has been better than the career years of others. Not bad for someone some fans believe doesn’t care,” Neal said.

Just like biggest disappointment, Ellis received plenty of criticism.

“Monta Ellis. We all expected his age and poor defense to catch up to him, but wearing a mask as a facilitator on the 2nd unit? That’s quite a fall,” Barth said.

However, Furr set his sights on Lavoy Allen.

“Allen has done almost nothing this year, and lost his spot in the rotation to a center masquerading as a power forward in Kevin Serpahin. Allen is averaging 1.4 points and 2.3 rebounds on 32.2% shooting. Not, uh, not good,” Furr said.

“They kept trotting him out there most of the first half and he kept giving them not much. Pretty much expected,” Neal said.

Next: It Is Time For the Indiana Pacers To Win

So there you have it, that is where the Indiana Pacers sit at the halfway point. They may not be reaching the high expectations they had in the preseason, but there is still optimism to be found as the Pacers head into the second half of the season.