Indiana Pacers Move Up the Power Rankings on the Back of Paul George
By Ben Gibson
Paul George leads the Indiana Pacers charge up the power rankings after they went 3-1 in the past week.
The Indiana Pacers are firmly back in the top half of the NBA in this week’s power rankings, mostly thanks to Paul George.
With four straight games with 30+ points (and a 3-1 record in that time), the Pacers are starting to shake off their mediocrity, for now.
Beating the Houston Rockets and shutting down James Harden was the most notable win of the three, with the other two wins coming against the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves. The lone loss came to the New York Knicks.
However, the most remembered thing from the last week will be Paul George bouncing the ball off Clint Capela’s head on a dunk.
12. The Rockets were a nice win for the Pacers, who are getting it together. I’m leaving this here for the morning crowd. (Last Week: 15th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated. JEREMY WOO
MARC STEIN. 11. Sunday night saw Paul George at his two-way best, with his fourth consecutive scoring game in the 30s at one end and a hand in hounding a weary MVP contender James Harden into an uncharacteristic 3-for-17 showing from the field. The Pacers are 13-3 this season when PG-13 scores at least 25 points and quietly wound up posting a 9-4 record in January. Friday’s overtime win over Sacramento, by the way, featured an Indy rally from 16 points down to go with the Pacers’ climb out of a 19-point deficit on Jan. 18 to prevail on the Kings’ floor. (Last week: 14) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine. ESPN
MATT MOORE. 15. The Pacers are 18-6 at home, now, after beating the mighty Rockets Sunday. Paul George is starting to pick it up, too. If they just keep up their home performance, that’s a path to the postseaon, which is remarkable given their lack of fan support which George has openly complained about. (Last week: 13) — <a href=. @MattMooreCBS. CBS Sports
The Pacers have followed a three-game losing streak (in which they scored 99 points per 100 possessions) with a three-game winning streak (in which they scored 115) to stay above the teams struggling to hold onto a playoff spot. The offense has been at its best with Paul George on the floor with C.J. Miles, who was moved into to the starting lineup on Monday and hit six threes (for the third time this season) in Friday’s overtime win over Sacramento. They have a legit chance to extend the winning streak to six games before the schedule gets tougher. (Last week: 14) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN. 12
@GeraldBourguet. Hoops Habit. GERALD BOURGUET. 11. No surprises here, but when Paul George plays like a superstar, the Indiana Pacers are a playoff-caliber team. It’s no wonder, then, that they went 3-1 this week with PG-13 scoring at least 31 points in every single game.<br />We should also shout out Jeff Teague, whose well-rounded contributions have him at 11 double-doubles on the season (four shy of his career-high for a season) and 8.2 assists per game (another career-high) to rank sixth in the association. (Last week: 14) — <a>Hoops Habit</a>
Next: How Does Healthy Rodney Stuckey Fit In?
The Pacers host Frank Vogel and the Orlando Magic tonight before a weekend back to back at the Brooklyn Nets then home against the Detroit Pistons. On Monday they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.