Creeping Doubts Drop Indiana Pacers in the Power Rankings
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers only fall a slightly, but there are doubts about how good this team is after dropping fourth straight.
After losing four games, you might expect the Indiana Pacers to take a big drop in the power rankings, but you would be mistaken.
It looks like a rough stretch of games was factored into the experts’ power rankings this week, but there was still damage done. All of the experts dropped Indiana at least one spot, but some moved them down three or four.
Indiana’s inability to close games haunted them more than once last week and the continued absence of starting power forward Thaddeus Young are the biggest culprits in the losses. Even with the obvious factors, the losses intriduced doubts to the once streaking team.
The question now is when the losing streak ends. With the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight and Washington Wizards on Thursday, it won’t be easy to end it before the All-Star break.
13. The Pacers took a small step back this week, dropping three in a row to snap a seven-game win streak, including losses to the Cavs and Wizards, who they’ll need to beat to prove they belong near the top of the East. It isn’t getting any easier right now, as the Pacers pull the Spurs, then both Cleveland and Washington on a back-to-back entering the All-Star break. It’s a résume week for Indiana, and it comes at a not-great time. (Last Week: 11th) — <a href=. @Jeremy_Woo. Sports Illustrated. JEREMY WOO
ESPN. MARC STEIN. 11. After all the buildup leading into Friday’s trip to the nation’s capital, Indiana endured a deflating reality check that spoiled the whole weekend, losing narrowly to the Wiz before returning home on tired legs and absorbing a 16-point pounding from struggling Milwaukee. The Pacers entered that showdown with Washington at 13-5 since Jan. 1, good for the league’s fourth-best record in 2017 to that point. Yet they also had played the league’s easiest schedule to that point, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, with Indy not-so-coincidentally now just two games into a 10-game stretch that serves up eight teams with .500-or-better records. The two games against sub-.500 opposition in that stretch, in case you’re wondering, are Saturday’s date with the Bucks that Indy just lost … and a Feb. 25 visit to the increasingly inhospitable Heat.<p>(Last Week: 10th) — <a href=. @ESPNSteinLine
MATT MOORE. 14. Well, the Pacers have lost three in a row but at least they face the Spurs, Cavs, Wizards, Grizzlies and red-hot Heat next. Enjoy that All-Star break as a salve on the searing burns, Pacers. (Last Week: 11th) — <a href=. @MattMooreCBS. CBS Sports
12. With the All-Star break looming, no team has to stay focused on the next four days more than the Pacers. They carry a three-game losing streak (in which they allowed 125 points per 100 possessions) into a week with three more tough games. Monta Ellis is starting to look a little more like himself of late (averaging 13.0 points off the bench over the last three games), but the Pacers are missing Thaddeus Young, who has missed the last five games with a wrist injury. They’ve allowed 102.6 points per 100 possessions with both Young and Myles Turner playing together, but 108.4 with only one of the two on the floor. (Last Week: 11th) — <a href=. @johnschuhmann. NBA. JOHN SCHUHMANN
13. Well, so much for our theory that the Indiana Pacers had figured things out. Though losses to the East-leading Cavaliers and red-hot Wizards were expected, a double-digit loss to the shorthanded Bucks handed Indiana its third straight defeat.<br />The Pacers aren’t in any immediate danger as far as losing their standing at No. 6 in the East, but they also lost some ground on the Hawks and Raptors for the No. 5 and No. 4 spots. As the trade deadline approaches, it will be interesting to see what Larry Bird does to try and elevate his team’s ceiling. (Last Week: 9th) — <a href=. @GeraldBourguet. Hoops Habit. GERALD BOURGUET
Next: What Big Men Should the Indiana Pacers Be Targeting As the Trade Deadline Approaches?
Whether they snap their losing streak or not before then, the All-Star break will serve as a reset button for the Indiana Pacers as they gear up for the stretch run.