It is Now or Never for the Indiana Pacers
By Jacob Breece
The Indiana Pacers can’t wait any longer if they plan on being a threat in the Eastern Conference.
It’s time, for the Indiana Pacers to become contenders.
The season is over half way complete and the Pacers still look like a middle of the road 6th seed type of team. Now, as I say that, its understandable that they are 29-26 fighting to stay above .500. The reason being all of the changes that occurred in the offseason.
It’s hard to expect a team that effectively overhauled their whole roster to be fighting for a top 3 seed. I get that it takes time when you only have half of your rotational players back. It takes time for new faces such as Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, and Jeff Teague to get acclimated. While this is to be expected, its time to move forward and get better as a team.
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Most people around the league believe that by the time the All-Star break comes and goes, standings don’t fluctuate much. For many teams it is as it seems, you’re either good or you’re not. This team is different, though, as the core hasn’t even been together for a whole year yet.
This team still has plenty of room for growth. Myles Turner looks a lot like a future star and is still only 20 years old. Jeff Teague looks like his All-Star self again after a rough first month to the season. Everyone is feeling more comfortable playing together and it showed during these winning streaks. We can see the positives but it’s time for these positives to prove positive results.
It’s no secret that this roster could use some more work. Now it’s up to the Hoosier born, Larry Legend to work some magic. One or two moves to tweak a few things could set this team right into the thick of things. When it comes to the race for a top 4 seed, it’s a very attainable thing.
Luckily for the Pacers they’re in the East and not the West. They are only 3.5 games back of the 4th seed and 5 back from catching the red-hot Wizards for the 3rd seed but its gonna take a few moves to really move the needle.
Next: Thaddeus Young’s Absence Is Hurting the Indiana Pacers
It’s time for the Pacers and Larry Bird to move that needle and I have full confidence in the both of them to get there.