8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

The Indiana Pacers Schedule is Getting Easier, But Nothing Has Been Easy This Season

By William Furr

Jan 20, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Indiana Pacers on the bench during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Indiana Pacers on the bench during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Indiana Pacers postseason hopes hang in the balance as they are both a few games from the fourth seed and being out of the playoffs.

The Indiana Pacers have a scant 19 games left in the season and are precariously perched in 6th place in the Eastern Conference at the moment. They’re five games behind the 4th place Toronto Raptors, who are without Kyle Lowry’s services until the playoffs, and whom the Pacers play 3 times this month.

Home court — while not particularly likely — is within their grasp. They’re also only 2.5 games ahead of a 10th place finish, and Paul George likely using his unexpected free time shopping for real estate in LA.

All of this is to say: The Pacers need to finish the season strong. They are an impossible team to predict with any regularity, but we can break down the schedule.

The Remaining Schedule:

  • 3/8: Home vs Detroit (season series: 3-0)
  • 3/10: Away vs Milwaukee (season series: 0-2)
  • 3/12: Home vs Miami (season series 0-2)
  • 3/14: Away vs New York (season series: 1-2)
  • 3/15: Home vs Charlotte (season series: 1-2)
  • 3/19: Away vs Toronto (season series: 0-0)
  • 3/20: Home vs Utah (season series: 0-1)
  • 3/22: Away vs Boston (season series: 0-2)
  • 3/24: Home vs Denver (season series: 0-1)
  • 3/26: Home vs Philadelphia (season series: 1-1)
  • 3/28: Home vs Minnesota (season series: 1-0)
  • 3/29: Away vs Memphis (season series: 1-0)
  • 3/31: Away vs Toronto (season series: 0-0)
  • 4/1: Away vs Cleveland (season series: 1-2)
  • 4/4: Home vs Toronto (season series: 0-0)
  • 4/6: Home vs Milwaukee (season series: 0-2)
  • 4/8: Away vs Orlando (season series: 3-0)
  • 4/10: Away vs Philadelphia (season series: 1-1)
  • 4/12: Home vs Atlanta (season series: 1-1)

Schedule notes:

The Pacers have 10 home games remaining, and 9 road games; they are 21-10 at home, and 11-21 on the road.

Some good news is the remaining schedule is pretty average according to Team Ranking’s Future strength of schedule rating.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

The Pacers are a combined 7-10 this season against the teams they will play at home, and 7-9 against the remaining road teams —  4-9 if you remove the Orlando Magic.

All 3 games against the Toronto Raptors (last season’s playoff foes) are coming during the last month of the season. Raptors star point guard Kyle Lowry is expected to be out until the playoffs begin.

The Pacers will play the Sixers twice this month. Philadelphia traded backup big man and defensive stalwart Nerlens Noel only to see Joel Embiid be shelved for the year. Jahlil Okafor, a defensive sieve, is starting at center again. Those are now games Indiana must win.

The final game of the regular season is home against the Atlanta Hawks. The Pacers are currently 2 games behind the Hawks for the 5th seed in the East. They needed a Glenn Robinson III game-winner to win their last meeting.

Next: The Indiana Pacers Bench is Finally Getting It Together

The Pacers sit at 32-31 on the year, and it’s looking relatively likely that finishing at or above .500 will get you into the Playoffs. They’ll probably need to finish the stretch 10-9 or better to feel comfortable about their odds. Knowing this team, nearly any finish is possible.

Home/Pacers News