The Indiana Pacers slip a bit in the power rankings thanks to their win-loss-win-loss pattern over the last 13 games.
The Indiana Pacers have been consistently inconsistent, but predictably so coming out of the All-Star break. They’ve followed a win-loss pattern for 13 games, beating some of the NBA’s better teams while struggling to close out and win others.
That leaves them at 36-34, just two games above .500.
As ESPN’s Zack Lowe noted in his excellent post on the Pacers, Indiana is painfully average.
"Regardless of who succeeded Vogel, Teague would ignite a drive-and-kick machine and free George to work more off the ball. Nope. Their shot selection profile hasn’t budged: They’re 19th in total drives, 28th in shots within the restricted area, 27th in 3s, and toward the top in mid-range jumpers. They’re 15th in offensive efficiency, and 17th on defense. They might be the most average team in the league."
With all that in mind, it isn’t surprising to find that the experts have them around the middle of the NBA for some time now, and this week, slightly below average.
They helped themselves out last night with a win over the Utah Jazz, but if this pattern holds, expect a loss to the Boston Celtics, a win over the Denver Nuggets, and a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers over the next week.
Next: Myles Turner: The Underutilized Future of the Indiana Pacers
Or, the wheels fall off and Indiana misses the playoffs entirely. Maybe they go on a winning-streak. Who knows with this weird team.