Victor Oladipo is leading the charge still for the Indiana Pacers, but the players behind him are jostling for position.
The Indiana Pacers are 6-2 since the last time we visited the Pacers players power rankings, also known as Pacers Rank. Unlike the last time, the mood and perception of the team are much more optimistic.
One thing that hasn’t changed is Victor Oladipo’s consistency and efficiency. His 21.7 points lead the team and he does that while shooting 45.1% from the field and 42.1% from 3-point range. We keep waiting for Victor Oladipo to fall back to earth, but so far this season his play says he deserves your All-Star votes.
Oladipo is the tip of the spear, but the rest of spearhead changes behind him week to week.
While Domantas Sabonis still holds down the bench with his play at center, but we’ve seen Bojan Bogdanovic and Lance Stephenson are making their cases for the top five in our Pacers Rank. Myles Turner’s play improved and his effect on the Pacers goes beyond the box score, but he still is behind his averages from last season.
And of course, Thaddeus Young keeps consistently being consistent and providing the connective tissues for Indiana on both sides of the ball.
So where do they all fall this week? Let’s take a look.
The Pacers are playing an eight-man rotation right now that relegates T.J. Leaf, Joe Young, and Damien Wilkins to garbage minutes, so they’re off the board for now.
Next: Lance Stephenson's most absurd moments
The Pacers face the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and Chicago Bulls over their next three games. Beating the Raptors on the road won’t be easy, but they come home to face the Knicks and Bulls to start a six-game homestand.