3 Reasons the Pacers are leading the Central

Nine months after proclamations of doom were generally accepted as fact, the Indiana Pacers have issued their seminal refutation. They now lead the Central division.

“Surprising” will be (and has been) a frequent way to describe the Indiana Pacers during the 2017-18 season. Hypothetically speaking, of course, you might see this sentence a few times over the next few days: “the Indiana Pacers have surprisingly taken the lead in the Central.” Or something like that. I get the sentiment. But, I disagree with the underlying assumption.

It’s not surprising.

It’s not surprising that exchanging Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis worked out rather well. It’s not surprising that the supporting cast could play some basketball. And it shouldn’t be surprising that Kevin Pritchard trusting his players and not trading any of them at the deadline worked out.

It’s time to stop being surprised. This team was good when they first stepped on the court. While the general public may have been slow on the pickup, the team wasn’t. While doubt rained, the Pacers delivered. The Pacers won. And the Pacers are currently the best team in the Central Division and in third place in the East.

The real hindrance earlier in the season (and to a similar extent, now) from recognizing and proclaiming that Indiana was going to be good was ridicule. No one wants to be laughed at for saying something outside of the mainstream.

It’s unpleasant, to say the least. But the scoffed counterpoint can’t be dismissed anymore. The Indiana Pacers are the most complete team east of the Mississippi and south of the Canadian border. If they keep playing this well they will be in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they will have a puncher’s chance to be playing past that.

The Indiana Pacers are the most complete team east of the Mississippi and south of the Canadian border.

This doesn’t mean that Indiana is going to go undefeated the rest of the way, like with all things they will win some and lose some. That’s normal. The good news for the Pacers is that normal has been very good. Since January 21, the Pacers have won 15 of 21. They have won seven of the ten games they’ve had against playoff teams (East and West).

Since the All-Star break, Indiana has played four Eastern Conference playoff team and beat them all (Washington, Boston, and Milwaukee twice). What bodes most well, is that each game played out like a playoff game. The tension was higher. The scores were lower. Both of those variables normally don’t translate well to a team as high scoring as the Pacers were earlier this season, but that’s not the case. Indiana has thrived for several reasons.

First, the Pacers are playing some great defense. This goes beyond Oldaipo’s 50-game thievery streak and all-around brilliant play. Since the All-Star break, Indiana’s 99.2 defensive rating is over 3 points clear of second place Toronto. The Pacers also lead the conference in steals and their opponent’s paint scoring. Indiana is also in the top half of the conference in second-chance points, allowing points off of turnovers and defensive rebounding percentage.

Speaking of rebounding, that’s the second point. For most of the year Indiana has been somewhere between below-average to terrible on the glass. Since the All-Star break the Pacers are averaging 46 rebounds per game (in real numbers), virtually tied for second in the conference. Indiana was averaging 42 boards a game from October to Valentine’s Day, 22nd best in the NBA.

Third, was the solution to Indiana’s dearth of secondary scoring options. Two worthy candidates have stepped up.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

Bojan Bogdanovic: On January 29, Bogdanovic made zero baskets against he Hornets. After the game he was averaging 12.9 points per game for the season. Since then he’s been on a tear. Bogdanovic is averaging 18.9 points per game, 32nd in the league. Even better (after you finagle the filters a little to get something accurate) he’s shooting 49.4% from three. That’s third-best among forwards who average four or more attempts per game. The two players shooting better than him? Golden State’s Kevin Durant and San Antonio’s Danny Green.

Bogdanovic’s shooting split since the oh-fer is impressive 53-49-89. During that stretch, there are only six players shooting a 50-40-85 in the league (Durant, Bogdanovic, Boston’s Kyrie Irving, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Denver’s Will Barton and Miami’s Josh Richardson). Durant has the best numbers of the group. Bogdanovic is second.

Myles Turner: Back on January 21 I wrote that Myles Turner needs to play inside more and that the Pacers will never reach their peak until he does.

Well, since the All-Star break we’ve seen a very different Turner. Before the All-Star break, Turner was averaging 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. Since the All-Star break, he’s averaging 14 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds a game. Four of Turner’s 11 double-digit rebounding games this year have come since the All-Star break. Still not a gigantic leap in scoring, but the total isn’t the impressive part.

This is. He’s hitting the post and he’s hitting it hard. Who did Indy go to for the winning basket against the Celtics on Sunday? Turner on a post-up against Sir-flops-a-lot Morris and it was no contest. Turner was in complete control, gave a little shimmy and laid it in. Turner did not do that move -or at least the confidence in that move- earlier this year, but he does now. As a result of his re-finding the paint, the Pacers have their best plus/minus with him on the floor (8.2).

Next: Glenn Robinson III's long detour

Both have risen to the occasion and the moment. After adding Trevor Booker (free agency) and Glenn Robinson III (from injury) Indiana is now legitimately ten deep. The threat they pose to the East is real, and a Central Division title is currently within their grasp.