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The Pacers schedule has reached its hardest point

ByTony East|
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 13: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on alongside Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers during a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 13, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Thunder defeated the Pacers 100-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 13: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on alongside Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers during a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 13, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Thunder defeated the Pacers 100-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

For the next 20 or so days, the Indiana Pacers schedule is going to be brutally hard. Let’s take a look.

We have reached the hardest point in the Indiana Pacers schedule. It took 65 games and 42 wins, but we are finally here.

10 of the Pacers next 12 games come against teams that are currently slotted to make the postseason. Many of those come on the road. Some on a back-to-back. A handful comprises a road trip. In tandem, all of these things together make the upcoming stretch totally and utterly brutal.

Don’t take my word for it. Take Thaddeus Young‘s word for it:

Tough road, ironically, might be a euphemism. The stretch opens in Milwaukee against the Eastern Conference (and NBA) leading Bucks on Thursday, and it gets harder from there.

Harder than the Bucks, yes. On Sunday, the Cers get a national TV matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. In Philly. Technically, that game is easier than at Milwaukee, but this game has enormous playoff seeding implications. The Pacers have to win to even up the season series with the Sixers. If they do, they have a very good chance at stealing away the playoff seeding tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same record. The Bucks are better than the Sixers, but the pressure of this game makes it more difficult.

After a “game off” against the tanking Knicks, Paul George and the Thunder visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the second time since the trade. PG is having an MVP caliber season and the Thunder are near the top of the Western Conference. All the emotion behind that game won’t make it easy.

Then, the team is off on a west coast road trip against the three best records in the West as well as the fiesty Los Angeles Clippers.

It opens in Denver against the high powered Nuggets offense. They are an entertaining team with a fantastic roster, it will be a tough game.

Two nights later, the Pacers play the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. This team has been great since the All-Star break and Damian Lillard can explode at any time. They are a tough out.

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Then, night 2 of a back to back. With both games starting at 10:30 PM EST. Yuck. The second night is in LA against the Clippers, who are battling for the 8th seed in the West and putting up a fight every night. The Indiana Pacers smoked the Clippers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the Cers will have their hands full this time.

Then it’s off the play the champion Golden State Warriors in Golden State. I don’t need to explain why that’s tough. End of a road trip, tons of travel, best team ever… it’s a scheduled loss for Indiana.

The Pacers finally get to come back home after this game, only to be met once again by Nikola Jokic and the 2nd seeded Nuggets. Coming back home is nice. Playing Denver is not. If the game is as exciting as last year, nobody will be able to complain, but it will be hard to match that entertainment with Victor Oladipo.

After that, it’s back on the road to face PG13 and the Thunder again. The Thunder have two All-Stars, winning on the road will be a nearly impossible task.

The Pacers come back home after that to face Boston in another game that could be MASSIVE for playoff seeding implications. A win would help the Indiana Pacers significantly in their chase for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The final game of the month in against the Orlando Magic. The Magic are 30-36, so technically not great, but they are still tied in the win column with the 8th seed in the East. They aren’t a pushover team.

The Magic have had the Pacers number all season long. This game is a back to back in Orlando. The Magic will be fighting for a playoff spot. It’s a tough game to close out the month, because of course.

Optimistically, the Pacers can win half of these games. They match up fine with Denver and LAC. They should have enough motivation to win one of two of the Boston/Philly/OKC games. The Knicks suck. But this 12 game stretch is going to be REALLY hard. The Indiana Pacers will have to be playing their best ball to win.

The Indiana Pacers need to play well during this stretch if they want to get homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Hopefully, they can push through the adversity on the calendar.

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