Indiana Pacers by the numbers through 20 Games

The Indiana Pacers have been fun to watch this NBA season so let’s look at how the stats back up their new offensive and defensive schemes under rookie head coach Nate Bjorkgren. Firstly, let’s take a look at the most important stat: wins and losses. The Indiana Pacers currently sit at fifth position on the Eastern Conference ladder at 11 wins and 9 losses.

The stats behind the Indiana Pacers’ first 20 games of the 2020-2021 NBA season

Offense

The offense this year was meant to be much more explosive in comparison to last seasons and the numbers back that up. The Pacers are shooting six more threes per game than last season jumping from 28 attempts to 34 attempts through the first 20 games, which is resulting in 12.1 threes made per game this season.

Last season the Pacers ranked dead last in three-point attempts and second-to-last in threes made in the entire league, however in this young NBA season the Pacers rank 18th in makes and 19th in attempts. This is a significant improvement from last season as we see coach Bjorkgren’s handprint all over the Pacers’ offense.

The Pacers, through the first 20 games, are also smack-bang in the middle in terms of pace at 99.7 in the league, a steady improvement from last season where the Pacers were 21st at 98.9. All of these advancements have resulted in the Pacers putting up 113.1 points per game ranking 11th in the entire association juxtaposed to last season where they put up 109.4ppg ranking 21st in the NBA.

Defense

Let’s look at the other end of the court and see if the Pacers are holding it down on the defensive end. The Indiana Pacers are allowing 111.2 ppg through 20 games, ranking 15th in the league. The Pacers’ defensive rating sits at 110.3 and ranking 16th in the league. The Pacer’s currently rank seventh in both total blocks and blocks per game largely thanks to DPOY candidate Myles Turner.

Turner leads the NBA with an absurd 3.9 blocks per game and has been the Pacers’ defensive anchor once again. The Pacers are fourth in terms of points off turnovers at 392 total points throughout 20 games. The Pacers also rank seventh in terms of steals per game which is another top-10 rank for the Pacers defensively.

Conclusion 

The Indiana Pacers rank pretty much in the middle of all the major offensive and defensive metrics reflecting in their record which is a tick over .500. The Pacers have dealt with injuries this season to T.J. Warren and now Caris LeVert which makes it tougher for them but I still believe they can be a better offensive team and that in my opinion is what will take them to the next level.