The Pacers recognized as one of the best up and coming franchises in the NBA

In a new poll of media members half-way through the NBA season, the Indiana Pacers show up all over the survey.

The Pacers as a team got lots of recognition in terms of how they have played to date as well as how they have constructed the team. In terms of the team as a whole:

• The Pacers hot start was voted fourth most surprising storyline of the season.
• The Pacers drafting excellence was on display as Nembhard and Mathurin were voted the 1st and 3rd biggest steals of the draft respectively.

Individual players and their accomplishments were also highlighted throughout the survey. In terms of individual players the Pacers show up in the following:

• Bennedict Mathurin was voted as the player second most likely to win rookie of the year and was voted as the third most likely to win the sixth man of the year award.
• Tyrese Haliburton was voted third most likely to win most improved player, the fourth best point guard in the league, and the third best passer in the league (behind Lebron and Jokic).

It wasn’t only players that were assessed in the survey, media members also talked about the best coaches in the league as well. In terms of coaching success this season, Rick Carlisle was voted:

• The third best coach in the league for in-game adjustments.
• The second best coach in drawing up after timeout plays.

There were many other categories that don’t nearly fall in any of the above, but the Pacers continued to show up in some interesting places. A few of the other fun areas where the Pacers showed up were:

• Tyrese Haliburton as the third best active player to become a head coach some day (behind Chris Paul and Garrett Temple).
• Tyrese Haliburton was also voted as the most underrated player in the league, ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Brook Lopez.
• Bennedict Mathurin was voted as the rookie most likely to be the best all-around player in five years.

Overall, it is good to see that the media is taking notice of the Pacers, even if they often don’t get the national attention of other franchises (which is already a problem, read here). Tyrese Haliburton with the help of Bennedict Mathurin and Rick Carlisle are resurrecting the franchise from the ashes and having a phenomenal season.