The Indiana Pacers currently own the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 24-20 record. Heading into the season, this is roughly where most fans expected them to be. However, given their brutal start to the season, it almost feels miraculous they are even in this position.
Indiana began the season 10-15 and looked like a shell of last year's conference finals team. Additionally, they dealt with plenty of injuries and seemed lost on both sides of the court. Inconsistency ruled the Pacers' start to the season, and fans were wondering if a major change (most likely via a trade) was bound to happen.
Fortunately, the Pacers turned things around and have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA for the past month. They are 8-2 in 2025 and show no signs of slowing down (in fact, it might be the exact opposite).
Just two weeks before the trade deadline, now is a good time to evaluate the Pacers' season.
The Pacers have turned into one of the most complete teams in the NBA
In Rick Carlisle's system, the Pacers are an offense-heavy team. They play at a fast pace and have plenty of versatile players, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Coming into the season, their defense was considered a weakness. While they may not be elite on that front, the Pacers have significantly improved as a defensive team.
Currently, they rank as the 20th-best defensive team in the NBA with a 114.6 DRTG. However, since falling to 10-15, the Pacers have a 112 DRTG, fifth-best in the league over that span. The Pacers rank above teams like the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Houston Rockets during that time.
What makes this even more impressive, is they have done essentially all of this without Aaron Nesmith, who missed over two months due to an ankle injury.
Banking on chemistry is paying off
After making the conference finals last year, the Pacers made very few notable changes to the roster. By all means, this was the right call, and it is paying off now.
The Pacers have a fantastic roster that should only continue to improve, both because of growing chemistry and the natural progression of their young players. Their front office clearly feels the same way, which is why they made it a point to bring back players like Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin and extend T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard.
This team knows how to play alongside each other, and that is proving to be more true with each game.
The Pacers are back in title contention
Indiana grabbed the attention of everybody in the basketball world after their playoff run last year. Not only did they make the conference finals for the first time in a decade, but they gave the eventual champion Boston Celtics their toughest matchup of the entire postseason. Even so, there were some who doubted their chances of legitimately competing for a title this season. However, the Pacers are beginning to prove their doubters wrong.
The Pacers handed the Cavaliers just their fifth loss of the season earlier this month, which was also their first loss in a month. Additionally, Indiana defeated Boston twice this season, becoming just the second team in two seasons (along with the Denver Nuggets last season) to win their season series against them.
They are rolling right now, and they should only continue to get better as the season progresses. A shot at a championship seemed improbable this season, but based on what we are seeing out of them on the court and their ability to match up against the top teams, Indiana may be in better shape to win a championship than we thought.