After being the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference for the entire month of February, the Indiana Pacers went 2-2 in the last week and are now one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who now possess the No. 4 seed. Additionally, the Pacers are just one game ahead of the No. 6 seed Detroit Pistons.
There is a lot of basketball remaining, and it is way too soon to determine that the Pacers will not secure home-court advantage this season. However, they are no longer in the driver's seat and must play as well as they can with a little over a month left in the regular season.
Despite their mixed week, the Pacers are still a top team in the Eastern Conference and are in a good spot to make another deep playoff run this year.
Here is the latest roundup of expert power rankings and where the team is ranked as Indiana looks to end the final month of the regular season on a high note.
Where the Pacers rank with roughly a month left in the season
Site | Ranking | Previous ranking |
|---|---|---|
Bleacher Report | 12 | 12 |
ESPN | 11 | 9 |
CBS Sports | 11 | 9 |
NBA | 7 | 7 |
NBC Sports | 8 | 8 |
The Pacers' recent standings in the expert power rankings are strange for a few reasons. First, the range from 7-12 is pretty wide. For the most part, the seventh-best team in the NBA and the 12th-best team in the NBA are in completely different tiers of title contention. Still, the Pacers find themselves in this range. Additionally, after going 2-2 in the last week, the Pacers fell in two of the power rankings but stayed in the exact same spot in the other three.
Regardless of the trend they are on, the Pacers remain a top team in the NBA, and these power rankings echo that idea. Whether they are a top-10 team in the league or not is its own discussion, but nobody will deny that the Pacers are looking like contenders once again after their slow start to the season.
The Pacers remain one of the hottest teams in 2025 and have a lot going well for them, despite recent injuries they have had to deal with to Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton. They are playing good team basketball and are a well-balanced team. Furthermore, they already have the reputation as tough playoff opponents due to their playstyle, and they should have another chance to add to that this year.
If the Pacers want home-court advantage, every game from here on out is crucial. However, even if they do not get it, they are still a team to keep an eye on the rest of the way.