Despite not playing their best basketball of the season, the Indiana Pacers are still finding ways to win and are on a relatively hot streak. They are winners of three straight and have won four of their last six games.
The Pacers' recent streak has come at the perfect time for them. Not only do they want to gain as much momentum as possible before the season ends, but a lot has already been said about the tight race they are in with less than a month left in the regular season. Currently, they are in a three-way battle for the No. 4 seed (and homecourt advantage) with the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. As it stands, they are separated by just 1.5 games. However, the Pacers are now in another race in the standings that nobody seems to be talking about, and it is one that fans may care about the most.
Pacers have a legitimate chance at grabbing the No. 3 seed
In a bit of a twist that nobody saw coming, the Pacers have a real shot at finishing the season as the No. 3 seed in the East. Given how slow their season began, nobody would have thought the Pacers would be in this position, but it is reality. With just 13 games remaining on their schedule, the Pacers are only three games behind the New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed.
The Pacers may have extra motivation to make this jump in the standings because of who exactly they would leapfrog over. Indiana and New York is a historic NBA rivalry, but many would say it was revived last year. Both teams went head-to-head in the second round of the playoffs, and while nobody expected them to win, the Pacers won the series in seven games (with Game 7 being at Madison Square Garden).
There is still a lot that has to go the Pacers' way from here on out, but this is an interesting story to follow nonetheless. Getting the No. 3 seed will help Indiana's shot at a title this year more than the No. 4 seed would. Additionally, seeing one of their top rivals continue their struggles (they are 3-6 in their last nine games) will be a welcoming sight for Pacers fans.
As it stands, the Knicks have the 11th-toughest remaining schedule in the league (and second-highest of all Eastern Conference teams besides the Pistons). It may have seemed like a pipedream even less than a month ago, but if all goes right, the Pacers can overlap one of their biggest rivals in franchise history not even a year after ending their championship hopes on their home court.