With the drop of Stranger Things Season 5 imminent, the Pacers are hosting a "Stranger Things Night" to commemorate the occasion.
While I would have loved a Pacers’ edition of the Fever’s Stranger Things Rebel unis (I think they are even better than Indy’s Hickory rendition), celebrating the Netflix phenomenon with a theme night is almost as good, as the show takes place, mostly, in Hawkins, Indiana.
With this theme night at the front of mind, it is also incredibly clear that the Pacers have been living in the Upside Down compared to last season. Let’s take a Stranger Things-themed walk into the terror that is the comparison between last year’s magic and this season’s start. (Also, warning there may be some ST spoilers ahead, but if you haven’t seen it yet, I am very sorry – mostly that you haven’t seen it.)
It’s like Eleven lost her powers all over again
12 months ago, the team was struggling (though not reeling) after their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Fast forward to January, and the team turned it around (did I just hear someone say, “Nina”?) and began their incredible run to the Finals. Just a few short months later, the team’s superhero is still regaining his powers, things have gone from bad to worse on the court, and the team is in flux – glimpses of greatness from individuals, but a lackluster performance overall as a team.
The Pacers had the second-best record last season after January 1 (behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder) and now have only just recorded their second win almost five weeks into the season.
The cast keeps expanding
While players come and go throughout the season, this season feels like an ever-expanding cast of players.
Don’t get me wrong, some additions over the years have been good – I’m looking at you, Mad Max, I mean, Obi Toppin. Others have had a rockier, James Wiseman-style relationship with the team (RIP, Barb, Bob, and probably every other character whose name starts with a “B”). This year, though, we can’t keep anyone on the court.
The current count is at 21 different players, and when Bennedict Mathurin came back last week, it felt just like the point in every Stranger Things season when all the characters finally end up in the same place.
Is it too late to reorganize and win this campaign?
No matter how poorly the team has started, we have to remember that there is a lot of basketball to be played and many things that we once thought were dead really aren’t. The truth is, Eleven (Haliburton) may be on the sidelines, but maybe Hopper (Siakam), Joyce (Mathurin), and the others can turn this thing around.
No matter how many Demagorgons (i.e., the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, injuries) the Pacers face, you can know that they are going to stick together, try their best, and maybe, just maybe, they will fight their way out of this incredibly strange season.