The Indiana Pacers remain one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and they look poised for another deep playoff run. So far in the month of February, the Pacers are 3-1 with their only loss being in Portland against the red-hot Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back. They are healthy and rolling with no signs of slowing down.
At the trade deadline, the Pacers only traded James Wiseman in a salary dump to the Toronto Raptors. As it stands, it is clear that the front office believes in this Pacers team and what they can achieve. And so far, they have not been given any reason not to.
With the trade deadline now in the past, we know what team the Pacers will roll out into the postseason. There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, but if they can keep this up, they are going to be a scary team for anybody to face.
Here is where the experts rank the Pacers after the trade deadline.
Pacers continue to climb the rankings
Website | Ranking | Previous ranking |
|---|---|---|
NBC Sports | 11 | 12 |
CBS Sports | 10 | 11 |
ESPN | 10 | 12 |
NBA | 8 | 8 |
Bleacher Report | 11 | 12 |
In each power ranking except for NBA.com's, the Pacers went up at least one spot. Furthermore, in all but NBC Sports' and Bleacher Report's, the Pacers are a top-10 team.
Currently, the Pacers are 29-21 and own the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, they are just 4.5 games behind the New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed and six games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed. While it will be difficult, there are reasons to believe the Pacers can continue to climb the standings and grab one of those spots by the end of the season. The Pacers still have only three losses in 2025, and they should only continue to get better from here on out.
The most intriguing narrative to follow is how far the Pacers can take their improved defense. Coming into the season, the Pacers' defense was ranked among the worst in the league. However, this season they have turned things around. They currently rank as the 19th-best defensive team in the league (which is still a big improvement from last season). This also factors in their slow start to the season and the games they were without players like Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.
Furthermore, since January 1, the Pacers have a defensive rating of 112.7. This ranks as the fourth-best in the NBA across that span.
The Pacers are officially back and are giving fans a reason to be excited once again. Just how far they can go, however, is something worth monitoring the rest of the way.