It would be an understatement to say the Indiana Pacers' season did not get off to the start they and their fans wanted. Despite making the conference finals last year and bringing back most of the same roster, the Pacers began the year 10-15 and looked like a shell of the team that was four wins away from an NBA Finals appearance. Furthermore, the Pacers dealt with numerous injuries to players like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and both of their backup big men.
Fortunately, the Pacers have since turned things around and now look much closer to last year's team. They are now 24-19 and own the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference (and are just four games back of the No. 3 seed New York Knicks). Pacers fans now have genuine reasons to be excited about this Pacers team and what their near future holds.
As if Pacers fans did not already have reasons to be optimistic, there is one more important element of their season that must be considered--they have already played the most difficult stretch in their schedule. All things considered, the Pacers, who are 8-1 in 2025, might just be getting started and could be even better by the end of the season.
The Pacers have already completed the hardest stretch in their schedule
Early in December, the Pacers, who were five games under .500 at the time, had the ninth-most difficult schedule remaining (and were the only Eastern Conference team in the top 10). Now, they have the seventh-easiest schedule remaining.
The Pacers take on the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers just two more times this season. Furthermore, they go head-to-head against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and New York Knicks just one more time.
On the flip side, the Pacers take on the Washington Wizards (who currently own the worst record in the league) three more times. They also have yet to take on the Utah Jazz (who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings).
There is a lot going right in Indiana, and it is intriguing that the team may have yet to hit their potential. Some have speculated whether the Pacers should make a move ahead of February's trade deadline, but most signs point to them being better off just standing pat and letting natural progression and chemistry take precedence.
Indiana has an easy schedule for the rest of the season. As they look to build off their turnaround, their peak may be even better than we initially thought.