The Pacers Have Dusted Themselves Off Of The Canvas

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The regular season in the National Basketball Association is a marathon, not a sprint. And just like you cannot really judge a team based on how they are playing the first few weeks of the season is how things can do a complete 180 degree turn and look different for respective teams when the month of March rolls around. The past few seasons have seen the Indiana Pacers contend for the coveted NBA Championship, but the expectations weren’t the same for them heading into this season. Last summer Pacers small forward Paul George suffered a compound fracture in his leg while he was participating with the Team USA. Hands down George is the Pacers best player and coming into this season Indiana appeared to be a rudderless ship.

After going 5-11 in the month of January, the Pacers owned an overall record of 17-32 and a trip to the NBA Playoffs this spring appeared to be an afterthought. But Pacers head coach Frank Vogel has been able to rally the troops. The Pacers began the month of February by winning six out of seven contests. The Pacers are currently on a five-game winning streak and since the beginning of February they have defeated the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls along with beating the Cleveland Cavaliers twice. The Pacers are now 28-34 and their recent surge has seen them take over seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Under Vogel, the Pacers have always been known as a defensive team and they are allowing 96.1 points per game which is currently second in the NBA. And since the start of February, the Pacers have only allowed three opponents to score 100 points. Offensively the Pacers are scoring 96.1 points per game, but unlike their defense, their offense is only 24th in the NBA. Individually the Pacers do not have a player that is going to jump off of the stat sheet and wow you as point guard George Hill is leading the team in points per game this season at 13.8 per game. But Indiana does have five players that are averaging in double figures in points as they are finding ways to win games.

The Pacers have lucked out being that they are playing the Eastern Conference where you don’t need a winning record to be in contention for the NBA Playoffs this season. And with some of the teams that were ahead of the Pacers earlier this season that haven’t taken care of their business on the basketball court, Indiana has snuck back into the postseason conversation and things are trending up for them.

George has been practicing and he is eyeing a return to the Pacers in the very near future. George’s return to the Pacers would be the equivalent to a late season trade and Indiana would be delighted to have their top player back as he is a two-way player.

After winning a combined three games last week against the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, the Pacers will continue to have a soft spot in their schedule. The Pacers will have three home games this week against the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics respectively. The Magic are riding out the string while the Bucks are the team that the Pacers are chasing for sixth place in the Eastern Conference as they’re currently 4.5 games behind Milwaukee. And the Celtics are one of those teams that allowed the Pacers to sneak back into things via the back door. The opportunity is there for the Pacers heading into the spring and coming from where they were a few months ago, a trip to the NBA Playoffs would be a big accomplishment for them.

 

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By | 2015-03-09T10:17:16+00:00 March 9th, 2015|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: |0 Comments

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