INDIANAPOLIS — With one-third of the NBA season in the books, the Indiana Pacers continue to do what they’ve done for the past several seasons- exceed expectations. After Sunday night’s 107-85 win over the Charlotte Hornets, the Pacers improved to 18-9 on the season.
That’s a 55-win pace.
After starting the year 0-3.
Without their star player.
To put this in perspective: The Pacers have only won 55 games in a season four times in their NBA history (since 1976). Can they keep up this pace all season? It’s hard to say. But to play at this level without Victor Oladipo and with tons of new faces says a lot about the depth and heart of this team.
I asked Head Coach Nate McMillan if he was pleased with how the Pacers have looked so far this season:
“We want to improve each game,” McMillan said. “It’s still early in the season. We’re not where we want to be. We’re not complete yet. There’s a lot of basketball to be played. We still have three centers that we’re trying to fit in a rotation and adjust to the depth that we have. We’ve played some good basketball, but we haven’t played our best basketball yet.”
Justin Holiday loves what he sees from his new team. “Anybody can have a big night which makes us good. The way we play, we actually look for one another to do that. It’s a sacrifice, but at the same time, that’s what we want. So I guess we don’t really see it as sacrifice.”
Since the 0-3 start, the Pacers have played .750 basketball. Soft schedule or not, that’s getting the job done.
Team chemistry was an unknown for this group coming into the season. It was so good the last few years, but the Pacers lost so many players. Spending time in that locker room, I can assure you- this team has amazing chemistry. They joke with each other and speak highly of one another. It doesn’t seem like a job for these players- It seems like a group of guys that loves playing the game together.
Through 27 games, the Pacers are 13th in the NBA in offensive rating, but 6th in defensive rating. Yes, they’ve played one of the weakest schedules in the league- but they’ve held their own against good competition too. They lost by just three in Philadelphia- a team that is 13-0 at home this season, and lost a close battle in Houston as well. They’ve beaten the Celtics, Jazz, and Nets.
Unfortunately for Indiana, several teams in the Eastern Conference have put together really good records themselves. The impressive 18-9 start is still only good enough for the No.6-seed in the East, though they’re just a few games behind the 2nd-seed. This team would really benefit from home-court advantage in the 1st round if they can capture a top-4 seed when all is said and done. The top six teams in the East have been putting up nearly historic numbers in terms of home records at the top of a conference.
Things get a lot tougher to finish out 2019. The Pacers will learn a lot about who they are. Before New Year’s Day, the Pacers will play the Lakers, Bucks, Raptors, Heat, and Sixers. Winning 2 or 3 of those games would put the Pacers in a great position as they wait for THINGAMAJIG (the masked singer) to come back There’s still no word on when Victor Oladipo will return. They want to make sure he’s completely ready. And with the Pacers playing so well in his absence, there’s still no reason to rush.
Tyler Smith covers the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Hoosier basketball for Indy Sports Legends. Smith is also the youth pastor at New Hope Christian Church, and the varsity girl’s basketball coach at Crawfordsville High School.