The Indiana Pacers missed another golden opportunity on Wednesday night, losing to the Chicago Bulls in a heartbreaking overtime loss. They have now lost 13 games this season to non-playoff teams and fell to just 2-10 on the second night of a row, which is the second-worst mark in the NBA.
The bright side: This means the Pacers are an impressive 35-20 in games where they have at least one day off. They played their best basketball of the season against the best teams in the league (8-4 against the top three teams in the East and a recent win against the No. 1 seed in the West). Both of these things bode well for their playoff chances. Playoffs? Playoffs? (Did you read that in Jim Mora’s voice?)
The question remains: will this be a play-OFF team or a play-IN team? There are 15 games to play and a lot to be determined.
The Pacers are currently tied with Philadelphia for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and that’s at least the key seed to aim for. If you finish in sixth place or better, you make the full playoffs and don’t have to worry about the play-in tournament. Teams that finish 7th through 10th in the conference must play playoff games to determine their fate.
Additionally, the Pacers are just two games out of the conference’s No. 4 seed. If they could heat up down the stretch and place fourth, they would not only avoid the dangerous play-in scenario, but they would gain home-court advantage in the first playoff series.
The Pacers are still learning how to play with Pascal Siakam and without Buddy Hield and now Bennedict Mathurin, who suffered a season-ending torn labrum. Tyrese Haliburton is still trying to find his rhythm after putting up historic numbers before his injury in the first half of the season. TJ McConnell was a spark plug from the start, and they started to find a lot of success by pairing McConnell and Haliburton a little more. Aaron Nesmith is a dude, and Pascal Siakam is one of the NBA’s true buckets. Myles Turner is playing well and is on pace to break the all-time franchise record for blocked shots. And Pacer rookies Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard have contributed and shown great promise for Indy’s future.
They are a talented team and a dangerous team. Sometimes they just need to get out of their own way.
In the last 15 games on their schedule, they played seven at home and eight away. The biggest challenge will be their upcoming five-game road trip, which includes three games out West against the Warriors, Lakers and Clippers. LeBron James and the Lakers will also make their one and only trip to Indianapolis on Good Friday (March 29) which is always an incredible atmosphere.
The opportunity is there for the Pacers to make some noise this month and beyond. If they don’t reach the four or five seeds, finishing sixth would still be a great accomplishment. That was my initial prediction for the season, and I’m sticking to it.
And if you haven’t paid much attention to the Pacers this season, now would be a good time to start. The Fieldhouse is now electric and the fun is just beginning.
Tyler Smith covers the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Hoosiers for IndySportsLegends and is a frequent contributor to the Journal Review. He is also the youth and sports pastor at New Hope Christian Church.
