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Get ready, Pacers fans. The last quarter of the season is going to be filled with the disrespect we love to hate so much.
SI released an article discussing the “contenders” in the Eastern Conference. They ran down the likes of the Celtics, Sixers, Bucks, Raptors, but to no one’s surprise, left the Pacers out of the discussion.
There was one small blurb explaining why:
“When three of the best teams in the conference (with all due respect to the Pacers, who won’t be contending without Victor Oladipo) revamp their rosters in succession, and another, the Celtics, conspicuously stands pat, the internal logic of any sort of hierarchy falls apart.”
Oh. OK.
Don’t mind us – just sitting in 3rd in the East and the 5th best record in the NBA.
What people seem to fail to understand about this Pacers team is that Victor Oladipo was definitely the straw that stirs the drink, but for a lot of this season the drink hasn’t needed to be stirred.
He’s missed around 40{9248eb06d757fc74ce155121c4da06dff5cc7215a6a01c20597297088be2e01b} of the season with the right knee injury in November and December then the season-ending quad in January.
38-20 is still their record.
Boston was one game away from the NBA Finals last season without – not one – but BOTH of their best players on paper.
Playing good basketball together + a chip on their shoulder from being overlooked is the best combination for the Pacers and a recipe for disaster for the rest of the East.
