Believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers are one of the best teams in the East.
It’s true, they are currently fourth in the East with a 12-8 record.
While that is obviously behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Celtics, it is still pretty startling considering most analysts predicting yet another middling, struggling season for Indiana.
This was a team that was possibly going to be blown apart and traded away in favor of a rebuilding process.
Pacers in November:
— 2nd best record
— 3rd in defensive rating
— 5th in assists per game9-3 this month. pic.twitter.com/tmbIN5RpXt
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 30, 2022
The team is wrapping up a very impressive month.
November has been incredibly good for the Pacers and it ends with them being third in defensive rating, fifth in assists per game, and with the second-best record with 9-3.
There are actually a few things that are driving these numbers.
People wrote the Pacers off – and people were wrong.
Pacers’ Power
The Pacers are now 12-8 and have won 7 of their last 9 games.
It is true that their recent schedule hasn’t been too challenging (featuring the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic – twice – and Los Angeles Lakers) but they have still been doing wonderful work on the floor.
There are a few huge stars leading the way for the Pacers.
Buddy Hield is putting up 17.2 a game while Myles Turner is doing 18 and newcomer Bennedict Mathurin is good for 19.1.
But Tyrese Haliburton has been the real success story of this team, especially over the last month.
He is averaging 19.9 points and a whopping 11.3 assists a game.
When you see the Pacers’ impressive output with assists it is because of Haliburton.
Will this strong streak for Indiana last?
It’s hard to tell because the road ahead is going to be more difficult.
But it’s clear that the Pacers aren’t nearly as bad as some people thought they’d be.
NEXT: Pacers Superstar Is Making History