The Indiana Pacers are currently on a four-game winning streak. Here are the reasons that the team is picking up victories and building momentum.
The Indiana Pacers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season, and they have been particularity hot as of late. They have posted four wins in their last four outings, raising their record to 16-11.
Let’s examine what has transpired over the last four contests and see why the Pacers are enjoying this recent success. First, we’ll get some of the more obvious reasons out of the way, then look at some items more in depth.
To begin this discussion, look no further than shooting guard Victor Oladipo. The 25-year-old from Indiana University has been on a tear over the past four games, averaging 30.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest.
During this time period, Oladipo is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, which includes hitting 47.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. Those are superstar-type numbers, and he’s also been playing outstanding defense on the other end of the floor.
Another basic factor to take into account is the schedule. All four of Indiana’s wins during the streak have been at home, as they have been part of a rare six-game homestand. That much home cooking certainly makes things a lot easier.
The Pacers also got a break when they played the New York Knicks on Dec. 4 without Kristaps Porzingis or Tim Hardaway Jr. The lowly Chicago Bulls were the next victim on Dec. 6.
The Knicks were blown out Monday night against the Pacers, with Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. both out of the lineup for the second straight game.@KnicksHive has your recap:https://t.co/fxh4VzhBh6 pic.twitter.com/oexnrpelPy
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) December 5, 2017
However, it should be noted that the other victories were against quality teams in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets (with the former being on a 13-game winning streak at the time as well).
Victor Oladipo’s eruption and a little luck in terms of scheduling have helped Indiana build this win streak, but are there also more subtle factors involved in the team’s recent stellar play?
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Starting power forward Thaddeus Young has quietly had a nice run during the winning streak. Young is posting averages of 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over the last four games, while shooting 53.8 percent from 3-point range and 57.4 percent overall.
Young’s full season numbers are 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest on shooting splits of .484/.333/.588, so he’s clearly upped his game and has provided terrific support for what has recently become the Victor Oladipo Show in Indianapolis.
The starting lineup as a whole has been dominant during the team’s win streak. The starting five of Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Thad Young and Myles Turner have been registering astronomical plus/minus statistics during the streak.
Turner leads the way with a +14.0, followed by Young (+11.8), Oladipo (+11.5), Bogdanovic (+10.3) and Collison “trailing” with a +5.3. To put these numbers in perspective, a +5.0 is considered All-NBA level, so it’s difficult to find an adjective that accurately describes how impressive this is.
In terms of Net Rating (offensive rating combined with defensive rating), we see a similar pattern. The starters range from a high of +22.4 (Myles Turner) to Darren Collison’s low of +13.0.
The best Net Rating on the team over the course of the season is a +5.0 (Collison), so this again shows that the starting five has been exceptional over the past four games — both the offense and defense have been elevated over this time period.
It is inevitable that Victor Oladipo and the rest of the Pacers’ starting lineup will regress toward the mean at some point, but just how good that mean is might be the key question.
Many pundits are wondering if this Indiana club is for real, but when looking at their performance over the first 27 games of the season, it appears that their level of play is sustainable.
Next: 2017-18 Week 9 NBA Power Rankings
This team won’t continue to play like a lineup of All-NBA superstars, but they should be able to maintain their status as a solid playoff team in the Eastern Conference — and given what transpired this offseason, that is like an early Christmas present for Pacers fans.