| The NBA's Resident Seesaw Authored by Andrew Perna - February 19, 2009 - 1:20 pm
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"Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get..."
Tom Hanks' infamous line is a great summary of life itself, but it also perfectly puts into words this season's edition of the Indiana Pacers.
After Wednesday night's loss to the Bobcats, the Pacers stand 22-34 and are on pace for fewer wins (32) than last season when the hope and promise that surrounds this year's team was nonexistent.
One night the Pacers look like a solid playoff contender, but the next they don't even resemble a Big-Ten school. They have wins over the Celtics, Lakers, Magic and Cavaliers to their credit, but have fallen to clubs like the Grizzles, Warriors, Timberwolves and Bucks just days later.
Heading into the second half of the season, the Pacers were full of optimism because of their favorable schedule. But when taking a look at their record, they might have a better chance at beating winning teams than losing ones.
Indiana is 12-21 (36.6%) against teams that had winning records heading into Thursday night's action, and 10-13 (43.4%) against clubs that currently employ losing marks. A good team, even a step below the league's elite, would beat up on lesser competition.
Plain and simple, the Pacers still aren't a good team.
Want an even stranger statistic?
They are 4-9 against the NBA's five best teams (the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic and Nuggets) this season, and have exactly the same number of wins against the league's five worst teams (the Kings, Wizards, Clippers, Raptors and Thunder.)
You truly have no idea what team is going to step out onto the floor prior to each game. Will they appear locked in, execute down the stretch and show flashes of a true postseason contender? Or will they appear like a team void of chemistry, stumble in the fourth quarter and move closer to a high pick in May's NBA Draft Lottery?
Your guess is as good as mine, or anyone else's for that matter.
The only thing that is certain about the 2008-09 edition of the Indiana Pacers is that it'll take a moderate miracle for them to be playing basketball past their April 15 season finale.
They'll need to leapfrog four teams and erase almost a five-game lead currently held by Milwaukee in order to enter the conversation for the eighth, and final, seed in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, teams like the Bulls have improved themselves through deadline deals.
If the Pacers don't get their act together soon and start beating teams they certainly appear capable of defeating, a return to the postseason will be delayed yet another year.
"I had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours," Hanks said in yet another unforgettable scene from Forrest Gump.
It's been roughly 2 years, 9 months, 15 days, and 4 hours since the Pacers last appeared in the playoffs.
--WHAT'S GRANGER'S STATUS?
Compounding the loss to Charlotte was the sprained foot suffered by All-Star forward Danny Granger. Heading into the game, the Pacers were already without Mike Dunleavy (knee) and Jeff Foster (back).
There have been frightening rumors that Dunleavy might be shut down for the season, a move that, at this point, seems like a good one if Indiana has decided it's time to focus more on 2009-10 than the final 26 games of this campaign.
If Granger, who is presently listed as day-to-day, misses any significant time the Pacers' changes of moving up into the playoff picture was become nonexistent.
"It's really painful," Granger told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star after Wednesday's loss. "It's an unfortunate series of events. Hopefully I won't be out long."
We mustn't forget that Granger has been hobbling around on a sore knee as well. Favoring the joint could have led to the foot sprain, or it could simply make it harder for the fourth-year forward to return effectively.
Granger, who has been the one picture of stability for the team this season, has struggled as of late because of the aforementioned knee issue. During a six-game stretch at the end of January, Granger averaged 19.5 points on 34.5% shooting (37-for-107).
He has shot 41.7% in February, but was draining 45.6% of his attempts back in November. He's also slipped down the NBA's scoring list, going from fourth to sixth with 25.0 points per game on 18.7 shot attempts.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
