Indiana
Pacers
Central
| 2011-12 Team Rating | |
| Offense | Defense |
| 99.2 | 98.1 |
| 21st Overall | 11th Overall |
Stats through Feb. 16
W
17
L
12
PCT
.586
GB
6
CONF
12-9
DIV
3-2
HOME
7-4
ROAD
10-8
LinksVideo | Statistics | Tickets | Team
|
Category | Grade | ||
 Roy Hibbert will add the All-Star experience to his development, Danny Granger has been playing like one and David West is one of the summer's best FA signings.
|
A- |
||
 The two-deep-ness continues here, though George Hill got hurt and has been missed. Paul George, meanwhile, is responsible for pools of drool throughout the league.
|
B- |
||
 There had been serious defensive slippage -- transition, close-outs -- and it cost the Pacers in a five-game skid. The schedule bit during that time (no practices) but whose hasn't?
|
C |
||
 Tyler Hansbrough was supposed to be a monster off Indiana's bench but it hasn't happened. Some think these guys missed Brandon Rush and Mike Dunleavy.
|
C+ |
||
 Not sure about the "smash-mouth" stylings -- at times Frank Vogel sounded more like a hockey coach -- but he has made this team his own.
|
B+ |
||
B+
Summary
This team is right where it ought to be and maybe even a little ahead of schedule. Growing pains, baby steps, you name it, there's no way to skip that if you want to also have continuity and depth. Give the Pacers credit -- they even managed to get under Derrick Rose's skin after being the only road team to win in Chicago.
This team is an East version of Oklahoma City, improvement coming simultaneously, and from within at multiple positions. They'll catch a break now with a better home/road schedule balance.
-- Steve Aschburner
Explanation of Marking System
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