The Eastern Conference is such a tight race right now that there is only a 3-game difference between 1st seed and 9th. It’s so close that last year’s top seed, the Atlanta Hawks, are currently out of the playoff race.
The Pacers won a big game against the Dallas Mavericks today to stay at 3rd in the East behind the Cavs and the Bulls. Final score, 107-81, with the Pacers pulling away in the second half after a dismal shooting performance to start off the game. CJ Miles led the team with 20 points and Paul George added 19 on 7-18 shooting, once again bringing his lofty averages back down to earth a little bit.
Monta Ellis got revenge against his old squad — despite not scoring and missing all his shots in the first half — by catching fire in the third quarter and finishing with 19 points on 17 shots, including an uncharacteristic 3-5 from downtown.
Monta has not lived up to expectations thus far this season in terms of his scoring, but he has helped out the team in other ways. He provides an extra bail-out option in addition to Paul George; he is the team’s best penetrator and slasher and often creates opportunities for other shooters like PG, CJ Miles and George Hill. And he has actually worked his tail off on defense, which is fantastic to see.
In his last 4 games, Monta is averaging 18 points on 46.7% shooting, looking more and more comfortable with his role in the offense. As Frank Vogel said after the game, Monta is at that stage of his career where he is all about winning and not how many points he scores. Keep an eye out for him in the next few games as I believe he is due for a big one.
Looking ahead, the Pacers have a few rough ones on the schedule. They have a home game against the Nets in a couple of days, which they should win, but the next night it’s on the road in Memphis, who thumped them in one of the first games of the season. It’s time for payback, and Memphis doesn’t look as daunting as it did back then. Two days after that, however, the Pacers get the ultimate litmus test against the San Antonio Spurs and a reunion with David West, who left 10 million on the table to leave the team. The Pacers found out they weren’t on the same level as the Warriors a few games back, and the game against the Spurs will provide another opportunity to see where they stand in the league right now.
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