It’s still early, so I don’t want to get carried away, but seriously, this Pacers team is looking mighty fine.
After crushing the Bucks 123-86, the Pacers delivered a jaw-dropping performance against conference rivals the Washington Wizards, shooting them out of the gym en route to a 123-106 victory.
Paul George dropped a season-high 40, and CJ Miles finished with 32. But it was the way they did it that left jaws hanging. PG was 7-8 from three, Miles was 8-9 from three, and the Pacers as a team shot 19-26 (73%) from beyond the arc, the best percentage in NBA history for a team taking at least 25 shots from range. Ian Mahinmi even made a free throw. It was just one of those nights where you have to shake your head and concede defeat (if you’re the Wiz).
The Pacers are now 9-5 on the season at sit at 4th in the East despite starting 0-3. Next up is a grudge match against the last team to beat them, the Bulls, who clipped them in Chicago a few games back when Jimmy Butler blocked PG’s 10-footer just before the buzzer.
Things will get interesting after the Bulls game, win or lose, because the Pacers next embark on their first extended road trip of the season. The four-game west coast swing will kick off with the hapless LA Lakers but will then include a tough one against the Clippers, then an intriguing one against the Blazers, before a revenge match against the Jazz, who spanked the Pacers in game three of the season in Indy. Oh, and when they return home they’ll be facing the (currently) undefeated Warriors.
After this stretch (or perhaps after the four games after that against Miami, Detroit, Toronto and Dallas) we’ll have a good idea if this Pacers team is for real or just enjoying a temporary anomaly.
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