165bows wrote:Smart2Nesmith43 wrote:165bows wrote:Could never get behind this Pacers bandwagon, which is saying something because I’m a perennial underdog guy.
Pacers obviously have a higher gear than most similar teams but they’ve been a fifty win team at best two years in a row if they are the best the league’s got idk what else to say
4th best net rating post all star break last season. Cruised at like a 58-60 win pace once they got Nembhard and Nesmith back from injury this season. Plus what they've done in their two playoff runs. Pretty clearly a top 4 team since the Siakam trade.
Sure but how good are they since they moved Gafford and Washington into the starting lineup?
That’s what I mean, in the argument for fourth best team isn’t saying much especially considering Boston’s elite performance last year and then a couple of really high end regular seasons from OKC and Cleveland.
That said I’d take them over last year’s Dallas team. Those guys slobbered themselves so hard over a hot few months they thought they had a title shot. Okc being super young in some key spots is looking like a pretty glaring issue though.
But that's the point. This isn't a team that got hot for a couple months. They've been really good for a year and a half. Not 2024 Boston or 2025 OKC good but most champions aren't either.
Team A : 7th in offensive rating, 9th in defensive rating, 71% win percentage, 5.3 net rating
Team B : 5th in offensive rating, 15th in defensive rating, 65% win percentage, 3.3 net rating
Team C : 16th in offensive rating, 2nd in defensive rating, 65% win percentage, 5.5 net rating
Team D : 5th in offensive rating, 9th in defensive rating, 64% win percentage, 5.8 net rating
Team B is the 2023 Nuggets, Team C is the 2022 Warriors, Team D is the 2021 Bucks. Team A is the Pacers since January 1st (basically when they got Nembhard and Nesmith back into the lineup). I don't actually believe these Pacers are better than those other teams but to act like they are on a completely inferior tier to recent champions just isn't all that accurate.
