Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

[Johanvil]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

Yeah the teams we have beaten so far are struggling but guess what? Managing to win these games and not slipping up against poor record teams, is a major reason you get HCA.

[sportfireman]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

Spurs are 12-1 as well, I wonder if their fans are having the same convo. Prob not.......sit back and enjoy the ride.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

This team is pretty mature, disciplined and hungry. I would not be surprised if we won 60+ games.

[Sollozzo]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

This team has certainly been tested. They took Miami to Game 7 of the ECF's last year. Coming into this season, everyone knew that at worst the Pacers would be a top 4 team in the NBA season with the potential to be the best. I don't care what the combined records of our opponents are. What is the combined record of Miami's opponents? It can't be that good either considering that they are an East team too.

Don't discount the fact that we're getting every team's best shot night in and night out. New York, Boston, and Philly all played their asses off against us, yet we found a way to win. I think we would have lost one of those three games last year. The mark of a great team is when you can routinely win games when every team is gunning for you. At this point, every team in the league is well aware of the fact that the Pacers are a great team. This isn't 2011-12 when we were a new team who was taking the league by surprise. Everyone knows we are great and wants a shot at us.

We're going to win an absolutely insane amount of games this year. Our 12-1 start is only fools' gold in the sense that we aren't going to continue to win at a 92% rate which would leave us with 75 wins. This is a great team who started the season like a bat out of hell and picked up right where they left off last year. Everyone knows their roles and we are simply too much for other teams to handle.

[RamBo_Lamar]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

Skeptics can call a 12-1 start "fools gold" if they want, but I call it getting into the habit of winning
from the very outset of the season like a truly great team should.

[Unclebuck]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

I think we'll really be able to tell how good this team is after this upcoming West Coast trip. There's no question we are improved, but that trip should show just how much.

I'm not sure you can isloate a portion of the schedule like that and use that isolated portion as a litmus test. I mean for sake of discussion lets say they go 1-4. Does that prove 12-1 wasn't a good indicator? Well what if we then win 8 straight (which would mean beating the Heat twice) What does that say about the 1-4 stretch?


It is all arbitrary during the regular season, but it is always better to take the long view. So you never really know until the playoffs, because that is when it counts for real. Regular season is to fine tune your game, and to get the best playoff position possible.

But this west coast trip followed by OKC and SA is extremely tough. You are playing by record the 4 best western conference teams all on the road in a weeks time. 3-2 would be great. Beat The Jazz, and split with the top 4 western conference teams.

[MnvrChvy]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

Yeah... I would take 3 and 2 out of this trip.

[bellisimo]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

1) Of the 12 teams the Pacers have played so far (we've played the Bulls twice), exactly ONE of these teams currently has a winning record - Memphis at 7-6.

If the Pacers didn't beat the Raptors - they would have a winning record.
If the Pacers didnt beat the Bulls - they would have a winning record.
If the Pacers didnt beat New Orleans - they would have a winning record.

So yes - while the records of the other teams are not looking great - we are also helping to make it look that way by beating them.

[duke dynamite]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

12-1 is impressive. It doesn't matter what teams we face. The fact of the matter is we have won 12 out of our first 13 games, 9 of which to start. You play the teams they schedule you to play.

[Ragnar]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

I do think this trip will be important, we will either fall behind the spurs and possibly blazers or we could clear some space. San Antonio has always been a tough one for us to win esp in San Antonio. That being said if we split the season series with these guys I would not be disappointed at all. I just wish they were playing here first!

[docpaul]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

I think we'll really be able to tell how good this team is after this upcoming West Coast trip. There's no question we are improved, but that trip should show just how much.

This sums it up... I don't think the Pacers are "worse than they appear". There's no question that skills are up, they are more cohesive as a team, and they are going to be a handful in the playoffs.

However, we will see what we *actually* have, once the opponents are a more representative sample. Let's talk about "legitimacy" as a championship contender after 25 games.

[Cousy47]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

If the Pacers didn't beat the Raptors - they would have a winning record.
If the Pacers didnt beat the Bulls - they would have a winning record.
If the Pacers didnt beat New Orleans - they would have a winning record.

So yes - while the records of the other teams are not looking great - we are also helping to make it look that way by beating them.

Thank you. This is about what I was going to say, though I probably wouldn't have said it as well. W have played one very good team twice and lost one to them once. The rest of the EC can thank us for a part of their bad record. Pacers are not going to go 81-1, but until somebody beats us at least twice, we are the top team in the EC.

[owl]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

I'm not sure you can isloate a portion of the schedule like that and use that isolated portion as a litmus test. I mean for sake of discussion lets say they go 1-4. Does that prove 12-1 wasn't a good indicator? Well what if we then win 8 straight (which would mean beating the Heat twice) What does that say about the 1-4 stretch?


It is all arbitrary during the regular season, but it is always better to take the long view. So you never really know until the playoffs, because that is when it counts for real. Regular season is to fine tune your game, and to get the best playoff position possible.

But this west coast trip followed by OKC and SA is extremely tough. You are playing by record the 4 best western conference teams all on the road in a weeks time. 3-2 would be great. Beat The Jazz, and split with the top 4 western conference teams.

I would add in the Miami game as part of that very difficult stretch. If the Pacers go 3-3 I would be happy with that. I really be happy with 3-3 if they beat the Spurs.

[Mr.ThunderMakeR]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

I don't know what you guys are talking about, I'm expecting 81 wins this season. I'm still disappointed in the team for not winning 82.

[naptownmenace]

Re: Is the Pacers' 12-1 record fools' gold?

The record is fantastic because they've won the games they should've won. Miami had a hard time with this at the start of the season. Just look at the record of the 3 teams that have defeated them this season.

It's not that the Pacers November Schedule looked like an easy one when the NBA released it. They have already played 4 back-to-back sets. They've had to play the Bulls twice. When the season started, we had no idea that several of these teams they have beaten would be this bad. Cleveland, New York, and Brooklyn have been unexpectedly horrible so far.

The quality of their opponents is inconsequential because everyone ups their game when they go against the Pacers now. The hunter has become the hunted. That's what happens when you come into a season as one of the teams with real championship potential. They are getting everyone's best effort and yet, they are still winning. Those 12 wins are as real as that 1 loss and it has the Pacers in the top spot. Let's enjoy that and not sell them short.