The National Basketball Association season is nearing the half-way mark and the All-Star game is right around the corner. The Indiana Pacers have had an interesting start this year. It is almost as if they are on a roller coaster, judging merely from the ups and downs they have seen all year. Winning streaks have been celebrated and losing streaks have haunted the team and fans alike. Here is a quick breakdown of the Indiana Pacers basketball team at the mid-season break.
The Pacers roster has an extremely talented array of players, however, this has not lead head coach Frank Vogel to be able to locate a solid starting lineup. In fact, the starting lineup has been as inconsistent as the Indiana weather in the spring time. The only steadfast members of the starting five have been Paul George, Monta Ellis, and George Hill. The other two starting positions have been filtered with multiple other players including Ian Mahinmi, C.J. Miles, and Lavoy Allen. This has brought many different issues to the Pacers team chemistry on the court as they have struggled as they neared the Mid-Season break. It will be a drastic key to for Coach Frank Vogel to establish a starting line up for the second half of the season.
One of the more thorough positions the Pacers have on the court is that of small forward. Held by one of the most prolific players in the NBA is Paul George. The All-Star has been performing at an All-Star level this season. This has been made all the more impressive due to the recovery he has made from his blood-curdling leg injury from a year ago. George has been averaging an astounding 24 points per game this season paired along with 7.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds.
The Pacers next leading scorer comes with shooting guard Monta Ellis. Ellis has been outstanding in Indianapolis since he made his way over from Sacramento, pouring in over 14.2 ppg. He has been a key to the Pacers offensive game this year, boasting an innate ability to cut on a dime to the basket or pop the long range shot from beyond the arc. Behind Ellis is equally impressive C.J. Miles. Miles has been very impressive this year, making the most of his time spent on the court. He has also be a huge part of the defensive front.
George Hill is finally returning from his absence due to the birth of his child. With Hill returning to the starting lineup, the Pacers will make themselves considerably more formidable to opponents. The Popovich product has been phenomenal since coming from the Spurs, and his game play shows it. Putting up 13 points and around four rebounds each game, Hill has been dominant on either side of the court this season and will continue to improve.
Finally, the role of big man on the court has been disputed between returning veteran Ian Mahinmi and rookie sensation Myles Turner. Both have been contributing around nine points and six rebounds each game while blocking 1.4 of their opponents shots. The addition of Turner has led Frank Vogel to actually extend the role of big man on the court to both of them, with Mahinmi and Turner starting the past several games before the All-Star break. This will absolutely come to be a big key point for the Pacers both offensively and defensively. <http://espn.go.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/ind/india...>
Overall, the Pacers are at mid-season sitting back in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They are looking to make a big playoff run this year, as are all the other teams. This will entail a spike in the offensive output during the second half of the season. They are averaging 102.6 points each game this season while allowing opponents 99.9 points per game. This truly leaves very little room for error offensively or defensively, so the pace is going to have to change. Head Coach Frank Vogel has to bring a spark to this team and ignite them for the remainder of the season to insure that the Pacers can acquire a solid spot in the 2015-2016 NBA playoffs.
