Pacers rise significantly in the new NBA power rankings

The NBA made some big strides in the NBA Power Rankings this week, with a new top team and a big jump from the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers struggled to close games defensively early in the season, finishing at No. 25 in the NBA Power Rankings just last week. After the NBA won the last two meetings, the team improved by five places and is in 20th place.

In Sunday’s game against the Pelicans, the Pacers displayed a balanced offense, led by a team-high performance from Pascal Siakam with 22 points. Other notable players during this match include Tyrese Haliburton with 21 points, Andrew Nembhard with 17 points, Obi Toppin with 16 points and Myles Turner with 14 points.

This follows an earlier win against the Philadelphia 76ers led by Tyrese Haliburton, who had a masterful performance with 32 points and 11 assists.

It seems like Indiana is on an upward trend, finding ways to close out games and getting productive contributions from its supporting cast. Some viewers believe the Pacers need to test the strength of their opponents before they can determine whether real improvement has occurred. The team’s last six games have come against teams under .500.

However, the previous two wins against the Pelicans and 76ers represented the Pacers’ largest margin of victory, beating both teams by more than ten points (14 and 15). Just ten days ago, Indiana couldn’t record a single win by a margin of more than 5 points.

It’s safe to say that if the Pacers continue to compete at the level they have played in their last two meetings, we could see this young core continue to rise in the league.

Indiana faces a big test in the coming weeks as the team prepares for its toughest stretch of the season yet. The next nine games will be against opponents who are at or above .500. They also face the challenge of a three-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. All of them feature some of the best offensive players in the league.

In order to pick up some big wins in the coming weeks, the Pacers will need to continue to improve their defense. The front office addressed the rim protection issue by completing a trade for Thomas Bryant.

The team will also need more consistency offensively from the entire squad as the competition for the Pacers will only get tougher from here on out.

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