"The Giant Killers"(Indiana Pacers)

It seems the Pacers have become today's "David" from the Bible. The Indiana Pacers have knocked off the two NBA Goliaths with their new, progressive slingshot. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are two teams at the top of their game, and both are respectively first in their conference. Nearly 1/5 the way through the season these teams combine for a mere four losses. Pretty impressive, I know. But this didn't stop a struggling Indiana team from knocking them out and pulling an old school "David and Goliath".

The Lakers and Celtics have been expectingly impressive. What could be more impressive than these two teams right now you ask? Maybe the Indiana Pacers? Most will say I'm crazy....and well, you might be right. But this Indiana team has shown a fierce competitveness in games against these monster teams. Sure, their record is currently 7-11, not that great. On the surface they look like a struggling team, failing to even maintain a .500 record....but under the surface lies a much more interesting story.

Not only have they beaten the two best teams in the NBA, but have also beaten teams like the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks(both playoff teams). Come to think of it, six of the seven Indiana wins have been over teams with a record currently over .500. This is hard to swallow. If they are beating championship caliber teams like the Lakers and Celtics, well, how could they possibly be below .500? Glad you asked.

I have watched most of their games this year(thanks to "League Pass"), and there is a reason I think the Pacers are a playoff team. The team just can't seem to finish out games....it's actually quite simple. They haven't lost a single game by more than 10 points, and have five losses decided by four or less points. This shows they are competing in every single game they play. In many cases, they have the lead and fail to finish the game. But this is all changing. No, it won't happen overnight, but this team is learning to win.....game by game.

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You know an important stat I have always followed is a teams Point Differential.

Boston:+8.7 Lakers:+12.8

This shows that both these teams are not only winning their games, but simply dominating most games.

Indiana: +.1

It's actually somewhat ironic. Usually, a team with a losing record displays a negative point differential. This stat just proves my point. All their losses are by incremental amounts, and many of their wins are by 10+ points. Over the course of the season, many of these close games, the ones they have been losing, will become wins. Indiana has basically been in every single game it's played in....is learning to win as a team, and has started to figure out how to finish games.

Simply put, the Pacers will be a playoff team by years end. Their "below the surface" statistics show they are a .500 team or better, and I actually think a record of at least .500 is very plausible, if not impending.

TJ Ford is mastering the Indiana playbook and learning to run this team as a true PG. Troy Murphy has come out of his shell and become the versatile PF/C that can stretch the defense and gobble up rebounds. A guy by the name of Mike Dunleavy, the teams second leading scorer last year, has yet to even play a minute this season. He will come back and provide another life of pure shooting that they need. Solid role players, but also newcomers to this Pacers franchise like Rasho Nesterovic, Jarret Jack, Brandon Rush, and Roy Hibbert are all contributing and starting to gel as a team. Of course, this team is built around Danny Granger, one of the most underrated players in the league. He does it all: defends, blocks shots, steals, 3pt-shooting, slashing, dunking, passing....you name it and this kid does it. He has become an "All-Star" caliber player, and is learning to take over games in the fourth quarter. He has, and will, single-handedly win games for them. He has become a clutch performer, and will begin to shine this year leading the Pacers to the playoffs.


Remember this thread, as I think Indiana will start bringing their "A" game, no matter the team, and will continue to finish closing out games. Just wait till the playoffs inch closer.