Pacers taking control of Central division with suffocating defense

The Central Division has slowly become the Indiana Pacers to lose. As the NBA season winds down toward the post season, the Pacers have opened up a 3 ½ game lead over the second place Chicago Bulls and 7 games over the third place Milwaukee Bucks.

Indiana has proven since the All Star game, that they are the Eastern Conference’s second best team, behind just the amazing Miami Heat.

Indiana is the only team in the conference with any hope of stopping Miami from reaching their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

Nevertheless, the Pacers are not without their problems and that shows over their past 10 games. Indiana is 5-5 over that stretch. The Pacers have continued to play the bully against the weaker teams with a suffocating defense, physical play and even some offense.

However, when it comes to beating the better teams in the league over the past few weeks, the Pacers have failed to impress. As the postseason gets nearer, the Pacers need to find a way to beat the better teams in the league.

Without a doubt, the Pacers defense is the league’s best. Only the Pacers allow less than one point per opponent’s possession. The defense down low of Roy Hibbert and the back court defense of Paul George have helped to instill in the rest of the team a cohesive system that makes the defense Indiana’s biggest strength.

Indiana prides itself on not letting teams beat them in the paint offensively or from beyond the three-point arc. The Pacers have been very successful in forcing opponents to score from mid range shots.

This type of defense will help once the playoffs arrive. The game’s pace usually slows during the playoffs and that plays into the hands of the Pacers defensive scheme.

The three-prong defensive perimeter attack of George Hill, Lance Stephenson and team MVP George has proven to be very effective. So much so, that the return of last season’s high scorer Danny Granger from a knee injury has not impacted the team as much as many had thought it would.

Many now believe that Stephenson is too important on the defensive end to start Granger in front of him, so for now Granger comes off the bench after missing the team’s first 55 games of the season.

The Pacers offense has also started to pick up thanks to some great transition play by Stephenson and George. Off the bench, Orlando Johnson has also been able to help the team pick up its transition game.

Even though Indiana plays in front of smaller home crowds than many other NBA teams, they have the second best record in the conference at home having won 26 of their 34 home games thus far.

Indiana plays 17 more games and they currently are in second place in the conference leading the New York Knicks by one game and the Brooklyn Nets by two. Included in those 17 games are matchups head to head with both the Knick and the Nets.

It is critical for the Pacers to continue to win and play well to ensure themselves home court advantage in the post season until the conference finals, which will certainly be against Miami.