Aptly Named: Pacers On Track To Finish Season

It’s not every day you hear a name that just clicks — the Chicago Bulls don’t bull, and the Detroit Pistons don’t piston — so it’s very refreshing to see that the aptly named Indiana Pacers remain on track to finish the season.

That’s right. From the preseason to opening night to all the way up to today, this team has played every single game the league scheduled for them. Four quarters, two halves, every game. Do they play them all at once? No, that’s chaos, not pace. The players exit the locker room, check into the game, play the game, check out of the game, enter the locker room, leave the arena, and — with a little luck —  have enough in the tank to play the next game. That’s called pace.

Some people want the Pacers to win eight or nine in a row. That’s called a streak, friend, not playing with pace. Lightly jogging up and down the court? That’s pace. No player goes faster than the other. No one drags their feet either. It’s brisk. It’s pace. It’s Indianapolis basketball.

No player gives 100%. They don’t need to. That’s unsustainable. Sixty percent is perfectly acceptable because it’s a solid number; better than half, but too far away to be considered great. Pace requires sustainability, and you can’t sustain if you’re constantly running at 100%, which is why the Pacers always strive for a 41-41 record.

Unfortunately, not every team seems to know the season ends in April. Each year, around 16 teams will have to keep playing another two months, and one of them will have to win 16 more games. That’s just bad pacing.