The Pacers are a Threat to the Bucks

The season didn’t begin well for the Pacers. They started without star Victor Oladipo, defensive anchor Myles Turner got hurt soon after, and Indiana lost its first three games -– one to the lowly Cavaliers. After a dramatic summer makeover, the Pacers were a pedestrian 7-6 three weeks into the season.

Then Indiana started winning, and winning a lot, with few noticing. But after beating the red-hot Lakers, the Pacers are a game out of the No. 2 seed in the East. They’re still in sixth place because of how tightly packed the non-Bucks contenders are, keeping the Pacers further under the radar. But they have virtually the same record as the much more ballyhooed 76ers and Celtics. If the winning continues, and Oladipo makes it back from a knee injury (the timetable is unclear), the Pacers will be ignored all the way to the conference finals.