What Has Led To The Pacers Defensive Turnaround?

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If there was one consistent flaw for the Indiana Pacers that carried over from last season to this one, it was their defense. 

Throughout their run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the Pacers routinely had to light up the scoreboard in order to win. To begin this season, that remained a problem, and the Pacers suffered for it. However, something remarkable has happened over the last 18 games; the Pacers have been good defensively. In fact, they’ve been one of the best teams in the league on that end of the court, and their record has reflected that. 

 So what exactly has led to the Pacers turnaround on the defensive side of the ball? 

During the Tuesday edition of The Ride With JMV, Chris Denari from Pacers TV joined the show, and answered that very question. 

“I do think it starts with Andrew Nembhard, I think you also have to give a lot of credit to Ben Sheppard. You got two of your best defensive players back; Sheppard missed 10, 12 games, Nembhard missed 14 or 15 games, and so when you don’t have those two guys that you can have in your rotation, especially Nembhard starting and Sheppard coming off the bench…The last 18 games, the offensive rating is 6th, the defensive rating is 5th, and the net rating is 5th, and if you just look at the sheer points per game given up, in the first 25 when the Pacers were 10-15, they were giving 118 points per game. In the last 18 games, they’ve cut that by 9, they’re giving up just a little over 109. So that’s been the biggest thing; the offensive rating, they’re averaging in the last 18 about 117, in the first 25 they were right around 114, so it’s been the defensive end that’s been the real key.  

Listen to JMV’s full conversation with Chris Denari down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!  

What Has Led To The Pacers Defensive Turnaround? was originally published on 1075thefan.com