At the start of the season, a matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs appeared to be a preview of a possible NBA Finals series. Both teams were predicted to remain at the top of their conferences and be challengers for a championship. While that still remains true for the Spurs, the same cannot be said for the Pacers.
The Spurs are rolling and currently on the brink of their longest win streak, aiming for their 18th win in a row as they face Indiana on Monday night. The Spurs hold a tight grip on the Western Conference and remain three games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record overall. On the other side, the Pacers are losing grip of their Eastern Conference lead. The race is down to one game ahead of the Miami Heat after Indiana dropped five of their last seven games and nine of their last 15 overall. They did get a win over the Heat on Wednesday, but then fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
The Pacers looked lifeless on Sunday. They shot just 36.6 percent overall while putting up just 77.2 points on average in their last five games. Paul George did not help with his just 15 points while averaging just 30.8 percent shooting over the past eight games. David West is shooting just 34.4 percent over his last five games as the team is looking less and less like the NBA champs they were once predicted to be.
San Antonio is playing their best basketball of the season right now. They are averaging 29.1 assists per game, playing efficient basketball. If one player is down, another steps up. Tony Parker has struggled the past two games, but Marco Belinelli has stepped up for season- high nights.
The Spurs have the most recent loss in this series, falling to the Pacers back on Dec. 7 but it is the Spurs playing the better basketball at the moment. Parker struggled against Indiana's size, having just 13 points and two assists while George put up 28 points, going 4 for 4 from beyond the arc.
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