Pacers at the Quarterpole

With 13 of the first 19 on the road, a 10-10 record at the quarter pole would actually be a nice start. I'm sure it wouldn't excite the fanbase but it would be a good building block for the rest of the year.

The above lines are taken from my realistic season preview back in October. Well, here we are after 20 games and the Pacers are -- ta-da! -- 10-10. If things went their way, they could've won a couple more games (at Seattle, at Orlando). But they also could've lost one they won (at Golden State). So, 10-10 is telling at this point. The inconsistency was expected. But when the Pacers are in sync, the quality of play is much better than I expected. The bench can win games on their own when they are aggressive and taking it to the opponent. It looks like Maceo Baston has emerged lately as a solid second unit contributor. With a familiar former teammate on the floor Saras seems much more confident directing the reserves. If the key players stay healthy, making the playoffs in the East should be a given. With 62 games left, there's plenty of room and time for growth as a team.

Bruno looks ahead after digesting the first quarter of the season with quotes from JO, Al, and Carlisle on their lack of satisfaction so far. The three all said the same thing in different ways. Basically, we think we're better than a .500 team, just because we had a tough schedule to start the season we can't use it as an excuse, and we didn't always bring a full team effort and that must change.

As always, I like the attitude, but will be more encouraged when those words are played out on the court and I see a consistent, total team effort.