Indiana Pacers Schedule: A Tough but Favorable Gauntlet Ahead

Indiana's condensed 2011/2012 schedule has been announced. The results are a mixed - but overall positive - bag.

The positives:

1. An Easy Opening Schedule

The Pacers open up their first five games with:

They have the Detroit Pistons at home followed by an away game with the Toronto Raptors, a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by away games at Detroit and the New Jersey Nets.

Besides the dizzying travel schedule, an issue all teams will have to deal with in the lockout-shortened season, the first 5 games couldn't be more ideal.

With two games against Detroit along with a home game against a young Cleveland team and a trip to Toronto, this has to be the easiest five-game opening stretch in the league. The only tough game should be New Jersey, and that should be more than winnable. 

Not saying it will happen, but the Pacers should start 5-0. For a young team still adding players to the mix, a fast start will be key. 

2. Pacers Get To Avoid Top Teams in the Western Conference

Because they aren't a marquee team, the Pacers only have to play the best in the West once each.

Unfortunately the Pacers drew the Lakers, Mavericks and George Hill's old team, the Spurs, on the road, but at least fans get the treat of seeing Kevin Durant and the Thunder come to Indy.

While disappointing for the fans, avoiding an extra game against the top teams out West is a definite plus.

3. They're Young, They Can Handle It

Teams that will benefit the most will be teams that rely on their bench and have a young core nucleus. The Pacers fit both.

If the Pacers add another power forward and even perhaps a shooting guard such as Arron Afflalo, they could have Paul George, Tyler Hansbrough, George Hill and Lance Stephenson playing major minutes off the bench. Mr. high energy Jeff Foster will be critical in spelling Roy Hibbert as well. 

Even if the team enters the season as is (something that seems unlikely given their cap space), four of their five starters would be under 26 and all would be under 30.

With such a brutal schedule coming up, that's great news for the Pacers and not so great news for the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers.

4. Only Three Late Night Games 

Late night games? What do they matter? Usually they don't, but with the schedule so condensed and travel already going to be a nightmare, late games could really hurt a team. Fortunately, they only happen three times and all on the same Western Conference road trip, which will help negate the effects. 

It doesn't sound like much but if it's the difference between getting home at 3 a.m. or getting home at 5:30 a.m. with a game the following evening, every little bit helps. 

5. An easy closing schedule 

If you thought the Pacers opening five games was easy, wait until you see their closing five. Scratch that, their closing 10. 

How the Pacers got so lucky is beyond me, but they did. 

There following schedule is as follows:

They play at home against Toronto, a home-and-home series with Cleveland on consecutive nights, away against the Milwaukee Bucks, home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, at the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by four consecutive home games against Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Detroit, the Chicago Bulls.

Again, the only one on that list the Pacers won't be expected to beat is Chicago. Philly will be tough but it's not implausible by any stretch of the imagination for the Pacers to go 9-1 down that stretch.

The greatest factor of their last 10 games, isn't how soft the schedule is (which is a huge plus), but the fact that they get their last four games at home!

Whether the Pacers are battling for the final spot or for home court advantage, not having to travel and having the home crowd to energize them is invaluable. 

If the Pacers were to finish in the top four and get first-round home court advantage (a scenario which isn't totally out of the question) they could have two full weeks at home sans travel. 

That aspect alone, could be the difference between moving on to the second round and going home early.

The Negatives: 

1. Killer January Schedule

If their opening and closing schedules are the easiest in the NBA, their January slate of games has to be among the most difficult.

11 of their 16 games will be on the road, but that isn't even the worst part. The Pacers face Boston not once, not twice but three times in January along with road games against the Lakers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic (which they also get at home) and Chicago. 

If the Pacers don't get off to a hot start and hang tough early in the new year, their season could be on life support by February.

2. Big Man Fatigue 

Roy Hibbert has improved his conditioning and extended his minutes in each of his first three seasons in the league. Yet for all the work Hibbert has been logging (and he looks lean and mean), he won't be able to overcome the fact that so many back-to-backs will take their toll on his body, particularly his knees.

It happens to all big guys, and at 7'2'', Hibbert is one of the biggest. 

Now, thankfully Hibbert isn't Bynum, but it will still be a concern for the Pacers.

3. Lack of Depth

All indications point to the Pacers spending big bucks in free agency to bring in highly sought after talent, which would move former players Hansbrough and perhaps even Paul George to the bench. Such would be an ideal situation as the Pacers would be absolutely loaded and would be able to play 9, even 10 deep. 

There is definite reason to be excited, but it hasn't happened yet. Currently Hansbrough and George are still starting, which leaves serious question marks as to who will spell them. Same too applies for Hibbert if Foster isn't retained. If the Pacers don't make upgrades, the Pacers will be gassed down the stretch.

4. Two back-to-back-to-backs

Many teams only have one grueling back-to-back-to-back. Unfortunately the Pacers have two, one in mid-February against Miami, Cleveland and New Jersey and the other not until a mid-March stretch of Washington Phoenix and Milwaukee. 

All in all, they could have been at the end and against a tougher stretch of teams, so it's not a worst case scenario, but it's not ideal either.

5. No Love From the Media

It won't affect the player's performance, but it's no fun for the fans. The Pacers won't get a single national television appearance this season and will only have four games shown on NBA TV.

You figured with a talented young nucleus and after their hard fought first round playoff series with Chicago last season (a series they should have won) that Indiana might get a little love. Apparently not. I guess the Pacers will just have to earn the media's respect for next season.

Overall

The Pacers season will be defined in December and January. If they want to be a real contender they will have to run the table in December and go somewhere around .500 in January to come out unscathed. 

If they can do that, the Pacers are rewarded with what has to be the easiest and most favorable closing schedule in the league. 

Overall, the Pacers have to be really pleased with the cards they were dealt. As long as they survive the brutal 16-game stretch in January, they should be golden.