Anyone else ready for a new opponent? With a victory tonight, the Pacers will officially have enough wins against the Bucks to eliminate them from a playoff series.

Back-to-back games against an opponent can be a fun scheduling quirk but in this case it feels like overkill. After a cathartic win against Milwaukee on Monday, where the Pacers overcame two separate 15 point deficits to win not only the game but also the season series, I don't feel like there's much left to be proven – or said – in regard to our division rivals. Hopefully the Pacers' competitive spirit rages more intensely than mine and they don't allow the energy wane tonight.

I couldn't blame them if they got caught looking ahead, however. They are embarking on a five game home stand, two of which are against the best team in the league in the Boston Celtics. But forget looking ahead for a second, let's look back.

Over the past two weeks, the Pacers are 5-2 and beating opponents by an average of about eight points per game. That time frame encompasses the end of their IST hangover skid and the current four game win streak.

What's led to the sudden success? Well the law of averages partly, but more than that, the Pacers have been playing passable defense. Their defensive efficiency ranking is, amazingly, in the orange, just better than league average according to Cleaning the Glass. Combine that with the usual offensive excellence and the Pacers are once again a tough out.

The formula is not a revelation by any means. Go back to Kevin Pritchard's end of season presser in April and you'll hear him say that if the Pacers can get to the middle of the pack defensively their win total will sky rocket. Early this season the Pacers ranked in the top ten in net efficiency despite being at the very bottom in defensive points per possession. That imbalance caught up with them – slowly, then all of a sudden – pushing them to the bottom of third in the league by late December. After this four game win streak, the Pacers have clawed their way back to average.

If you are skeptical of the ever changing nature of averages, just take the last game as an example. The Pacers shot 14.7% from three and managed to beat the 24 win Bucks. That's not something that would have happened earlier in the year – in fact the Pacers got blown out by 50 points in Boston last time they shot below 20% from three.

Progress doesn't always happen linearly but it seems obvious that the team is getting better... and that's something to be really excited about.

Player of the Week

With success comes awards. After being nominated six times, Haliburton's consecutive 20 assist games helped put him over the top in winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award.

Myles Turner was also a nominee, deservedly so after one of the best stretches of his career.

New Sponsor

Get out your phone cameras, the Pacers have a new jersey patch sponsor. The team has partnered with Fishers-based Spokenote, a QR code company. According to the press release, "This first-of-its-kind partnership makes the Pacers the first major professional sports franchise in the United States to debut a QR code-like patch on their regular season and postseason jerseys, a Spokenote code that will give fans access to unique, never-seen-before Pacers’ content."

Injuries

The question of who will start at the off-guard position when Bruce Brown and Andrew Nembhard are both healthy will not be answered tonight. Though Brown is back in the lineup after missing time with a knee injury, Nembhard will be in street clothes with a bad back.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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