The Pacers have lost six of the last seven games and are stumbling into the new year. Since the IST, it seems like the thing the team has needed most is a break. Shooting percentages are down, fouls are up, and the injury report is lively – all signs that the Pacers are playing with dead legs.

Perhaps what we've witnessed over the past few weeks is simply a reversion to the mean. The players had plenty of opportunities to crow early in the season. Being forced to eat crow – as this humbling stretch is forcing them to do – may just be the inevitable justice of the law of averages. That seems to be Rick Carlisle's take on the matter at least:

If you look at the stats, the picture is somehow less rosy. Going by Cleaning the Glass' metrics, the Pacers have actually won one game over expectation and are projected to finish the season with 38 wins.

Call me an optimist (or a homer) but my gut tells me neither assertion is accurate. This team is better than .500. Not by much, sure. The lack of defensive forwards is an achilles heel that will always put too much burden on the offense to be sustainable. However, we've seen that the offense can achieve nirvana in the right circumstances. We've seen that our undersized wings can find ways to come up with stops in big moments when the game is on the line.

What this team really needs is just to catch its breath. I can't tell you why, but I'm hopeful that the couple days they got off for Christmas allowed them to do exactly that.

The Pacers opponent tonight is a similarly situated team. After a surprisingly strong start to the season, the Houston Rockets have been sputtering of late. Poor defense and an overall lack of effort has been plaguing Houston. Over the weekend they were able to put together a statement win on the road against New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back.

Let's hope that was a blip on the radar and not the start of a defensive resurgence as defense is what Houston rode to their early season success.

Offense is where Houston has struggled throughout the year, but against the Pacers, that shouldn't be a problem.

Having said that, the Pacers are starting what is arguably their best defensive lineup. So maybe that trope is about to change.

Injuries

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 8:00 PM ET.

TV: NBA TV, Bally Sports Indiana

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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