Perfectly Average

Many times in sports, you can skip steps.

In 2006, George Mason wasn't known as a mid-major power and they hadn't made a Sweet 16 appearance before. The 1997 Marlins had never even made the playoffs before winning the World Series. Florida State, a nothing program prior to the 1980's, was 10-2 in Bobby Bowden's second year in 1977 and was dominant for the next two decades.

Unfortunately, the Pacers don't have that luxury.
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Following last night's loss to Atlanta, Indiana is an even 11-11. They're 6-5 at home, and 5-6 on the road. They've knocked off the Lakers in Los Angeles and they've beaten-up on Denver. They've also lost by 26 in Philadelphia, and have fallen twice to the nine-win Bucks. The Pacers are 16th out of 30 NBA teams in scoring (99.6 ppg), and 17th in scoring defense (97.4).
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In a word, the Pacers are perfectly average.

There's nothing wrong with being a middle-of-the-road team - the Pacers are 139-189 over the last four seasons combined. This season is just the second step for this franchise, and not all teams can go from the basement to the top of the staircase in one year.

Finally, there is a young core to build around. Darren Collison hasn't overshot, or undershot, expectations. He's exactly what most Pacers' fans thought he was going to be. Brandon Rush is showing signs of life in year three, and may finally live up to his potential. Roy Hibbert continues to grow, and it's hard to see someone with his work ethic not succeeding. Being on the end of the bench during the World Championships was the humbling experience that Danny Granger needed, and he's responded by becoming a stronger team player. A.J. Price, Tyler Hansbrough, and Josh McRoberts have contributed when given proper minutes. All of the players on this list, outside of Granger who is 27, are 25 or younger and none of them have played more than three seasons in the league.

Average doesn't equal championships, but don't go shoveling dirt on 2010-11. This isn't a throwaway year. If the season ended today, the Pacers would be the 7th seed in the East and find themselves in the playoffs for the first time since 2006. After the top five (Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta) in the East, there appears to be a big drop-off. There isn't any reason to believe that the Pacers can't compete with the Knicks, Bobcats, Bucks, Raptors, Sixers, Pistons, and Cavaliers for three playoff spots.

Conseco Fieldhouse is still half-empty, and I may still have to ask someone behind the bar to turn on the Pacers game when I'm at a downtown establishment, but this team is slowly on its way back up. Average may not be that far off from bad, but it's a heck of a lot closer to good.