The homeward-bound schedule that was so eagerly awaited hasn't begun well for the Pacers. Saturday's loss was their second in a row at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which isn't quite what had in mind for the start of their stretch run.
Some solace can be extracted from the fact they were competitive against two of best teams in the NBA, based on record: Toronto (second-best in the East) and Oklahoma City (third-best in the West) and from the upcoming schedule. Of the next eight games, only one is against a team with a winning record as of Saturday evening, and that team — Chicago — is just two games over .