All-Star Pascal Siakam Pushing Pacers Out of Cellar

Indiana's forward is having a great individual season, helping his team through a dark time.

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam celebrates a made basket in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers have a bit of a pep in their step after recent success in their last four games.

Back-to-back wins against the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks at home has pushed the Pacers up one spot in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's power rankings. Instead of ranking No. 27, the team is now at No. 26.

"The Pacers have won three of their last four games, but are back in 15th place in the Eastern Conference with the Wizards’ win over Sacramento on Sunday," Schuhmann wrote.

"The Pacers have two games left on their four-game homestand, though they’ll be at a rest disadvantage against the Jazz on Tuesday. Then they’ll go into the All-Star break with a four-game trip."

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard/forward Aaron Nesmith defends. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Pacers Making Moves in Power Rankings

The only teams that rank below the Pacers in the power rankings are the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, and Sacramento Kings.

They have struggled offensively this season, remaining last in offensive rating, but the team has scored 13 points or more in each of the last four games. It's a sign that the team is improving on that end of the floor.

"The Pacers still rank last offensively, but the last two games have been the first time since Dec. 5 and 8 that they’ve scored more efficiently than the league average in two straight. Aaron Nesmith may finally be finding a rhythm, having averaged 18.0 points on an effective field goal percentage of 72.7% over the last four games, up from 13.1 on 45% over his 24 games before that. He had both the go-ahead bucket and the game-saving block in the Pacers’ win over the Bulls on Wednesday," Schuhmann wrote.

The Pacers are picking up steam at the right time going into the All-Star break, but things are certainly expected to change with the trade deadline coming up this week. As a potential seller, the Pacers' ceiling might not be as high as it was before, which could affect everything going on within the team for the second half.

In the meantime, the Pacers are back in action with a back-to-back at home against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz. After that, the team will head to Milwaukee for a matchup against the Bucks on Friday. The week concludes with a contest against the Toronto Raptors on the road in a Sunday matinee.