No milestone yet for Indiana Pacers coach as they plummet in power rankings

Rick Carlisle's team has lost four straight and there are no immediate answers

Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are having a bit of a rough patch and things may not have been this bad before.

The team suffered big losses to the rebuilding Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans, making them dead last in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's weekly power rankings.

"Rick Carlisle got career win No. 999 two weeks ago, but the Pacers haven’t been able to get him to 1,000. They’ve dropped four straight games, a streak that includes 19-point losses to both the Wizards and Pelicans," Schuhmann wrote.

"Things are going to get ugly if the Pacers can’t find a way to beat one of those good teams, because 16 of their next 19 games are against the top 16. One of the exceptions (Tuesday vs. the Bucks) is a rest-disadvantage game."

Indiana Pacers guard Quenton Jackson is pulled away from New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Pacers hit rock bottom in NBA power rankings

The Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks are the other teams that round out the bottom five with the Pacers.

A big reason why the team is in last place is because they have struggled against the teams that they shouldn't struggle against. The Wizards and Pelicans have been notorious rebuilding teams and each of them took care of the Pacers with ease.

A big reason why the Pacers are sitting in last place is because there is no quick fix to the roster this season. The team is injured beyond belief, and there's no solution that can solve things for this season.

Next year could be different with Tyrese Haliburton back from a torn Achilles, but it will be a long time before he takes the court again, and there's no guarantee he will be the same player he was before his injury.

In the meantime, the Pacers are back in action tonight as they travel to New England to face the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Pacers will then return home to Indianapolis to play the Milwaukee Bucks and Celtics again. Then, Indiana will head back out on the road for a second night of a back-to-back on Saturday against the Miami Heat.

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