The All Star break has ended, and the Indiana Pacers are ready to start the second half of the season. The Pacers have a record of 31-28 which places them at second in their division and 6th in the Eastern Conference. If the Pacers want to move up in the standings to get a better seed for the playoffs, they are going to need help from rookie Myles Turner, their defense and Paul George.

Turner, a rookie out of Texas, was a gamble that has so far payed off for the Pacers organization. Turner is going to be the future of this team so he needs to start showing his needed play right now. All the way until All Star break Turner has played the way the Pacers have needed him to play. Turner has averaged 10.1 points and five rebounds in the first part of the season. Both his average in rebounds and points put him at 7th in the NBA.

The Pacers’ defense has not been awful but it has not been the normal. The Pacers are letting up 100.3 points per game which puts them at 8th in the NBA. Last year the Pacers let up 97 points a game which put them at 3rd in the league. If the Pacers want to make a push at a better seed, they need to really key in on their defense.

Paul George has exceeded expectation after coming off his horrific injury in an olympic team practice game. George was the Pacers only All Star and really played a great first half of the season. However, George needs to work on his consistency with scoring. George has games where he scores 40, but then the next game he will score 12. If George stays consistent and keeps playing the way he has, the Pacers should have great success in the future.

If the Pacers can execute these things, I believe that the Pacers can make a push to third in the East. The difference from sixth seed to third is huge. It could mean that the Pacers play the Hornets instead of Boston or Toronto.