The Indiana Pacers are 13th in the Eastern Conference. Why? Here’s a recap of pretty much their last 10 to 12 years.

It started in 2009. They were led by a 26 year old Danny Granger, who was one of the best scorers in the league. They also had an up-and-coming big man in Roy Hibbert. They didn’t have many expectations. Indeed they met those expectations, of being a lottery team. However, they lucked into the 10th pick, and took the risk of selecting another small forward, that being Paul George. In the second round, they drafted Lance Stephenson, who, after being “The Next LeBron,” was seen as a Low Risk, Low Reward player. Kind of similar to Draymond Green. Both draft picks didn’t amount to much in their first year, but Indy made the playoffs with a 37 - 45 record. As you’d expect, they got bounced in 5 games by the 1 seed Chicago Bulls. In the draft, they made another genius move by drafting Kawhi Leonard. Then, they immediately traded him in their worst trade ever. The trade was: Kawhi Leonard, for George Hill. Yes, Kawhi had a slow start and needed Gregg Popovich to make him become the player who he is today, but still, why for George Hill?

Well, they finished 42 - 28, but for an all-around team performance this time. They beat Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic, only to lose in the second round to the Miami Heat. However, 2012 was their year. They knocked Atlanta and Carmelo’s New York Knicks, again to face the dreaded Miami Heat. Game 1 was an overtime loss due to a LeBron game winner. Game 2 was a very sneaky escape, winning by 4 thanks to George Hill free throws, a LeBron turnover, and more George Hill free throws (maybe he actually did do something.) Game 3, blowout loss. LeBron has 22, and Roy Hibbert forgets how to make a layup. Game 4, 7 point win. You can sense a pattern. Game 5 loss, Game 6 win. OK, it’s Game 7, if the pattern continues, you’ll lose, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Or LeBron says to hell with that and scores 18 in the first half and you’re down 15. That’s also an option. Indy lost by 23 in total, and Miami would go on to win the Finals over the OKC Thunder. 2013 would be the year Paul George would go off, scoring 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2 steals and an All-Star appearance as a reserve. Now, just don’t choke, and we’re fine, right? Wrong. While winning vs. Washington and Atlanta, they lost vs. the Heat in 6 games. The Heat would have the craziest Finals win of All-Time, and Paul George still doesn’t have a ring. Interestingly during this series as well, Lance Stephenson did this.

The 2014-2015 season saw some bad news for the Pacers. In an exhibition game, Paul George suffered a gruesome injury, so bad I’m not gonna link it. The Pacers did not do well, and actually missed the playoffs. However, the year after that, PG had the best season of his career. However, they lost in the first round, due to a Kyle Lowry layup, and a PG turnover in Game 7 to the Toronto Raptors, who then got the biggest humiliation of everyone’s career’s in a loss to Cleveland.

By now, if I’m the GM, I’m pissed off at the team for having consistent regular seasons, but never making it far in the playoffs. But Indiana decided to rock with it one more season. That season, they went 42 - 40, which earned them 7th in the conference. Then they got humiliated by LeBron again, this time getting swept.

Indy finally made the move to trade Paul George for a young Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. At the time, everyone was bamboozled, because Paul George was an MVP candidate. Victor Oladipo, had potential, but only averaged 16. That wouldn’t do for a win-now team, right? Wrong! Oladipo would average 23, 5, 4 and lead the league in steals, with 2.4 a game. Sabonis, a rookie. Would he do anything? Well, kinda. He averaged 11 points, but was benched behind Thaddeus Young. They did great, too, finishing 48 - 34, as the 5th. However, they were the unluckiest beings ever, as they had to face, guess who, LeBron James. Game 1 was a victory, with Oladipo scoring 32. Game 2 was a loss because Oladipo missed a three with 27 seconds to go. Game 3 was a narrow win and held off Cleveland’s last-second comeback. Game 4, couldn’t escape LeBron. Game 5. Series tied 2 - 2. Ball is inbounded to Victor Oladipo, he drives, but it’s blocked by James! Cavs get a timeout with 3 seconds left. And then, this happens. Yeah, it was a heartbreaker, but momentum is still there for this Cleveland team. And it’s shown by a blowout win in Game 6. Game 7, all the marbles on the line, they blow it in the fourth. They started down 2, a manageable lead, but with one minute to go, they're consistently down 5+. That may not sound like much, a 3 point difference is nothing, except when you’re down in a Win or Go Home Game 7. Oladipo showed up, and Darren Collison added 23 too, but Bojan Bogdanovic went 1 for 9, and LeBron dropped 45.

2018-2019, they ran it back, same record, same seeding. But they got swept by Boston in the first round. However, the season was plagued with injuries. Oladipo missed more than half the season and the playoffs, Wes Matthews played 23 games, same with Edmond Sumner, you get my point.

But this was inexcusable for such a good team. They let Bojan walk to the Utah Jazz, Tyreke Evans was banned for something to do with drugs, they let Cory Joseph walk to the Sacramento Kings, and let Wes Matthews go to the Bucks in a sign-and-trade for up-and-coming Malcolm Brogdon. They picked up Jeremy Lamb from the Charlotte Hornets, and got Justin Holiday from Memphis. They went 45 - 28 in the shortened season, with high hopes facing Miami in the first round. Game 1 happened and everyone knew this series was a washout. And a washout it was, as Indy got swept again. And in the offseason, they decided it was time to blow it up. Except, they didn’t actually blow it up. They were desperate to trade Myles Turner, and the Charlotte Hornets wanted him. Match made in heaven, right? Well, they never did the trade. Victor Oladipo wanted to play in Miami, so try to make a trade with them. Again, they never did the trade, in the offseason at least. Gordon Hayward, right there in plain sight. He wanted to go there. The sign-and-trade was destiny. Then he signed a 4 year, 120 million dollar deal with the Hornets. Oh well, just run it back.

Well, kind of. Oladipo was playing bad and still disgruntled, so he was part of the James Harden trade, where they pretty much just swapped him for Caris Levert, who was part of what the Nets gave up for Harden. In the 72 game season, they were 34 - 38, good for the 9th seed. In the play-in, they knocked out Charlotte, but lost by nearly the same margin to Washington for the 8 seed. With their first lottery pick in ages, they drafted Chris Duarte, a 4-year college player who’s the oldest rookie in the class. Right now, we are two weeks away from the deadline, and the Pacers are the 13 seed in the East, currently 19 - 33. They’re still desperate to trade Turner, Sabonis and Caris Levert (this was a while ago, Sabonis and Levert are now both traded.) And that’s the last 10 or so years of the Indiana Pacers.