The Indiana Pacers are the best defensive team in the NBA. The Pacers aren’t an elite offensive team, but they can certainly get the job done with the ball in their hands. The Pacers like to play physically, wearing down their opponents. The Pacers are one of the league’s best, whether everyone is ready to admit it or not.
Does that sound like the Super Bowl XLVIII Champions, the Seattle Seahawks, to anyone?
Paul George thinks so. In an interview from late Thursday night with Ray Glier of USA Today, George compared the defensive-minded Pacers to the Seahawks. From the interview:
“We approach it as a physical team and we do everything from a toughness standpoint,” George said.
Then he said, “Like Seattle.”
Like a football team?
“Seattle’s got individual guys that stand out defensively, as we do, and as a group we put it all together,” George said of the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. “We’re a great comparison to that team because we do it from an individual standpoint and as a group.”
Through 49 games this season, Indiana has looked every bit like a team that could challenge the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference and like a team that could be bound for a championship this season.
The similarities between the Pacers and Seahawks continue when you look at the youth of their core. The Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory seemed a long time coming as their young players developed and continued to take steps towards a title, which is the route the Pacers have taken in recent seasons leading up to now. Moreover, the Seahawks’ title got people talking about a potential dynasty, which is a legitimate conversation that can be had about Indiana also.
George has a valid point. This is a team full of impressive individuals, but that is an effective unit first and foremost. All that’s left now is to see if the Pacers can end their season the same way the Seahawks ended theirs: holding a trophy amidst camera flashes and confetti.