Home sweet home — 22 of Pacers’ final 36 games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

The Pacers (16-30) have returned to the comforts of their own Indianapolis homes, and will be at home for the majority of the remainder of the season.

Fresh off their longest road trip of the season — five games (they went 1-4) — the Pacers play 22 of their final 36 games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tuesday, they open a five-game homestand against Tyler Hansbrough and the Toronto Raptors to start off a stretch of 20 games featuring 15 home games.

Home sweet home.

“Finally!” members of the team surely said after arriving back in town late Sunday.

Over their final 36 games, the Pacers will not play more than two consecutive road games. They have five quick two-game trips, where they are never gone for four straight days.

What all this essentially says is that the schedule is about to get a lot more favorable. Given, the Pacers are just 8-11 at home but they are about as healthy as they have been all season long. Paul George remains out, and C.J. Miles joins him in street clothes for the second game in a row due to a strained groin. Otherwise, they are reasonably healthy.

George Hill has played 20 minutes (his limit, for now) in each of the last two games after returning from a groin strain that caused him to miss 11 games. He has now played in seven games this season.

Indiana’s defense, which ranks 20th in efficiency according to hoopsstats.com, has plenty of room to improve. The absence of Paul George and Lance Stephenson’s speed, athleticism, and wingspan is part of the reason why. They do rank fourth in fewest points given up per game, at 97.1 per game. Most of last season, they held opponent to about 89 points per game.

I continue to dub this season, “The Year of Discovery,” for the Pacers. It’s about what pieces the front office has to work with in the future. The offseason is still a few months away and with that will come many personnel questions. Guys like Luis Scola, Rodney Stuckey, Chris Copeland, C.J. Watson, Lavoy Allen, and Donald Sloan are all free agents.

The Pacers currently sit 12th in the conference standings, three and a half games out of eighth behind Brooklyn, Detroit, and Boston. The playoffs are not unrealistic of this bunch, especially as they get healthier and play 61 percent of their final 36 games at home. That should help.

In honor of Super Bowl week, the Pacers are on to Toronto.

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