Buckeye Nerd

Midwestern Teams Rise and Fall

The above graph shows the win totals for the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers since 2000. Both teams have experienced lottery picks and the NBA Finals in the past decade and interestingly enough, their pattern has been an almost perfect mirror image. Consider the following

• The Pacers made the playoffs every season from 2000-2005 including a Finals appearance vs the Lakers in 2000. In that same time frame the Cavaliers failed to make the postseason, finishing no higher than 9th in conference.
• In spring 2006 both clubs made the postseason: the Pacers dropped a first round series to the Nets while the Cavs handled the Wizards before falling to the Pistons. The baton was passed and the two teams began to move in different directions.
• In 2007 the Wine and Gold made it all the way to the NBA Finals before being swept by the Spurs in four games. They then proceeded to make the playoffs every year through 2010. Over that same period the Pacers finished no higher than third in the Central Division and did not record more than 36 victories.
• The 2011 postseason may have been a second turning point with the Pacers slipping in as an 8-seed and the Cavs playing plenty of golf in May. 

If tonight’s game was any indication, the Pacers may be an up-and-coming team in the division while the Cavs… well no doubt plenty of Cleveland scouts are paying close attention to college basketball this year .