Did the Indiana Pacers Hit Their Peak Too Soon?

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers best basketball looks to be behind them at this point of the season.

After spending the majority of the year sitting atop the eastern conference the Pacers have dropped eight of their last 11 games as well as losing 10 of 18 in March. 

Their record is still good enough for second in a weak eastern conference with their closest threat for the 2 seed being Toronto, who is 7 1/2 games back. The Pacers still have a chance for the 1 seed but with the way they have looked lately, the chances look slim. 

So did the Indiana Pacers hit their peak too early in the season?

The Pacers still have the best home-record in the NBA, but the days when they had the best record in the NBA are gone, now ranked 5th in the NBA after a disgusting losing streak over the past month and a half.

March couldn't have went by faster for the Pacers leading man Paul George. George averaged his lowest ppg of the season with 18.7. That shouldn't surprise you if you saw his shooting for the month as he was also getting his lowest FG% (.372) and 3P% (.297).

Center, Roy Hibbert, has been a shadow of his early season self and his rebound total can attest to it; grabbing only 12 rebounds in his last four games. 

Now the team is resorting to benching Hibbert for most of the game, only allowing him to play 9 minutes in their last outing against the Atlanta Hawks. The Pacers hit a new low in that game, recording a franchise-worst 23 points in the first half. Coach Frank Vogel said the benching of his star center was because Hibbert looked "Worn down". 

Their goal for the season was to come into the playoffs as the 1 seed and get home field advantage throughout the eastern conference. They still have four games remaining to try and grab the top spot and will need all the help they can get to sneak into the 1 seed in the East.

Two of those games will be a tough outing for the Pacers. They'll be facing the defending champion Miami Heat, in Miami on Friday night. Getting a night off and then coming back home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder who are being led by Kevin Durant, who is having one of the most impressive MVP runs in recent memory.

The Pacers look to be the only true threat to stopping the Heat from making a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. They have won four of the last six regular season games with all of those wins coming at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

It's not too late for Indiana to get back on track and set themselves up for a great playoff run. The Miami Heat are not having their best season and if the Pacers can steal the win in Miami on Friday and hold down the fort when the Thunder come to town on Sunday, they can still grab the top seed in the East.