Christmas break a Christmas present for Pacers

Many NBA and Pacers fans were upset the Pacers weren't one of the teams selected to play in the five Christmas Day games. We were subjected, if you chose to watch, to the Nets and Knicks and the Lakers, though give the lesser team in L.A. right now some credit for giving the Heat a good battle.

This is Pacers backup center
Ian Mahinmi

This is Pacers starting center
Roy Hibbert.

And this isn't to blame anyone who would have rather have watched the Pacers or the Portland Trail Blazers play Wednesday. Maybe some could be surprised that the Blazers are 23-5. And while it's OK to be a bit surprised that the Pacers have the same record, the fact that they took the Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals last year should have been a clue to TV and NBA prognosticators that they were going to be at least one of the best teams in the East this season, if not the entire league. And someone at ESPN.com didn't have a clue when promoting Pacers center Roy Hibbert and Blazers guard C.J. McCollum to take over the ESPNNBA twitter account Wednesday
and used Pacers backup center Ian Mahinmi's photo instead of Hibbert's, before it was eventually corrected. Maybe just another example of how the team tied for the best record in the league can fly under the radar. But flying under the radar here is actually a very good thing for the Pacers.
At just past the one-third mark of the season, it's about the time of year when players start to get those nagging injuries that aren't big enough to keep them from playing, but maybe do keep them from playing at their best. There are the little scrapes on the shooting elbow, maybe a sore leg muscle or sore knee, or a sprained ankle that isn't terrible, but also won't allow a player to make that little extra move to get open or to get in position to grab a key rebound or steal. It gives them some time to get some physical healing and keep minor issues from turning into major issues.
Then, too, there is the mental side of it. NBA training camps start in early September and now that winter is here and teams are beginning to get into the so-called dogs days of the schedule, the reality is that they are not mentally going to be at their best in every game. That's not a criticism of the Pacers, or any other of the top teams, it's just part of the natural evolution of an 82-game season. Though, yes, they are paid an exorbitant amount of money, players are still human and have lives and things to deal with off the court. And while the Pacers appear to be pretty good at keeping off-court and on-court issues separate, it's important to remember that NBA players are people, too, who have bad days and good days just like everybody else.
So, these few days off, hopefully, give the players a chance to take care of at least some of those issues. It also gives them a couple of days where they don't have to think about basketball, who they are going to guard that night or the next day, just how to play a pick and roll, or just how on offense to attack a team's weak spot.
That Pacers coach Frank Vogel gave the team a couple of days off  here was a good move. Everybody needs break from the grind every now and then, no matter what the occupation. It also gives Vogel and the Pacers staff a chance to evaluate certain areas they need to work on. The list isn't as long as in past seasons, but there is always a list. All you have to do is listen to assistant coach Dan Burke on the Pacers TV broadcasts just before the second half starts to know the team can still get better. He tells it like it is and that's a good thing. Besides Vogel, maybe he's one of the reasons this team's players are always looking to improve.
But a break from it all, the expectations that others have for them, and the expectations the players and staff have for themselves, that's a good thing. It's like an All-Star break a month-and-a-half before the All-Star break. And considering the Pacers will likely have multiple representatives at that game in February, there was no better time for a break then now.
So, yes, if you want to complain about some not-so-good NBA teams playing on Christmas Day, you'd certainly be right in doing so. But also thank the schedule makers for giving the Pacers a nice little break here that most teams would love to have at this stage of the season.