SBN Reacts: Fans’ confidence in Pacers waning

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged in Indiana Pacers fans, and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.

According to the most recent SB Nation Reacts survey 44 percent of Pacers fans are confident the team is headed in the right direction. That’s down from 50 percent last week. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling the trend will take a drastic drop next week after recent reports on Nate Bjorkgren’s status as the team’s coach going forward and the way the front office altered the team’s course this year. Sign up to share your reaction to the Pacers.

Indiana, like every other team in the league, is working through a non-stop schedule to end the season. With the end of the regular season scheduled to come May 16, the NBA is forcing teams to finish their schedule.

However, more than two-thirds of fans around the NBA think the league condensed the schedule too much. The condensed schedule was made worse for the Pacers thanks to the March schedule leaving the team Wednesday’s as the only night for home games with the NCAA tournament in town. But they can’t complain too much about the road-heavy month since this is the first time in 31 years that the Pacers don’t have a winning record at home.

One major reason it’s believed the league was so adamant on finishing this early is because of the expected 2021 Olympics this summer. However, only 44 percent of fans believe that’s a worthy reason for playing games at this pace.

While the schedule is difficult for everyone, some teams are having more success than others. That’s in large part due to the success of star players around the league. This year’s MVP race has seen a changing group of players from start to finish.

As the season nears its end, though, one player has emerged as the front runner for the award. 61 percent of fans nationally think Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokić is the league’s MVP. Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul was the next closest with 17 percent.

While Jokić appears to be the clear MVP, that doesn’t mean he’s considered the best player in the game right now. That title, according to fans, still goes to Lakers superstar LeBron James.

Paul’s re-emergence with the Suns has been a game-changer. The point guard was picked as the player who has made the biggest difference on their new team, far surpassing Brooklyn’s James Harden.

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