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The Indiana Pacers have been one of the most impressive surprise teams in the NBA this season as we approach the playoffs with many scenarios in play. Tyrese Haliburton has elevated himself as one of the perennial guards in the association and has proven himself to be a reliable No. 1 option. The acquisition of Pascal Siakam ahead of the deadline was perfect for their trajectory, even if it may be a challenge to pay him a ton of money when he is due for an extension.
Despite the departures of Bruce Brown and Buddy Hield, along with the season-ending injury to Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana remains a legitimate threat to make some noise in the NBA Playoffs. However, even if the Pacers come prepared every night, there needs to be some sort of luck to go their way in the postseason, especially as an inexperienced unit.
A first round exit will be tough to swallow, but any experience gained in the brightest lights will be valuable to this iteration of the Pacers. Since that is the case, this is the dreadful seeding scenario they must avoid in the last couple of contests in the regular season.
Fall to seventh; face Philadelphia in the play-in tournament
Currently, Indiana is sixth in the East with six games remaining in the regular season. The Miami Heat are right on their tails as they are only one game back of the Pacers. The Heat have the 11th easiest schedule remaining compared to the Pacers, who have the 15th easiest schedule. With that, it is still plausible for Miami overtake them in the standings and force Indiana to play an extra game or two before the postseason.
Even as the seventh seed, anything can still happen in a dangerous territory, such as the play-in tournament. With an MVP-caliber player coming back like Joel Embiid, along with a budding star in Tyrese Maxey, the Pacers can be in trouble battling an opponent like the 76ers. Embiid is unlikely to be 100 percent for this matchup, but the Indiana bigs will have a tough time containing his size.
Win versus Bulls or Hawks; swept by Boston in Round 1
An unmitigated disaster for Indiana would be losing both play-in games and going home before the first round of the playoffs. With the odds obviously in the Pacers’ favor, it is still expected they will come out on top, whether they are against the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks. These two squads have the talent to compete with Indiana, but they will not be able to match the pace and cohesiveness of the Pacers in a matchup to make the playoffs.
Even if Indiana still makes the postseason, it will be an unfortunate outcome to drop all the way to eighth place, especially due to the fact they could have easily finished in the top six. The Pacers came out victorious against the Boston Celtics in two outings this year, but a matchup in the NBA Playoffs is a whole different animal.
Boston will locked in to face only one opponent for a week or two, so it would be difficult for the Pacers to execute their run-and-gun style of play against a top five defense in the league. These men from the Celtics have experienced the rigors and tenacity of the postseason, so they will know how to intimidate these individuals from the Pacers.
Indiana will likely falter in four or five games, and they will realize instantly that they should have given more importance to the latter part of the regular season and strive to finish in the top six. An early battle against Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks will be tough for any organization.
More must-reads:
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- The 'Most points in a playoff game by team' quiz
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