Last season, the Indiana Pacers snuck into the playoffs as the sixth seed despite boasting one of the worst defenses in the entire NBA. As they say, once in the postseason, anything can happen, and Indiana enjoyed some injury luck and improved play, cruising all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
This season, the Pacers are once again right in the middle of the playoff race and are in a two-team battle with the Milwaukee Bucks for the fourth and fifth seed, which will determine home-court advantage in the first round. After their run last season, the Pacers have arrived as a "real" threat, and one key trend highlights how they have prepared for the postseason.
Now 63 games into the season, it's still easy to remember this team starting the year 10-15. They finished their first 21 games going 9-12 but bounced back in the next 21, going 14-7, and settled into the most recent quarter of the season, going a solid 12-9.
It would seem that they have found their footing at just the right time and can build some momentum heading into the postseason.
While the Pacers are a well-rounded team, they need their star(s) to be healthy in the postseason, once again relying on some injury luck.
"Pascal Siakam may be the Indiana All-Star, but point guard Tyrese Haliburton continues to be the barometer of success for the Pacers," claimed *The Athletic's*Law Murray (subscription required). "And on that note, Indiana's first three-game losing streak in three months coincided with the first stretch of consecutive missed games of the season for Haliburton. This remains an average defense but a good offense that Haliburton has mastered; since late January, Haliburton has compiled 9.3 assists per game against only 1.5 turnovers."
Related: Proposed NBA Trade Cements Pacers' Chance as Title Contenders Next Season
Haliburton has been the heart and soul of the team as they find success, and with him sidelined, the Pacers have been slowed down, although if he can pick up where he left off once he returns, Indiana could be a sneaky team in the East.
Check out the All Pacers homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles.
Related: Tyrese Haliburton Makes Bold Claim About Season, Can He Back It Up?
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 2:26 PM.