After avoiding dipping to the Eastern Conference's sixth seed by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-132, the Indiana Pacers bounced back to the fourth seed. Although the season still has meat on the bone, there are ample opportunities ahead for the Tyrese-Haliburton-led team. The Pacers' upcoming schedule presents vital playoff implications.
Indiana plays the injury-infested Dallas squad at the Gainfield Bridgehouse on Wednesday. Even if the Mavericks make it a game, as the short-handed Pacers did with the Timberwolves on Monday, the Dallas franchise severely lacks the talent to finish games in the fourth quarter. It's only won two games in the last 10 contests.
Wednesday's injury report reveals the Pacers haven't cleared Haliburton and Pascal Siakam for action. Nonetheless, the presence of Myles Turner, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J McConnell, among other role players, is more than what the Mavericks have at their disposal.
DraftKings has the Pacers as nine-point favorites over the beaten-and-battered Mavericks. The road team has seven players listed as out for Wednesday's contest. If the Pacers suit up at least Haliburton or Siakam, they could feasibly win against the Mavericks.
Looking ahead to the Mavericks' game, the Pacers have the golden opportunity of playing the tanking, try-hard team of the Brooklyn Nets for two consecutive contests.
After a respectable start to the 2024-25 season, the Nets exposed who they really are in light of their 3-12 record after the All-Star break. However, for as "easy" as the Nets appear as an opponent, the Pacers can't count the two games as automatic wins, as the Timberwolves likely did on Monday vs. the Rick Carlisle-coached unit.
Related: Major Opportunity Unveiled in Pacers vs. Mavericks Clash
Despite a light threat in a loss to the Nets, the Pacers have recovered since losing consecutive games to the Atlanta Hawks and a double-digit loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Recent history suggests the Pacers don't have immunity to losing to the bottom-tier Eastern Conference teams, but if they can handle the injured Mavericks and tanking Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks will have to play extraordinary basketball to catch up to their heated rivals.
Related: Journeyman Tony Bradley Shines Bright in Pacers' Win Against Wolves
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This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
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