The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games despite the Cavs being the best team in the Eastern Conference for the entire season. While Indiana has taken things one series, if not one game, at a time, they are dangerously close to making the NBA Finals.
After the Boston Celtics fought to beat the New York Knicks without Jayson Tatum on Wednesday, it's easy to imagine that series going seven games, giving the Pacers plenty of rest and chances to scout their next opponent.
Indiana has not made the NBA Finals since 2000, and has never won an NBA title. Rick Carlisle last coached in the Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, and he knows his team is close.
"We're talking about eight more wins for an NBA championship," said Rick Carlisle. "The league is wide open this year. I mean, there are a lot of great teams, but it's wide open. And we've just got to keep believing. We got a great group of guys who have committed to one another. And we have a formula that works for us when we really are steadfast about sticking with it, and we play an efficient, clean game. And so, we got some time to rest up a little bit, and we'll see whether it's New York or Boston."
Carlisle and the Pacers don't want to get carried away, but the next series will be theirs to lose. They had little trouble with the Milwaukee Bucks and Cavs, who boast superstars in their own right, but their fast offense and physical defense, which seems to be new to this postseason, have the Pacers finally looking like a champion.
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