Can Pacers Bounce Back After Botching Game 1 vs. Celtics?

Did the Indiana Pacers blow their best shot against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals?

Well, we have 21 reasons to believe they may have. That is, after all, how many turnovers they committed — including the biggie with 8.7 seconds to go. I wrote about all of it in my postgame dribbles.

For the record, I don’t think the Pacers blew their best chance of the series in Game 1. They lost two close ones at the start of their series vs. the New York Knicks, too. You only need to win one on the road if you win all your home games. That’s what they did vs. the Knicks. 

Obviously, the Celtics are a different beast. But Indiana showed it can hang. It just needs to take care of the ball and finish the job.

Anyway, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated shared a little bit of a different take during a spot on the Rich Eisen Show.

“I thought Indiana played great for about 47 minutes,” Mannix said. “They were down 12-zip, they came back. They were down 13 points in the third quarter, they came back. … In that final minute, they had multiple chances to ice the game away.”

Mannix then spoke of the turnovers, particularly those committed by Tyrese Haliburton. As center Myles Turner suggested, the Pacers showed their lack of playoff experience. He’s right. A more experienced team would have put that game away. Like the Celtics.

But all the Pacers can really do is take what they did well in Game 1, build on it, and forget all that other stuff. No one expected them to be here, so they have nothing to lose. And that may be the thing that keeps them going.

• Related | Dribbles: Pacers cough up sure thing, fumble away Game 1

💻 @SIChrisMannix

Did the Pacers blow their best chance to steal a game in the Eastern Conference Finals? What do we make of Tuesday night's wild Game 1?#NBA #NBAPlayoffs #DifferentHere #BoomBaby pic.twitter.com/LE6VarkMzj

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 22, 2024