Can Under-The-Radar Pacers Make Another Deep Playoff Run?

Last year, the Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. A lot of NBA fans seem to forget that.

Is a repeat performance possible? Most fans will tell you no. But hey, this is the NBA. All seems possible in the postseason these days.

For the Pacers, it may take some tweaking though. What might that be?

“Better defense, honestly,” wrote NBA insider Chris Herring of ESPN. “We know Indiana can score, particularly when Tyrese Haliburton is aggressive and scoring at a high level the way he has been doing lately (averaging 23.2 points since the All-Star break). The question for Indiana is generally on the other end, where it ranks in the league’s bottom third.”

That said, Indiana does have some talent in terms of guarding people. It’s just that you wonder if the Pacers can do it consistently enough when the chips are down. So yes, the questions remain.

“Can coach Rick Carlisle push the right buttons in terms of when and how the Pacers utilize their zone defense?” Herring wrote. “Can Andrew Nembhard throw off opposing ball handlers by pressing full-court, like the Pacers did when they sprung the strategy on the first-place Cavs in January for a come-from-behind win?

“Given their less-than-stellar rebounding and fouling metrics, the Pacers likely need to find something they can occasionally hang their hat on defensively if they want to make another deep postseason run.”

The Pacers (34-25) are currently tied with the Bucks for the fourth seed in the East. And given their frequent bad blood, what a first-round matchup it would be.