Tyrese Haliburton And Pacers Flipped A Switch, And So Far, The East

The Indiana Pacers are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season, but their return has come with more grit than glamour.

A year ago, their run to the final four was viewed through the lens of circumstance –injuries to opposing stars helped clear a path, only for the Pacers to be swept aside by Boston.

This season, Indiana has made it harder to question its place among the NBA’s elite.

After a middling start that saw them sitting at 16-18 on Jan. 1, the Pacers surged to one of the league’s best records in the new year, going 42-16 since the calendar turned, including the postseason. Along the way, they’ve taken down Milwaukee in the first round and stunned 64-win Cleveland in the second, dispatching both in five games apiece.

Once again, the Pacers caught breaks as opponents battled injuries. Milwaukee was without Damian Lillard for key stretches, while Cleveland lost Darius Garland and Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley for parts of the series. But Indiana didn’t blink. The Pacers capitalized, they executed, and left no room for doubt.

It helps when Tyrese Haliburton is running the show. The All-NBA guard has already delivered two game-winners this postseason and leads all players with 9.3 assists per game, adding 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds as the engine behind Indiana’s fast-paced, precision offense. And let’s not forget, his playmaking helped Indiana win a decisive Game 7 at Madison Square Garden last season. 

Now the Pacers and Knicks meet again, this time for a berth in the Finals.

Haliburton is surrounded with plenty of capable help, with the likes of All-Star Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Bennedict Mathurin and others in reserve.

So yes, some of the same questions linger. But these Pacers look more battle-tested, more sure of themselves. And this time, it doesn’t feel like they’ve just arrived. It feels like they belong.