Pacers are one win away from a return to the NBA playoffs
Pacers are one win away from a return to the NBA playoffs
Win and they're in. The Pacers are a 2-0 weekend from a 48-win season. LeBron James singles out T.J. McConnell. PS&E CEO Rick Fuson to receive significant award.
For the Pacers and Cavaliers, the playoff situation is the same entering Friday’s slate of games with all 30 teams in action.
They’re in the playoffs, seeds 1 through 6 in the East, with a win OR loss by the 76ers — who host the Orlando Magic.
This has been the goal of the players since before the start of training camp. From their players-only camp in Nashville to the time they first met in Westfield at GM Chad Buchanan’s home and then speaking on it with reporters, they set the tone for the season with this top priority.
These guys are competitors and would not be content to just have a good season. It’s about reaching the postseason, when the stakes are raised and more eyeballs are on you. It also leads to more national TV games as well, which matters to the franchise, players and fans alike.
“All of our goals are in front of us and everything we’ve ever wanted to do,” guard Tyrese Haliburton told reporters after Thursday’s practice, a rarity this late in the season. “A lot of us are young guys, a lot of us are inexperienced and we haven’t played in the playoffs so we want to do that together. And we feel like we have a lot of trust and faith in this group so we just want the opportunity to get there and we’ll be ready once that happens.”
A playoff berth would be the franchise’s first in four seasons and it would lead to the first home playoff game in five years — since April 21, 2019 against Boston.
Here’s what things looked like then:
The Pacers are 46-34, 11 wins better than their output last season. We can all think of about a dozen games they should have won and yet, this team is a 2-0 finish this weekend from recording 48 wins.
They’ve won three in a row, 5 of 6 and 8 of their last 11 games. It's a great sign that Haliburton is shooting about 38% from outside this month while averaging 20 points and nine assists per game. He’s rounding back into form.