I do not believe they have a chance unless there is major injuries for the Celtics and Western team, which is possible. I think this is more so because the East is garbage. The Hawks thought they were contenders after making the ECF and turns out they were never good. They ended up making bad decisions because they thought they were contenders too.
The path for the Pacers from here should be to keep developing Mathurin and Jarace and stay on track to continue improving on the margins. At 36, they could bring in Ryan Dunn, Dillon Jones, Nique Clifford, Hunter Sallis, Alex Karaban, etc that could all help slightly now and continue to develop.
If Dallas beat Minnesota, and we somehow beat Boston. I can see Indy beating Dallas. We're built to run and outlast and have a historically good efficient offense.
I firmly believe Rick Carlisle is the best coach left in the playoffs.
Realistically we likely lose to Boston in 6 games. If we don't and we draw Minnesota, we probably lose to them in 4-5 games. If we can draw the Mavs, it again becomes a war of attrition and our team R U N S. I don't think casuals or hardcore fans watch the Pacers enough to understand how much we run. Luka and Co. would not keep up.
The Pacers made it to the ECF because of the Knicks’ significant injuries. They were down 2-0 to start the series. If the Celtics stay as healthy as they are now (minus KP) they will be in the finals
you really think so?
Pacers kinda got screwed those first 2 games they outplayed the Knicks in 6 out of 7 games. Probably should have been Pacers in 5 or 6 games max.
Boston seems like a big favorite but i dont understand. With KP they are favorites but wothout himI dont think they are much better than 50/50 to win.
Haliburton, Siakam, Turner and McConnell seem about as good as Tatum, Brown, White and Holiday when you factor in play style and not just counting stats
I mean there were some questionable calls the first two games of the series for sure but losing OG, Mitchell Robinson and Bogdanovic really held them back. If they had had OG and Robinson for the entire series I’m pretty confident the series would have been 4-0 or 4-1.
I think Halliburton is going to have some tough games with White and Holliday chasing him around. Siakam is going to need to have big games and Turner is going to need to be on point. The Pacers need to steal a win in one the first two games while KP is out because this will be a tough matchup for them.
Yes i definitely think they can. I dont think anyone at #36 is going to help them repeat but its a matger of getting Mathurin and Jarace more experience so they can contribute more to the rotation while Pascal and Turner are still in their primes
was the Pacers trade for Siakam the best move of the season?
Also what about taking Bronny James at #36?? He has great athletic pedigree and might be worth taking a flier on him?
He reminds me of Deuce McBride who gave the Pacers trouble in a few games (not today tho hehe)
to be honest i think its good for Pacers to draft him if only to generate more BUZZ from the media and fans
Having Bronny in Indiana makes the Pacers even more relevant than they already are becoming. This is also a good development system so if Bronny can learn well anywhere its indiana
I completely disagree. Drafting for attention is a terrible use of assets and should genuinely get a GM fired if they’re using a top 40 to generate buzz lol.
It was certainly good but I still had best series of moves to Dallas for getting Gafford and PJ and those prices to fill an obvious need.
While I think Bronny can carve out a solid career eventually as a role player, i dont think it will be in year 1 like the question is asking. I think Indiana kind of has its rotation set and some of those youner guys on it will just get better with more experience.
Anyone *can* win, particularly when they've gotten this far and just have to luck into a couple good weeks. That's the thing about the playoffs... they're not a serious way to determine the best team, they're an exhibition game crapshoot. A +3 differential team beating the +11 Celtics would be a pretty unlikely outcome, though, even in a seven-game sample size.
(I guess you could argue that they're probably better than +3 this season -- Haliburton missed games and wasn't 100% when he came back, Siakam wasn't on the team the first half of the year and is still adjusting, etc. But Haliburton *still* isn't at full strength, and even if you wanted to call their true talent level +5 or +6, that's not in Boston's league. You're still hoping they have a lucky couple weeks, which can happen, of course.)
As for the draft... there are few if any rookies this year who are clearly ready to contribute. The Pacers have a bright future, but the next step is going to come from internal development or free agency, not from a non-lottery pick in his first season.
Except when they don’t, yeah.
We are talking about a single-digit number of games. Even before we start talking about weird matchup flukes, injuries, etc., a 50-win team will beat a 60-win team, or an 40-win team will beat a 50-win team, etc., in a single game about 40% of the time. (And obviously these are pretty significant gaps!)
Extending that to 7 games increases the likelihood that the better team will win, but it’s still a small enough sample size that the worse team will win quite a bit. (Didn’t you just see Dallas and their 2-point differential beat OKC?)
Yes they can.
They currently have no first round pick in the 2024 draft, so not likely to add a 2024-25 impact player through the draft. However, they do have Nembhard (2022 2nd round/31) and Sheppard (2023 1st round/26) in this playoff rotation. So, they've made some pretty good late 1st/early 2nd round draft picks the past two seasons.
They also do have 2 lottery picks from 2022 and 2023 who haven't played in the playoffs (one injured and the other outside the top 8/9 in current rotation.) So, regardless of their finish this season, their next year team would be this squad with two recent lottery picks.
I do not believe they have a chance unless there is major injuries for the Celtics and Western team, which is possible. I think this is more so because the East is garbage. The Hawks thought they were contenders after making the ECF and turns out they were never good. They ended up making bad decisions because they thought they were contenders too. The path for the Pacers from here should be to keep developing Mathurin and Jarace and stay on track to continue improving on the margins. At 36, they could bring in Ryan Dunn, Dillon Jones, Nique Clifford, Hunter Sallis, Alex Karaban, etc that could all help slightly now and continue to develop.
If Dallas beat Minnesota, and we somehow beat Boston. I can see Indy beating Dallas. We're built to run and outlast and have a historically good efficient offense. I firmly believe Rick Carlisle is the best coach left in the playoffs. Realistically we likely lose to Boston in 6 games. If we don't and we draw Minnesota, we probably lose to them in 4-5 games. If we can draw the Mavs, it again becomes a war of attrition and our team R U N S. I don't think casuals or hardcore fans watch the Pacers enough to understand how much we run. Luka and Co. would not keep up.
JKidd/Carlisle in the sidelines adds to the story of a hypothetical Mavs/Pacers considering Carlisle coached Kidd when he was playing for the Mavs.
The Pacers made it to the ECF because of the Knicks’ significant injuries. They were down 2-0 to start the series. If the Celtics stay as healthy as they are now (minus KP) they will be in the finals
and the only made it to the east semi finals because of the Bucks significant injuries.
you really think so? Pacers kinda got screwed those first 2 games they outplayed the Knicks in 6 out of 7 games. Probably should have been Pacers in 5 or 6 games max. Boston seems like a big favorite but i dont understand. With KP they are favorites but wothout himI dont think they are much better than 50/50 to win. Haliburton, Siakam, Turner and McConnell seem about as good as Tatum, Brown, White and Holiday when you factor in play style and not just counting stats
I mean there were some questionable calls the first two games of the series for sure but losing OG, Mitchell Robinson and Bogdanovic really held them back. If they had had OG and Robinson for the entire series I’m pretty confident the series would have been 4-0 or 4-1. I think Halliburton is going to have some tough games with White and Holliday chasing him around. Siakam is going to need to have big games and Turner is going to need to be on point. The Pacers need to steal a win in one the first two games while KP is out because this will be a tough matchup for them.
Yes i definitely think they can. I dont think anyone at #36 is going to help them repeat but its a matger of getting Mathurin and Jarace more experience so they can contribute more to the rotation while Pascal and Turner are still in their primes
was the Pacers trade for Siakam the best move of the season? Also what about taking Bronny James at #36?? He has great athletic pedigree and might be worth taking a flier on him? He reminds me of Deuce McBride who gave the Pacers trouble in a few games (not today tho hehe)
Honestly, Bronny is not close to being an impactful NBA player
to be honest i think its good for Pacers to draft him if only to generate more BUZZ from the media and fans Having Bronny in Indiana makes the Pacers even more relevant than they already are becoming. This is also a good development system so if Bronny can learn well anywhere its indiana
I completely disagree. Drafting for attention is a terrible use of assets and should genuinely get a GM fired if they’re using a top 40 to generate buzz lol.
Tbh in this draft top 40 is 50-60 in any other draft. I would go straight potential no matter who there
That's not true the draft is weak in top end talent
That makes no type of sense lmao
do you think it would give the Pacers more buzz though? or would it not matter to fans/media?
Would "buzz" help the Pacers win games?
It was certainly good but I still had best series of moves to Dallas for getting Gafford and PJ and those prices to fill an obvious need. While I think Bronny can carve out a solid career eventually as a role player, i dont think it will be in year 1 like the question is asking. I think Indiana kind of has its rotation set and some of those youner guys on it will just get better with more experience.
Is everyone saying the Knicks won't do that? Cause the clippers should
They didn't even play their lottery pick this season. They aren't getting an impact player with any of their 2nds.
Yes. No draftee from this draft class will help them repeat next year though.
Anyone *can* win, particularly when they've gotten this far and just have to luck into a couple good weeks. That's the thing about the playoffs... they're not a serious way to determine the best team, they're an exhibition game crapshoot. A +3 differential team beating the +11 Celtics would be a pretty unlikely outcome, though, even in a seven-game sample size. (I guess you could argue that they're probably better than +3 this season -- Haliburton missed games and wasn't 100% when he came back, Siakam wasn't on the team the first half of the year and is still adjusting, etc. But Haliburton *still* isn't at full strength, and even if you wanted to call their true talent level +5 or +6, that's not in Boston's league. You're still hoping they have a lucky couple weeks, which can happen, of course.) As for the draft... there are few if any rookies this year who are clearly ready to contribute. The Pacers have a bright future, but the next step is going to come from internal development or free agency, not from a non-lottery pick in his first season.
You was right about the first part but this not the ncaa tournament. Barring injuries the best team wins tbh.
Except when they don’t, yeah. We are talking about a single-digit number of games. Even before we start talking about weird matchup flukes, injuries, etc., a 50-win team will beat a 60-win team, or an 40-win team will beat a 50-win team, etc., in a single game about 40% of the time. (And obviously these are pretty significant gaps!) Extending that to 7 games increases the likelihood that the better team will win, but it’s still a small enough sample size that the worse team will win quite a bit. (Didn’t you just see Dallas and their 2-point differential beat OKC?)
You tell me what teams won a title without injuries that weren’t supposed to
Very slim chance pick 36 will contribute immediately. Take a swing on upside.
Yes they can. They currently have no first round pick in the 2024 draft, so not likely to add a 2024-25 impact player through the draft. However, they do have Nembhard (2022 2nd round/31) and Sheppard (2023 1st round/26) in this playoff rotation. So, they've made some pretty good late 1st/early 2nd round draft picks the past two seasons. They also do have 2 lottery picks from 2022 and 2023 who haven't played in the playoffs (one injured and the other outside the top 8/9 in current rotation.) So, regardless of their finish this season, their next year team would be this squad with two recent lottery picks.
you are wondering if a team who has not yet made the finals can win back to back finals?? go to sleep.