Can the Pacers win the championship?

The Indiana Pacers are really good.  This series against the Cavaliers was not a fluke as they advanced to the Eastern Conference. Their offense looks as locked in as it was a season ago, their defense is vastly improved and they are healthy. They look like a legit threat to win the East so the question has to be asked.  Can they win the title?

Let’s start with their win against Cleveland.  Indiana was the better team.  Shooting 50% from the field and 42% from three, they simply made more shots than the 64-win Cavaliers did, who shot 43% from the field and 29% from three.  Cleveland injuries played a factor in the series, yet Cleveland had no answers for the Pacers offense.  17.8 points per game from Pascal Siakam, 17.4 points per game from Tyrese Haliburton, 16.2 points per game from Myles Turner, 14.4 points per game from Aaron Nesmith and 14.2 points per game from Andrew Nembhard, Indiana had buckets coming from everywhere in their starting lineup.  All 5 of the Pacers starters shot over 50% from the field and over 40% from three during the series.  Cleveland just couldn’t get a stop.  In 80 minutes on the floor together, the Pacers starting 5 had an offensive rating of 131.2 and a net rating of +30.0.  They dominated Cleveland.  The Cavs tried to switch a lot in the series and Indiana made them pay for it.  The offense is a well-oiled machine and is peaking at the right time.

Through their first 10 games of the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers offensive rating is 117.3 with an assist percentage, meaning the amount of baskets that are assisted, of 69% which is the best in the playoffs and would have been 2nd in the NBA during the regular season and their assists to turnover ratio of 2.32 would have been the best in the league during the regular season.  They are moving the ball at a really high level and it is really hard for teams to stop it.  Now, they played the Bucks for 5 games and their defense was terrible because they could not stop the ball.  However, they have had an elite offense for two seasons now.  After being 2nd in offense a season ago, Indiana was 9th in offense this season, 5.1 points per 100 possessions worse.  However, they have bounced back well in the playoffs, 2nd in offensive rating during the playoffs, only behind the Cavs who played the Heat in the first round.  This team has an elite offense led by one of the best point guards in the NBA.

Tyrese Haliburton was voted the most overrated player in the NBA by his peers.  However, only 13 players voted for Tyrese Haliburton as the most overrated player in the league.  Those players were wrong because Halliburton is better than he is advertised to be. At 25 years old, Halliburton has led his Indiana Pacers to back to back conference finals appearances.  His scoring was great in the Cleveland series averaging 17.4 points per game on 54% from the field, 46% from three and 67% true shooting while still dishing out 7 assists per contest.  He is the lifeline of the Pacers offense, the engine that makes them go and he has shown that he is not just one of the best point guards in the league but one of the best players in the league.

It became clear last season that Haliburton needed a co-star so the Pacers made a trade in January 2024 to acquire Pascal Siakam.  In exchange the team sent Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, the 19th pick in last year’s draft, the 29th pick in last year’s draft and a 2026 first round pick.  It wasn’t a trade that everyone was raving about for the Pacers but looking back at the deal, they should be raving about it now.  Indiana gave up next to nothing, depending on where that pick next year lands, for an All-Star and a legit number 2 to play with Halliburton.  Since becoming a Pacer, Siakam has averaged 20.6 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 54% from the field during the playoffs.  He has been a huge addition for Indiana and they wouldn’t be going to back to back Eastern Conference Finals without him.

Indiana’s defense has also taken a leap this year.  After being 24th in defensive rating last year, they finished the regular season 14th this season and were the 8th best in defense post All-Star break, giving up 111.5 points per 100 possessions.  Their defense has regressed a little this postseason, 111.9 points doesn’t seem like a big dropoff but when accounting for the lack of scoring there has been in these playoffs it is not a great number.  However, a big problem a season ago was they couldn’t get any stops and now they are getting more stops. Which is a big leap for them.

The Indiana Pacers are really good.  They have an elite offense, 2 All-Star level players and one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Them being in back to back Conference Finals is not a fluke and this year they have a legit chance to advance to the NBA Finals, which means they have a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.