Pacers Playoff Preview
The NBA regular season is over and our beloved Pacers have made it to the postseason once more. Coming into this season, few if any people expected this Indiana Pacers team to be competing for a playoff spot. However, Victor Oladipo’s emergence as an All-NBA talent changed fans’ expectations for the season rather quickly.
Now, coming in hot off a 48-win season, the most wins for the franchise since 2013-14, the Pacers have secured the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference and will be begin their best-of-7 series with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC.
The Pacers are surely hoping to fare better in this postseason rematch than they did last season, when they were swept by the eventual Eastern Conference champions. But this is a better Pacers team than last season, and the Cavs are undoubtedly worse off than they were a year ago. Pair that with the fact that the Pacers won the season series, 3-1, and you might just be able to convince yourself that the Pacers will be able to advance to the second round…
And then remember who it is that we are up against. Four of the last five times that the Pacers have made the playoffs, it has been LeBron James who eliminated them. James has been a thorn in the franchise’s side for 15 years and has been an obstacle the Pacers could never overcome. As I said earlier, that could easily change this season, but let’s just say I’ll believe it when I see it.
One thing to watch for is whether Oladipo’s amazing regular season play will carry into the playoffs. Last year for the Thunder, Oladipo’s stats took a sharp decline in the postseason and if that happens again this year, the Pacers are as good as finished.
I would also expect to see Myles Turner improve his play as well if the Pacers are going to advance. Many people expected a lot of Turner in last season’s matchup with the Cavs and he didn’t live up to the expectations, so we will see if he can take that next step this time around.
Will the Pacers finally be able to overcome LeBron? Will Oladipo’s All-Star play carry into the postseason? Will Myles Turner be able to take that next step? We will just have to wait until Sunday to find out.