The Indiana Pacers caused a surprise in the NBA by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time in a decade. However, for Pacers fans, their strong playoff run earlier this year was not a huge surprise.
Last season, the Pacers finished the year with a 47-35 record, their best record since the 2018-19 season. Additionally, the trade of former NBA champion Pascal Siakam during the season immediately put them closer to title contention. The team also saw a natural progression from several of its players, including new olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton.
Despite a four-game loss to the Boston Celtics, the Pacers gave the eventual champions their toughest challenge of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This summer, the team didn’t do much to improve the roster on paper. The Pacers drafted Johnny Furphy and signed James Wiseman, but they didn’t make any other notable outside moves this offseason. They did, however, re-sign Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin, and they signed point guard Andrew Nembhard to a contract extension.
The Pacers are expecting a more natural progression from the players currently on their roster. Given that they were four wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, that might be the right move. However, with the rest of the Eastern Conference improving this summer, it doesn’t bode well for Indiana’s immediate success.
In a recent article for Bleacher ReportWriter Andy Bailey gave his win-loss predictions for every NBA team. When it came time to talk about the Pacers, Bailey said he thought much of last year’s success was “a little overblown” due to injuries suffered by the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks in the playoffs.
He added, however, that the Pacers are still a great team that should remain in the playoff race next season. Bailey predicted a 46-36 record for the team, one game less than last season, but acknowledged that they could make his prediction “ridiculous.”
According to Bailey, the Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers will all have better records in the Eastern Conference than the Pacers next season.
The Pacers are used to being the outsiders at this point. Hopefully for the team and its fans, their play next season will prove once and for all that they are a legitimate threat and will be for a long time.
