The Indiana Pacers G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, are heading to the G League playoffs.
The D-League changed its nomenclature to the G League this year, but that wasn’t the only change made. They also changed the G League playoff format to only have 12 teams, where the top two seeds in each conference will receive a first-round bye. Even with these changes, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the G League affiliate for the Indiana Pacers, are going to the playoffs.
The Mad Ants finished the G League season with a record of 29-21, which puts them in second place in the Eastern Conference, only the Westchester Knicks finished with a better record. That means the Mad Ants will receive a bye in the first round and will begin to play in the second round.
The Mad Ants showed some grit and clinched their bye in just their second-to-last game of their season, pulling out a win over the Windy City Bulls.
Now, the Mad Ants just wait and see. They play the winner of a game between the Erie Bayhawks and the Lakeland Magic; a game that takes place on March 31st. The Mad Ants will take on the winner of that game in Fort Wayne on April 3rd. That game will be a single elimination game, so having it at home is a huge advantage for the Mad Ants.
Fort Wayne won the D-Lague title in 2014, and they will be looking to repeat that effort this season. What helped Fort Wayne so much this year is contributions from many NBA players. Ike Anigbogu, Glenn Robinson III, Jarrod Uthoff, TJ Leaf, Trey McKinney-Jones, Walter Lemon Jr, Ben Moore, Jamil Wilson, and DeQuan Jones all have NBA experience and as a result, the Pacers affiliate is one of the best teams in the minors.
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Keep an eye on Fort Wayne’s title run as the Pacers push for the postseason themselves. The Pacers use their affiliate team well, and as a result, they are talented and deep. Let’s hope they can pull out the G League title.