Metta World Peace claims the Indiana Pacers are going to the Conference Finals
By Tony East
![MIAMI - NOVEMBER 3: Ron Artest #15 of the Indiana Pacers is seen on court against the Miami Heat November 3, 2005 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Pacers won 105-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) MIAMI - NOVEMBER 3: Ron Artest #15 of the Indiana Pacers is seen on court against the Miami Heat November 3, 2005 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Pacers won 105-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/48058e81336ea19278b97c8ee0d910b2c5f2c7df5d5b3ad1f9a18a0a0c470dc9.jpg)
Former Pacers great Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) made a bold claim about the upcoming Pacers season on Twitter.
Remember Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace)? The former Pacers great who was shipped off for, uh, some not so awesome behavior?
Well, now he’s retired from the NBA and playing in the BIG3 basketball league. His Indiana career ended with him being sent to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, and there was clearly disdain between him and the organization at the time.
But now we can forget about all about that. World Peace (Artest, do I have to keep including this parenthetical?) appears to believe in what the Pacers are doing now. He is on board with the squad that has been constructed, and he expects big things from them this season.
Yesterday, he tweeted out just how well he thinks the blue and gold are going to do this season:
@pacers will play the @nyknicks in the eastern conference finals this year
— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorld37) August 13, 2018
There you have it. World Peace has spoken. The Pacers will meet the Knicks in the conference finals.
Alright, in actuality, probably not. But it is both funny and interesting to see World Peace praise the Indiana and New York.
The humor lies in the homerism. In his NBA career, World Peace only played for three Eastern Conference teams: Chicago, Indiana, and New York. He couldn’t put all three in the conference finals, so he settled on the two he played for the most recently.
The interesting part is that Victor Oladipo and co. are good while the Knicks are… not. It seems much more likely that the Pacers make the conference finals than the Knicks, but World Peace seems pretty confident in both.
He also made an awards pick:
MVP of 2018/2019 @JoelEmbiid
— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorld37) August 14, 2018
Let’s hope that prediction doesn’t come true since the Pacers square off with Embiid four times on national television this season.
Next. Love and Hate Series: Kyle O’Quinn. dark
Who knows what the former Pacer is using to make his decisions. But let’s hope he right, because even if Embiid wins MVP and dominates Indiana, the Pacers making the conference finals (and beyond?) would make it more than worth it.