Forecasting the Indiana Pacers’ playoff chances next season

With only a few games left on deck, the Indiana Pacers have been officially eliminated from the postseason, hammering the final nail on what has been an utterly disappointing season for the franchise on the winning spectrum.

Fans have a lot more hopeful strides to look forward to for the Pacers this time around, with the youth movement in the Circle City led by Tyrese Haliburton and the others signaling a drastic change in roster building, but could Indiana reasonably go blow-for-blow against the beasts of the East in the foreseeable future? Let’s take an early dive into the outlook of the conference next season.

Is there a path for the Indiana Pacers to mount a return to the playoffs in the East next season?

Safe to say, the Eastern Conference, long maligned for being inferior to the West, is now littered with viable teams which could make deep playoff runs in the suddenly talent-rich conference. Just this season, you could count four to five clubs with solid arguments to be considered as contenders.

So where do the Indiana Pacers fit in the picture as things currently stand? With an eventful free agency and draft anticipated for the Blue and Gold, you could safely tab the team to log a better record next season, should they stick to their usual track of avoiding a ground zero rebuild. However, spare yourselves of fantasies. The Pacers have no shot at a title in 2022-23.

Up top, the East is led by veteran teams in the middle of their title window. The Miami Heat are composed of a deep cast of young prospects and established veterans and should compete for the title in the next two to three season. The same goes for the Philadelphia 76ers, which now have two MVP-level players, and the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks, which are led by the most dominant player in the league.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets, despite a disappointing regular season, still have the highest ceiling among all teams in the league with their star-studded roster. The Boston Celtics, led by their two-headed scoring machines, should contend for years to come as they grow as a group. Of course, no one can forget about the Chicago Bulls, which are having their best season since 2015.

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Beyond those teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors should continue their internal growths under the backing of solid young cores. The Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks, while still middling, are led by tremendous young stars and will not be going anywhere.

The Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks have bleaker futures, but bottom dwellers like the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic have a big chance to amplify their already-impressive collection of prospects to build around.

The Indiana Pacers? Right now, they are among the least inspiring teams in the conference. While they should be more competitive next season, the bar for them to leap a notch or two in order to return to the playoffs is simply too deep to guarantee a spot next stop.

The play-in tournament gives them a bigger margin of error, but realistically, fans would have to temper their expectations for the team next season and give the new core a full season to develop chemistry as the front office gauges the value of the remaining veterans like Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner.

Fortunately, the Indiana Pacers managed to realize the urgency for change in the middle of a losing campaign. While the playoffs are still a lofty goal for them next season, the franchise is now in a much better position to improve their standing and ceiling in the conference for the foreseeable future.