Indiana Pacers: Which East playoff team could they surpass next season?

Following a lost season that saw the Indiana Pacers cruise to the bottom of the standings, barely anyone has the team on their shelves for a potential return to the playoffs next season, especially with the Eastern Conference looking stronger as ever.

The state of the conference is still a tough one to crack for the young Pacers. In fact, with the East still projected to be lorded by veteran and up-and-coming contenders in the near future, Indiana will likely be on the outside looking in as currently constructed.

That being said, just as many witnessed this season with the likes of Memphis, Minnesota, and Cleveland, making the proverbial jump for a young team is attainable in a shorter duration than expected. With the right moves and some dash of luck, the Pacers could potentially shock everyone in the following years, next season even.

Can the Indiana Pacers surpass any of the playoff teams in the East next season?

The top-four teams in the East this season record-wise: Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia, are absolute locks to finish better than Indiana next season. Among the other teams in the playoffs field, Brooklyn and Toronto are similar locks to finish better than the Pacers next season, which leaves Chicago and Atlanta as non-locks.

The Bulls, after starting hot this season, have plummeted to normalcy. While they are safe bets to remain in the playoff hunt next season, Zach LaVine’s upcoming free agency and the possible decline of Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, even if minimal, could be the difference between them hanging with the big dogs and eventually falling out of favor in the East.

Meanwhile, the Hawks are a bit of a Pandora’s box. One night, they will look like contenders before performing like a lottery team on the next. However, Trae Young and Atlanta’s growing core continually raises their ceiling, making them a safe pick to climb the conference ladder in the succeeding seasons.

Now, the Indiana Pacers do not have a convincing case at all to make the playoffs next season. While Tyrese Haliburton can make a giant leap or two, and the team finally eases from the injury bag next season, there is nothing in the current iteration of the team which will jump at you and force you to cudgel them into your own magic eight.

However, the upcoming draft and free agency could flip that narrative and give actual winning expectations in the Circle City. Heck, even if the Pacers double down on their youth movement and dangle their veteran pieces like Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner, the heightened ceiling could be all worth it in both the short and long run.

Making the call right now, no, the Indiana Pacers are unlikely to crack the top eight next season, but if you’re a bettor, you got to feel relatively good about the chances of possibly seizing a potential shocker next season.