The Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks are set to meet up in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Last year, the Pacers eliminated the Bucks in six games before making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. With Game 1 set to happen on Saturday, the Pacers will look to repeat history, whereas Milwaukee will aim to rewrite it.
On paper, this should be a close series. As the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, the Pacers and Bucks had similar seasons. They both got off to a slow start before turning things around and ending the season on a high note. Indiana had one of the best regular season records in 2025, and the Bucks won their last eight games heading into the playoffs.
Both teams have an edge on the other in one way or another. Ultimately, it will be a matter of who can execute their game plan better that will determine the winner of the series. Luckily for the Pacers, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers may have just given them a giant tip that will bode well for their success in the series.
The Pacers have another way they can beat the Bucks
As it stands, the Pacers already have multiple ways they can eliminate the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. However, there is another major one that Rivers brought to light.
Though they are a solid defensive team overall (finished the regular season with the 12th-best DRTG), the Bucks have been slacking in one specific area on the defensive side of the ball--their transition defense.
According to NBA.com, the Bucks give up 1.16 points per possession in the transition. This mark is tied for fifth-worst in the NBA. The Bucks were the only other team in the bottom 5 to make the playoffs (and the only team in the bottom 10 outside of the Pacers, who ranked ninth-worst).
Recently, Rivers spoke about this flaw (subscription required) and admitted that the Bucks will not be successful if they cannot figure it out during the Pacers series.
“We like our defense,” Rivers said. “We don’t like our transition defense right now. That’s one area where we thought we were doing great, and it’s kind of slipped away.”
“Listen, we play Indiana. If we’re not good in transition D, we’re not going to be very good.”
The Pacers are one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA and are a top offensive unit. Additionally, they excel in transition. The Pacers must do whatever they can to exploit this because, if the Bucks are unable to fix the problem, it will be a long series for them.