Imagine how the playoff seeding looks at the end of this season. How does it look? Where do the Indiana Pacers stack up on that list?
If you heard that the Pacers had finished in the sixth seed, you'd understandably be disappointed, but it's not as simple to project a high finish no matter the record. The East is, after all, an absolute gauntlet.
The New York Knicks are defending champions who lost only one admittedly very impactful role player from their title-winning team. The Philadelphia 76ers traded for a top MVP finisher to add to their MVP center and all-star point guard before signing the greatest player of all time. The Toronto Raptors traded for the man who brought them their only title and is still one of the 10 best players in the league when healthy. The Miami Heat got a top-10 player of their own as well.
It gets worse.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made an aggressive move for a young power forward, whom they will play up a position to establish their new identity in their massively oversized frontcourt. The Atlanta Hawks added a handful of veterans, notably including defensive stalwart Lu Dort, to the only team that could win multiple games against the reigning champs.
That is just six teams in the East. That group fails to include the Boston Celtics, who are just always good, the Orlando Magic, who certainly expect to be good if they can just stay healthy, or the Detroit Pistons, who were just the East's top seed.
All that is to say that Indiana has massive amounts of competition in the East for not just home court advantage, but to make it to the playoffs entirely. Including the Pacers, we've listed 10 teams each of whom would call this season a failure if they did not make the postseason.
At least two of them will miss it entirely. That's insane.
Lottery risers aiming to excel, and the Pacers who can't afford not to
Expectations are hard to calibrate for the Pacers. Because of their Finals run two seasons ago, their fans want to immediately return to championship contention with the return of Tyrese Haliburton from an Achilles tear he suffered in that fateful run. However, they also may just be in a lower tier than the top of the conference.
While the Pacers unquestionably have the talent to challenge for a title if Haliburton is healthy. They have Pascal Siakam and a newly reinvigorated Ivica Zubac, as well as a gaggle of good rotation pieces and skilled role players.
However, without Haliburton, the Pacers fell deep into the lottery, winning only 19-games. Health was unquestionably a huge part of that conversation, but the biggest loss outside of their star point guard was Aaron Nesmith playing just 45 games.
In a conference that has so quickly exploded in talent, they need to start fast and stay great. The difference between a top playoff seed and a play-in tournament appearance will likely be quite small, with how many good teams will be challenging for a spot.
The Pacers can't afford to be on the outside looking in. This season is the most important of this era of Indiana basketball, and it's shaping up to be a nightmarish and stressful exercise from start to finish.
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