Who do you think is the best team in the East?
Is it the champion New York Knicks, with their superstar pairing of offensive juggernauts and their plethora of three-and-D talent? Is it the Philadelphia 76ers, sporting two former MVPs alongside a top MVP finisher last year, none of whom is the star point guard who was the best player on the team last year? Is it the Cleveland Cavaliers, supersized as they are with paint protection that comes in droves? Is it the Detroit Pistons who... yeah, let's stop right there.
It's easy to count the Indiana Pacers out of that conversation. After all, they lack the top-five player that the Knicks have or the general talent level that the Sixers have, and they don't really even have Cleveland's young core.
On paper alone, the Pacers are likely the fourth most talented team in the East (at best) and the fifth most proven (behind the Sixers, Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat)
How could that team ever hope to escape a conference that has so rapidly escaped its reputation as the conference of losers? How could the Pacers hope to win a title in this era?
Lucky for Indiana, you don't have to win on paper. You just need to win on the court. And when it comes to playing well against the best teams in the biggest moments, few teams are better than the Pacers.
Matchups and matadors
Did you ever watch how matadors would swing that red cape in front of bulls? What started as an obsession with Ferdinand the Bull rapidly became an experience in watching someone so confident in everything they did that even the death machine that is the 600-pound, musclebound creature charging at them was little more than an inconvenience.
Obviously, it was a lot more than confidence. It was preparation as well.
The Pacers have found themselves well prepared in every moment of this era. Going all the way back to Victor Oladipo's duel with LeBron James, Indiana was able to take advantage of things that no one else in the East could even think of.
Those same Knicks that tore through the playoffs last year, looking unbeatable and uncatchable in their shot creation and defense? Those are the same Knicks that these Pacers were able to handle multiple years in a row.
Even though the new version of the Cavs has not existed long enough to play against this current version of the Pacers roster, there's more than enough there to predict an edge for Indiana.
The Pacers have struggled to find the right timing with their choices, but they've yet to make a wrong choice. Even the Ivica Zubac trade that felt so risky at the deadline now feels like a steal.
Basketball is a funny thing. Hidden in the depths of a broken season is proof that the Pacers can handle anything. So many people forget that while it was Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear that started the idea of the gap year, it was injuries to the rest of the roster that took Indiana to top-five pick territory.
As they return to the world of the living, it's worth remembering how well they can handle any challenge.
Including the ones they have already faced.
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