As part of the NBA's game schedule releases, we now have the answer to the questions everyone has been clamoring about. While it's fair to ask about lulls in the quality of opponents, back-to-backs, or general matchups that look exciting, there's a far more important topic to discuss.
What are the Indiana Pacers' chances of winning the NBA Cup?
According to the NBA itself, the Cup is the league's second-largest team honor, behind only an NBA Championship – which likely makes a Las Vegas Summer League title take third place on that podium. With so much (absolutely nothing) on the line, how can the Pacers hope to take their place on the mountaintop?
Well, it'll certainly be a rough road to follow. The Pacers are in what can only be called the group of death, facing off against the Miami Heat with new addition Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning Cup and league champion New York Knicks, and the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers with LeBron James in tow.
Despite being an excellent team in their own right, the Pacers are likely in the bottom two of that group, only beating out the Heat due to their porous roster depth. Both the Sixers and Knicks have an argument for being the most dangerous team in the East, and Indiana will have to face both.
This may seem ridiculous to do, considering the lack of sway the NBA Cup seemingly has, but with such a lacking opening opponent, the Cup could end up being the Pacers' first true test.
The Cup has had a mixed bag of winners
Since its introduction during the 2023-24 season, the NBA Cup has had a strange history. Frequently viewed as a ridiculous sideshow, it has also created some of the most fun regular-season matchups in recent history.
In its inaugural season, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Pacers 123-109 on a late December night to claim their first win. Those Lakers would go into the playoffs months later as a meager eighth seed, winning just one game against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
The year after, Darvin Ham, who had coached the Lakers to that win, went back-to-back, joining Doc Rivers' coaching staff on a dreadful Milwaukee Bucks team en route to them lifting the trophy. That Bucks team would end in abject failure as they crashed out to the Pacers in what quickly became a habit for them.
Last year's champion changed the narrative, however. The first two years of games had shown that a decent team could get hot in November and December and win the In-Season Tournament without being a team of real championship quality.
The Knicks, however, changed that.
With that stigma removed, it would simply be fun to see Indiana lift a trophy, even if the Larry O'Brien trophy would be so much more impactful than its millennial equivalent.
The NBA Cup winner will likely come out of nowhere, if the past few years are any indication, so why can't it be the Pacers? After challenging for it in that first season, they have struggled to make it out of their groups.
This next season won't be defined by December, but by June. That being said, wouldn't it be nice to get both?
The precedent has been set. It's time for the Pacers to follow their Eastern Conference rivals.
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