On April 11, the Indiana Pacers, who were winners of six straight at the time, were just one game behind the New York Knicks in the standings. At that point, most of the seeds were secured, but Indiana still had a chance to move past the Knicks for the No. 3 seed. The Pacers were going up against the Orlando Magic, who rested most of their team as they had already clinched a Play-In spot. This would have been the perfect game for the Pacers to keep their foot on the pedal, but they opted to rest most of their team as well in a game that culminated in a loss.
Heading into the playoffs, the Pacers earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and secured home-court advantage. However, they finished just one game behind the No. 3 seed Knicks. The Pacers opted for rest over record near the end of the season and ended up with a lower seed than New York, who they are currently going up against in the conference finals. It was a bit of a controversial decision at the time, but it may have paid off for Indiana already given their Game 1 victory.
There is still a lot of basketball left in this series, but as it stands, the Pacers are already justifying their decision.
The Pacers stole Game 1 from the Knicks
In a miraculous fashion, the Pacers pulled off a late comeback in New York to take a 1-0 series lead in the conference finals. While not the deciding factor on its own, winning the first game of a playoff round on the road typically bodes well for the rest of the series. Had the Pacers ended up as the No. 3 seed, this would have been a home game for them, making their 1-0 series lead a bit less commanding.
The Pacers and Knicks will meet up for Game 2 on Friday night, and it should be another fantastic game. While the Knicks will look to tie the series up and not let it slip away, the Pacers will look to take a 2-0 series lead back to Indiana, which would put them in a fantastic spot.
Indiana is just three wins away from an NBA Finals appearance, and it is important for them to keep moving forward. While Game 1 was a great showing of resilience for them, they still have a long way to go to reach their ultimate goal. However, because of a decision they made late in the regular season, the Pacers should have an easier go at it for the rest of the series.