The Indiana Pacers made it to each of the last two Eastern Conference Finals rounds, and they are the most recent representative of the East in the NBA Finals.
Even after Tyrese Haliburton went down with an Achilles injury and Myles Turner left for the Milwaukee Bucks, many assumed Indiana would be back in the title picture. Just not this year.
The Pacers have talent beyond those two guys, but they were almost crucial to their latest playoff run. Indiana was always going to have to experiment with its roster to see who or what does and doesn't work long-term, and many players were going to have to figure out how to step up in a bigger role. This was always going to be a lot for the team to overcome, but exactly how much was its own question.
Indiana began this season with a 1-10 record and ranks as one of the worst teams on both sides of the ball. Plus, the team dealt with a ton of injuries to key players early in the season. So what was already going to be a tough season to have success in became a borderline impossible one.
Here's the thing, though. Even though the Pacers look like a G League team on the court, they may feel better about their long-term outlook than they did heading into the season.
The season is still young, and a lot of basketball remains to be played. But nearly a month into the season, few teams have solidified themselves as legitimate contenders in a wide-open Eastern Conference. It won't happen this season, but at some point, the Pacers will look to compete for a title once again. And it may be significantly easier than they anticipated.
The Eastern Conference still looks weak this season
Indiana has a fantastic roster, front office, and coaching staff. The team didn't make it to the NBA Finals (or take the best team in the league to a Game 7) by accident. However, it certainly benefited them that they were in the objectively-but-pretty-obviously inferior conference.
The Pacers were 10-15 through their first 25 games last season. Even so, the lowest they stood once the season really got underway was the No. 11 seed. This is still almost a Play-In spot.
For context, at that same time, the Pacers would have stood somewhere between the No. 12 seed Sacramento Kings and No. 13 seed Portland Trail Blazers if they were in the West. And given that the West is significantly more stacked, this would have been a lot for Indiana to overcome.
This isn't to say that they wouldn't have been fine anyway; just that the road would have been way more difficult.
The thing is, though, it's been like that for a long time. And that was especially expected to be the case this season with Indiana and the Boston Celtics (who also have Jayson Tatum out for potentially the whole season due to an Achilles injury) not being real contenders.
There have absolutely been some shining stars in the East. The Detroit Pistons, whose 110.6 defensive rating is the second-best in the NBA, began the season 10-2 and look great. Plus, the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks (who most expected to be the two clear best teams in the conference) are right behind them. And even the Philadelphia 76ers look good, too.
However, there still isn't a reason for the Pacers to be scared. All of these teams look great, but at full health, they aren't clearly better than Indiana. Plus, teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic have been very disappointing so far to begin the season.
The Pacers already had a bright future due to their young and hungry roster and great system. But if the start of this season is any indication, the Eastern Conference crown could be for the taking once they get everything situated.