The regular season is officially over, and the Indiana Pacers will shift their focus to the postseason, where they will look to go on another deep run after last year's conference finals appearance. Just like last year, the Pacers will begin their playoff run in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks, who they sent home in six games in 2024.
This series should be a tight one on paper, but the Pacers may have the slight edge given that they secured homecourt advantage, something they had not done since 2020. Regardless, the Bucks are a good team and are red-hot, having won each of their last eight games of the season.
With the first game of the playoffs less than a week away, fans should soon get a glimpse of what is to come for the Pacers in the playoffs. However, there is already a decent idea of how the Bucks will play, and it is crucial that the Pacers take advantage of this to capitalize on an unlikely opportunity they should have, and it all starts with Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers have a great opportunity to exploit the Bucks
As was the case in the regular season, the Pacers will rely heavily on Haliburton to lead the way during the playoffs. It worked for the Pacers last year when they made it to the conference finals, and they will hope that it will work again this season. However, despite Haliburton's importance to the Pacers' success, he is not a flawless player, and he has one big weakness that the Bucks have constantly tried to attack--his defense.
Though he has improved, Haliburton is far from a lockdown defender, and the Bucks are well aware of that as they like to attack him when they are on offense. In theory, this is a decent idea, but it is a great risk for Milwaukee as it moves them away from the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard two-man game, which is essential to their success.
According to Zach Lowe (YouTube link), Antetokounmpo and Lillard averaged 21 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions during the season. However, against the Pacers, that number dropped to 11.5. Attacking Haliburton on defense makes sense in theory, but it moves them away from one of their biggest strengths. For the Pacers to win this series, it is crucial that they exploit this, especially if they can force Milwaukee to attack Haliburton with a lesser offensive player in Lillard's absence.