The Indiana Pacers have one of the deepest teams in all of basketball. They have an incredible starting lineup and one of the best bench units in the league as well. With just a couple of weeks to go in the regular season, the Pacers are in a good spot to potentially make another deep playoff run after their conference finals appearance last year.
Currently, rank in the top half on both sides of the ball and are one of the most complete teams in basketball when fully healthy and clicking. Much of their success has to do with their top players like Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. However, something that makes the Pacers unique is that they have a plethora of other players who can heat up and lead the team to victory on any given night.
In the playoffs, the Pacers will likely shorten their rotation to make sure their top guys see the court more. While this mostly impacts their starting lineup, this should also give one of their X-factors some more opportunities to get hot and add another element to the Pacers on the court.
Obi Toppin may be the secret to another successful Pacers playoff run
While he is not the most essential player on the roster, no Pacers fan will deny how important Obi Toppin is to the team. He is a great backup who plays his role well and can even lead the game in different ways at times. This was most evident last week in the Pacers' overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite being severely shorthanded, the Pacers defeated a Timberwolves team that was on an eight-game winning streak at the time. This was largely thanks to Toppin, who recorded 34 points on 12-for-19 shooting, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. Additionally, he hit the game-winning shot to secure the victory for Indiana. With this performance, Toppin proved that he deserves to be in the Pacers' long-term future plans.
Toppin has proven that he can go off when he is on fire. This will be especially important in the playoffs when the Pacers will need to rely even more heavily on just outscoring teams (especially since we have yet to see how this defense will look in a seven-game series against the top teams in the league). If Toppin gets more opportunities and shows what he is capable of, he may be exactly what the Pacers need to make another deep playoff run this season.