The Indiana Pacers have done it again. After their Tuesday night victory over the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers, they finished up their conference semifinal series and sent themselves to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Now, it's becoming increasingly clear that the Pacers are emerging as the prohibitive favorites to head to the NBA Finals for one big reason — Indiana's offense looks positively unstoppable.
Not many outside of the The Hoosier State could have seen this outcome coming. The Pacers, while a fun team, were not seen as true challengers for a championship when the playoffs began nearly a month ago.
Fans around the league knew that Indiana would have a chance of giving Cleveland a solid series due to their prolific offense, but no one saw them positively dominating the Cavs from start to finish the way they did. Indiana's performance through rounds one and two of these playoffs should have everyone reworking their thinking on what this Pacers team is, and what they can achieve.
With Tyrese Haliburton at the helm, Indiana is the best offense remaining in the playoffs. They can beat you in a variety of ways with a plethora of diverse scorers. They have a gritty intensity and a can't-lose attitude typical of the highest-level teams. Just when you think they've reached their ceiling and are finally overmatched in a playoff series, they go and wipe the floor with the competition again.
The Pacers could be headed to their second NBA Finals ever
Honestly, can anyone stop the Pacers at this point? It's hard to see them losing before the Finals, at least. It's looking very likely that Indiana's foe in the Eastern Conference Finals will be the New York Knicks, and that's certainly a matchup that would favor the Pacers.
New York struggled pretty significantly against the offense of the Detroit Pistons in round one. Now, although they've been gifted the upper hand in their semifinal matchup due to Jayson Tatum's unfortunate injury, the Boston Celtics are still giving them trouble when they're able to speed up their offense.
Sound familiar? Indiana loves to get out and run, and it's what makes their offensive attack so consistently dangerous. If you think the Knicks have looked rough when the Celtics have been attacking them in transition, just wait until you see what the Pacers will do to them.
And either way, Indiana has it made right now. If the Knicks win and advance, the Pacers know their opponent just made life harder for themselves by dropping Game 5 against Boston and giving themselves less rest for their next matchup. If that series goes to seven, no matter who wins, all the better for Indiana and their fresher bodies.
The Pacers' shooting power and pace of play should positively overwhelm a worn out and tired Knicks team that will probably still be a bit euphoric they were able to take down the defending champions. And again, if they're playing Boston instead, the Celtics will also be depleted of energy and playing without Tatum. The second NBA Finals appearance in Indiana Pacers history is there for the taking.