The Indiana Pacers enjoyed a beautiful run to the NBA Finals in 2025, taking down the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks in the process. Now, with Tyrese Haliburton healthy again, they’ll be able to go for it again. But the East has gotten a lot better in the last two years, and it could make life harder for the Pacers.
Kawhi Leonard just returned to the Eastern Conference after the LA Clippers traded him to the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won a title in 2019. The Boston Celtics sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, who got better in the process. And the Miami Heat just got Giannis Antetokounmpo, too, who will get to play alongside Bam Adebayo.
Lots of teams in the East are getting stronger, and it’s going to make Haliburton’s path back to the NBA Finals even harder than it once was (and harder than it could have been).
East is loading up, and Pacers need to be ready
When the Pacers made the Finals in 2025, they played some stiff competition. Nothing can be taken away from the teams that they managed to take down along the way.
The Bucks may be the biggest exception, as they were injured throughout the series, but the Cavs and Knicks played their guys. They just got beaten by Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and company.
However, the East has changed a lot. Teams have shifted, players have moved, and teams have developed internally. All of those things will get in the way of the Pacers making a potential run to the NBA Finals again with Haliburton at the helm.
Leonard is going to make the Raptors a legitimate threat in the East. He and Scottie Barnes together make up one of the best duos in the league, and their defense will be elite.
Brown’s presence alongside Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Joel Embiid gives the Sixers a legit Big 4. They are going to be a dominant team to be reckoned with come playoff time.
And even though Brown got traded, the Celtics are still going to be good. Jayson Tatum is an All-NBA-level guy, and they have the same supporting cast that helped them last year.
Antetokounmpo and Adebayo are going to be great in Miami. The Washington Wizards are slowly improving. The Atlanta Hawks are good. The Orlando Magic want to have a bounce-back year. The Knicks are still the Knicks.
There is so much talent in the East, and it will be up to Haliburton to navigate it and help the Pacers reach the NBA’s pinnacle.
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