The Indiana Pacers ended the season as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference after their huge win against the Atlanta Hawks. They killed the Hawks by scoring 157 points, which tied a franchise record. Their offense is the best in the NBA and it is the highest-scoring offense in the league.
Because of that, they will be taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. This is a matchup that the rest of the NBA should be excited for. These two teams very much dislike each other. Malik Beasley already talked trash after the last matchup between the two teams. It should be some great theater for the rest of the league.
So far, the Pacers have won four out of the five matchups they've played against Milwaukee so far this season. Quite frankly, they have owned the Bucks so far this season. Indiana is not going to be scared of playing the Bucks, whether at home or on the road.
The Pacers have a good opportunity to beat the Bucks if they play their game
All of the matchups between these two franchises happened before the Pacers brought in Pascal Siakam. He has brought a new element to the Pacers' team on both offense and defense. Theoretically, the team should be better than what they were in each of the matchups prior.
Looking at the matchups, it's going to come down to how well the Pacers are able to corral Giannis Antetokoumpo. He already scored 64 points in one of the matchups against the Pacers. They need to keep him from dishing to open teammates when he gets too open.
If Giannis scores 50, that's fine. They just have to make sure Damian Lillard doesn't score 30+ points in addition to that. The rest of the Bucks' starters can't be an offensive force. Tyrese Haliburton has to be a stud offensively as well. Pascal Siakam needs to be good at that as well.
It should be a fun series to watch. Pacers fans could have a worse matchup to watch.