Now that we are in the middle of the NBA offseason, it is a good time to do a wide check-in on every player and team in the league. Additionally, this is as good a time as any to start looking towards the future to predict what will happen next season. Apparently, ESPN agrees as they are rolling out their expert polls to predict top teams, award winners, etc. during the 2024-25 NBA season.
For much of the offseason, the Indiana Pacers have continued to get overlooked. Most specifically, when talking about the teams who have a real chance of representing the Eastern Conference during the NBA Finals next year, the Pacers are rarely mentioned in these talks. This is despite their Eastern Conference Finals appearance just a few months ago.
Additionally, it is extra frustrating for Pacers fans to hear experts, analysts, or other fanbases attempt to take away from their run last season, saying they only advanced as far as they did due to the injuries the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks suffered.
At this point, the Pacers are considered the underdogs once again, so ESPN's latest prediction should not shock the fanbase whatsoever.
ESPN predicts that the Pacers will finish as the No. 7 seed next season
According to their recent poll, ESPN predicts that the Pacers will finish as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference next season, which is a slight dropoff from their No. 6 seed finish last season.
ESPN is not the first major publication that believes the Pacers will take a step back next season. However, going as far as to call them a Play-In team for next season seems a little much.
In a separate tier titled "The Contenders," ESPN has the Boston Celtics, Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Bucks, and Orlando Magic ranked ahead of Indiana.
It is fair to put the Celtics, Knicks, and 76ers ahead of the Pacers. However, the Pacers have a great chance to finish ahead of the next three teams. None of them have a better offensive game than the Pacers do, and outside of Milwaukee, they have the highest ceiling. At the very least, all these teams deserve to be in the same tier.
The Pacers are once again being overlooked by the experts. However, all things considered, this has worked out pretty well for them in the past.