Fixing this need for the Indiana Pacers could make them NBA Finals contenders

The Indiana Pacers are so close. They were just one round away from making the NBA Finals. No one thought they were this good or would come even close to making the Eastern Conference Finals. They showed that the rebuild is way ahead of schedule and they are ready to be contenders now.

There are still some flaws with this team. We saw both the Knicks and the Celtics take advantage of the biggest flaw on the Pacers' roster. Fixing that flaw could lead them to be a true NBA title contender not just next season, but for years after that as well.

The Indiana Pacers need a good wing defender in the starting lineup

What the Pacers need is a lockdown defender on the wing who can switch one through four. That's easier said than done. If those players just grew on trees, there would be a lot more teams who are in title contention. Still, the Pacers need it more desperately than others.

Aaron Nesmith is the best perimeter defender the Pacers have right now. He did a really good job against some of the best players in the league. But he's not quite tall enough to affect the Jayson Tatum's of the world. Indiana needs some length on the perimeter.

Tyrese Haliburton being a negative defender emphasizes this point even further. Teams hunt him on switches and matchups get mixed up. If the Pacers can get a wing defender with more length, that makes it harder for teams to hunt Haliburton in those scenarios.

On a Finals team, Nesmith is probably best used as a three-and-D guy off the bench. There will be some games where he can close too. In order for the Pacers to raise their ceiling, they need someone else who can consistently defend and shoot at a high level.

Who is that player? Someone like Herb Jones or OG Anunoby would be great. There are rumbles that OG may not re-sign with the Knicks, so if he takes a discount to come back and play in Indiana as he did in college that would be great. That seems a bit unlikely though.