How the Indiana Pacers can 'buck' another Central Division rival

With the release of the Pacers' four games slated for the NBA Cup, one particular matchup stands out among the others. Games against the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat look to be promising. Indiana will also see action versus Pascal Siakam's former team, the Toronto Raptors.

Their fourth opponent in Group B of the Eastern Conference is a familiar foe. In fact, the Pacers ousted them on two separate occasions last season: once during the In-Season Tournament and the NBA Playoffs.

Despite finishing with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference last year and two games better than the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks failed to get past the NBA's best offensive team last season twice.

"Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me twice, shame on me!"

Indiana courts one of the league's best dynamic duos in Siakam and All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. The point guard was a huge reason for the team's success last season, specifically against their fellow Central Division foe.

On Friday, December 8th, 2023, the Pacers made the Bucks their prey. That victory propelled them into the In-Season Tournament Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

At the time, Buddy Hield and Bruce Brown were still with the Pacers. The two only contributed 18 points combined. It was the efforts of Haliburton that led Indiana to the promised land, recording 27 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds.

Over the course of the regular season, the Pacers had the Bucks' number. During the other four matchups, Milwaukee was only victorious once.

As the regular season wrapped up, the third seed was awarded to the Bucks and the Pacers locked up the sixth seed. This set the two teams to cross paths yet again.

The stage would be the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. In six games, the Pacers capitalized on key absences from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Siakam proved to be a difference-maker in that series. His first two postseason contests with his new team resulted in double-doubles of at least 36 points and 11 rebounds each.

Haliburton had three double-doubles himself. In fact, he was one point shy of a third during Game 1 on the road at Milwaukee.

The tandem of Haliburton and Siakam have fared better than Antetokounmpo and Lillard. The Pacers saw their season last longer than the Bucks'. Indiana has a solid chance to dash Milwaukee's hopes and confidence when the two teams meet again on November 22nd.

The Pacers welcome the challenge, and why not? After all, they took four out of five games from Milwaukee between November 2023 and March 2024, in addition to four out of six playoff games this past fall. A rivalry has been reborn.