Last season, the Indiana Pacers finished with a 47-35 record, their best record since the 2018-19 season. Additionally, the team entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed. However, despite relatively low expectations, the Pacers ultimately advanced to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2014 before ultimately getting swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
During this offseason, the Pacers made very few external moves to capitalize on their latest playoff run. The team re-signed Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin. Additionally, they signed James Wiseman to a two-year deal and drafted Johnny Furphy, who could make an impact on the team as soon as this season.
The Pacers appear willing to run it back with the same core that led them to their most successful season in a decade. Furthermore, it seems they are banking on natural progression as the team aims to become serious title contenders. Whether this is the right call or not remains to be seen.
Indiana is a great team on paper and should be in the playoffs again next season. However, the Eastern Conference has only gotten better this offseason. So, when the 2024-25 season is all said and done, where will the Pacers likely rank in the standings?
1. Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics were the most dominant team in the entire NBA last season. They ended the 2023-24 season with a league-best 64-18 record. Additionally, they were dominant in the postseason as well, going 16-3 en route to their NBA-record 18th championship. Even more impressive is that they were without star Kristaps Porzingis for 14 games, including the entire series against the Pacers.
While the Celtics will likely be without Porzingis to begin next season due to his leg injury, the Celtics are still the team to beat in the NBA. They are dominant on both sides of the ball. Additionally, they are an elite rebounding team with solid depth and good coaching.
Led by their duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are in a good position to repeat as champions and remain in title contention for a long time.
This offseason, the Celtics signed Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser to long-term contract extensions. Additionally, they brought back Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta in free agency. The only two players from last year's championship team not on the roster are Svi Mykhailiuk (signed with the Utah Jazz) and former Pacers wing Oshae Brissett (still unsigned).
Until proven otherwise, the Celtics have the best roster in the NBA and are the team to beat next season.
2. New York Knicks
The New York Knicks finished the 2023-24 season as a surprising No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Heading into the season, not many had the Knicks finishing as a top-two team in the conference. And as the season went on, this continued to be the case.
All season long, the Knicks dealt with multiple injuries. This includes an injury to All-Star forward Julius Randle, who missed the entire second half of last season, including the playoffs. Still, despite dealing with injuries, the Knicks, led by guard Jalen Brunson, ended the season with a 50-32 record. This was their best record since the 2012-13 season.
Ultimately, the Knicks eventually lost to the Pacers in the second round of last year's playoffs in seven games after blowing a 2-0 series lead. Still, their performance last season was impressive, and they should continue to be a top team in the conference.
This summer, the Knicks re-signed Precious Achiuwa and OG Anunoby. They also extended Brunson to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension. Furthermore, the Knicks shockingly traded for wing Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, who should provide a major boost to the team.
On the flip side, the Knicks did lose some key role players like Isaiah Hartenstein, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Alec Burks. Regardless, the moves they made this summer, and with Randle's return, the Knicks should be a top team in the East once next season.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers were easily one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NBA offseason. Last season, the team ended with a 47-35 record and earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, 76ers star Joel Embiid only played 39 games.
Regardless of the team's finish last season, the 76ers roster looks significantly different now. This summer, the team added veterans like Eric Gordon, Andrew Drummond, and Caleb Martin. They also re-signed role players from last season like Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. Additionally, they drafted Jared McCain with the 16th pick in this year's draft.
However, none of these moves were as major as the 76ers signing former Pacers star Paul George away from the Los Angeles Clippers. The pairing of George alongside Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is very intriguing. With their new trio, the 76ers are now one of the biggest threats to come out of the Eastern Conference next season.
The 76ers may have had a disappointing season by their standards last year, but they should be firmly in title contention next season. Whether their moves on paper are good enough to dethrone the Celtics remains to be seen, but it is clear that they should be an exciting team to watch.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
Once we get past the top three of the Eastern Conference, the rest of the standings look much more competitive. Currently, the Milwaukee Bucks look like the team with the best chance remaining to finish in the top four of the standings.
Last season, the Bucks made headlines by acquiring star guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. Following the trade, many expected the Bucks and Celtics to be competing for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
While this was sort of true for much of the season, as the Bucks were the No. 2 seed for most of the year, it was pretty clear they were not going to be on Boston's level last season.
The Bucks finished with a 49-33 record and ultimately fell to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference going into the playoffs. Ultimately, they lost to the Pacers in the first round. Milwaukee was, however, without star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series.
What might have really done them in was their coaching change during the season. After 43 games, the Bucks fired first-year coach Adrian Griffin, despite having a 30-13 record, in favor of Doc Rivers. With Rivers, the Bucks went 17-19.
Although last season was underwhelming for Milwaukee, they should be better next season. They added some solid veterans like Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince. Additionally, the Bucks will now have a full offseason and year with Rivers at the helm.
Ultimately, the Antetokounmpo-Lillard pairing is still one of the most dangerous duos in the NBA on paper. Because of this, it is difficult to rank them lower than fourth.
5. Indiana Pacers
The No. 5 seed is not much of a jump from last season, but it is a jump nonetheless. The Pacers did not make enough external moves to jump above the four teams ahead of them this offseason. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The Pacers have a fantastic roster and should be even better next season than they were last season. Indiana will have a full year of Siakam on the roster, and they should enjoy natural progression from players like Haliburton, Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.
Ultimately, the one major weakness holding the Pacers back is their defense. Last season, they finished with the seventh-worst DRTG in the NBA. And despite their poor defense, the team did nothing to address it this summer.
It is possible the team is hoping for natural development from their players to become a better defensive team, but it is unknown whether that will work as soon as next season or not.
There are plenty of other teams that could take this spot away from Indiana. This includes other up-and-coming teams like the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ultimately, the Pacers' youth and overall offensive style should make them a more successful team next season.
It is going to be a competitive conference next season, but the Pacers definitely have what it takes to exceed all expectations again and make another deep playoff run.