The NBA Finals proves the Pacers have enough offense to win it all

The Indiana Pacers lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston went on to win the NBA championship. Besides one blowout win, the Mavericks didn't show much fight against them. In fact, Indiana played them harder in almost every game they played except for Game 2.

What the Finals showed us is just how close the Pacers are to being able to win a title. They had the highest-scoring offense in the regular season. Their offense was just as potent in the postseason. They just didn't have enough defense to quite get it done.

How the Mavericks played offensively showed that the Pacers have enough on that side of the floor to win an NBA title. Dallas only scored over 100 points against the Celtics one time in five games. In the four games the Pacers played against them, they scored over 100 in all of them.

The Pacers have enough offense to win an NBA title

Indiana has enough offense to win a title. That much is clear. They just need to improve on the defensive side of the ball. On any given night, they can outscore an opponent to win a game. But they need to be better defensively to be more consistent and raise their ceiling.

How they decide to improve that defense is still up in the air. Do they make a trade to get a better defensive wing? Do they really splurge in free agency and sign a wing in addition to the money they have committed to Pascal Siakam? Is Jarace Walker that guy who they can count on?

Kevin Pritchard has now had a few weeks to figure out the answers to some of these questions. The improvement on defense doesn't even need to be dramatic. If they can just become average, they will be good enough to win the East.

Boston is a very good team. Their starting lineup is back next season and will still be better than the Pacers when fully healthy. Still, the healthier team is who comes out on top most years. We saw that this year. The Pacers aren't as far away as some people think they are.