The three most important players in the Pacers vs. Bucks playoff series

2. Pascal Siakam

One player who wasn't involved in any of the epic matchups during this season was Pascal Siakam. Siakam hadn't yet been with Indiana and didn't get traded to the Pacers until after that final game. He's a big part of the story in this series.

Siakam adds an element to the offense that the Pacers didn't have before. He is a beast at scoring in the half-court and is someone who does a lot of work around the paint. He's another person who can also handle the ball when Haliburton needs to be off-ball.

In two games that Siakam did play against the Bucks earlier in the season when he was with the Raptors, he averaged 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. Those are pretty close to what his averages are with the Pacers. What makes thing different this time around is he is another option defensively that the Pacers have.

In the previous matchups, Aaron Nesmith has been the answer to Giannis on defense. While Giannis has still been getting his points, Nesmith has slowed him down enough to not let him get others involved enough to ruin the Pacers on defense.

Siakam's length gives them another option to throw at him if they decide they want Nesmith guarding someone else such as Lillard. They will likely hide Haliburton on Patrick Beverley or Malik Beasley, whichever player the Bucks decide to start.

The final player in this series who is important is a guy we've already mentioned.