What these final three games mean for the Pacers

Here we are, the endgame of the regular season.

On Sunday, the Indiana Pacers won their biggest game of the last four years against one of their biggest rivals, the Miami Heat. After dominating the first three quarters, the Pacers almost let up by letting Miami make it as little as a two-point game, but they came through in the end and won, taking a comfortable sixth-seed lead in the process. This puts Indiana 1.5 games ahead of Miami and a game ahead of Philadelphia with three games left in their season.

However, their work is not done. The Pacers may have a lead over Philly and Miami, but the season is not over by any means. For their final games of the season, Indiana faces two losing teams in Toronto and Atlanta, and a potential first-round opponent in Cleveland.

For Miami, they face Dallas, Toronto twice, and Atlanta, and for Philadelphia, they face the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and Brooklyn Nets. While it is unlikely barring a major collapse, it is still possible for Indiana to end up as low as the eighth seed if they do not continue their play and win out the rest of the season, as little as that might be.

In addition to this, the Pacers are also not too far off from as high as the third seed. Only a game and a half separates Indiana and third-seeded Orlando, and with the Magic playing Houston, Philly, and Milwaukee twice, you never know what can happen.

As for fourth-seeded New York, they will be without Julius Randle for the rest of the season and playoffs and still have to face the Boston Celtics. For fifth-seeded Cleveland, if Donovan Mitchell's struggles continue, they could very well drop that game to Indiana, as well as lose one or both of their games to Charlotte and Memphis.

Long story short, the Pacers can either move down or up depending on how they handle the rest of the season. Win out, and you've secured yourself the sixth seed at the very least and as high as the third seed. Lose some easy ones as you're known to do, and you risk entering the play-in anyway, where anything can happen.

To finish this stretch strong, the Pacers must take care of business against the bad teams, and pull out one last great performance against the Cavaliers in a potential playoff preview.