You need luck to be an NBA champion, and Tyrese Haliburton made that crystal clear in a recent episode of the "Mind the Game" podcast.
"That's the biggest thing. You gotta get lucky, man. We came back all these times, and they're like, 'Ok, you do that multiple times. It's not luck.' But, man, we just had so many things go right in a lot of these series. ... That's the biggest thing people don't talk about. To win, that's the ingredient I feel is so hard to replicate," Haliburton said.
If the Indiana Pacers want to make it back to the NBA Finals and finish what they started last year, they're going to need to get lucky. But the real concern is that maybe they used up all their luck last year. They had at least one game in every series where they pulled off a miraculous victory. And as Haliburton said, luck is "so hard to replicate."
Will the Pacers be able to get as lucky again as they did last season? Or did they use it up already?
The Pacers should be title contenders moving forward
Times are tough in Indiana right now. The team owns the worst record in the East at 13-40, and according to Basketball-Reference.com, they are the worst offensive team in the league and rank just 21st on defense.
Still, the Pacers' future is incredibly bright. And, at least on paper, they should be able to re-establish themselves as title contenders, maybe even as soon as next season.
Indiana should get Haliburton back on the court next season. And even if he doesn't immediately return to form, just having him and his playmaking back will greatly elevate the team.
Plus, the Pacers have a new starting center in Ivica Zubac, who should be able to feast with the team. And it's important to remember that they still have an elite front office and coaching staff, and they have an incredibly skilled roster. Given that the East still looks to be wide-open as well, it shouldn't be too hard for the Pacers to make it back to the top and remind the basketball world how dominant they can be.
However, as Haliburton mentioned, they need to be lucky. And because of how much went their way last year, it might be way too hard to replicate.
Moving forward, they need to stay healthy once Haliburton comes back. They have a great roster and system on paper, but if any big piece of the puzzle is missing when the lights are at their brightest, it makes it so much harder for the Pacers to play their brand of basketball.
Additionally, they will need a lot of luck to go their way in this year's draft lottery.
After trading their first-round pick for this year (with protections) to the Los Angeles Clippers for Zubac, the Pacers are now at a real risk of not being able to land a top prospect who could move the needle for them.
If the pick lands anywhere from 5-9, it will go to Los Angeles. Any other spot, it stays with the Pacers. However, they are currently the second-worst team in the league by record, and they are just three games behind the Utah Jazz, who own the sixth-worst record. At this point, it is almost a 50-50 chance they get to keep their pick.
The Pacers have a bright future, but for them to make it back to the finals, they will need as much luck as possible to be on their side.